Wheaton A. roars past St. Francis
for share of league title
Uses social media to draw large crowd for 2-0 crosstown win
By Bob Narang
WHEATON -- Wheaton Academy senior forward Rian Bautista started the party early by sprinting 50 yards to the bench following his first half goal in Saturday afternoon’s game against St. Francis.
He immediately glanced at the overflow crowd in the main grandstand, focusing on a large contingent of Wheaton Academy students standing up in the first row behind his team’s bench.
This was no normal celebration, with Bautista and his teammates soaked the exhilaration of scoring the first goal in the rivalry game that would decide the conference title.
“My adrenaline was pumping after that first goal,” Bautista said. “I had to run to the bench. Those guys (fans) have been with us all season. We’ve been looking forward to this game for awhile.
“The loss early in the season against Timothy Christian kind of killed us internally. I was injured, so I only played a few minutes. We came into this game acting like it was our state final, because we don’t have any playoffs.
“We responded really well to that and had great intensity. It’s a surreal moment, because I don’t know what I’m doing in the future (with soccer). This could be my last game. It was great to know I could rise to the occasion.”
In the game for the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division championship, Bautista certainly did rise to the occasion, producing his biggest game on the biggest stage of his senior season.
He added a second half goal to cap off a sterling performance that guided Wheaton Academy to a thrilling 2-0 road victory.
The Warriors, who captured the Class AA state championship in 2014, are no strangers to emotionally filled games. The program has earned four top-four state placings since 2012, but there was something different — and unique — about Saturday’s season finale that led to a number of mini-celebrations all over the field after the final whistle.
Host St. Francis entered the game ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, while the Warriors were slotted in at no. 25.
Wheaton Academy (12-3-1, 10-1-0) ended the Spartans (9-1-0, 9-1-0) dreams of an undefeated conference championship season in a bragging rights victory on the road.
As the final seconds ticked off, Wheaton Academy junior Alexander Anaya chased after the ball, picked it up and punted it to put a final stamp to the memorable victory. Bautista jumped around on the field, hugging goalie Declan Finnegan near midfield.
Wheaton Academy students stormed onto the field, jumping up and down, while a group of St. Francis fans rejoiced stealing away a Warriors’ flag.
The Warriors gathered together for a team picture in front of the grandstand — with their fans in the background. A few seconds later, the Warriors took another picture in the football end zone.
Well after the Spartans had exited the stadium, the Warriors remained on the blue turf reveling in the shutout victory.
“Just a huge credit to St. Francis, as a school and soccer program,” Wheaton Academy coach Cody Snouffer said. “This is a different year because you know when your last game is. There was so much specialness knowing this was the last game for this team. We would’ve loved to play a state series with this team, but we don’t get to this year, so to get a piece of the conference championship, on the road and on a beautiful, sunny Saturday is great.”
St. Francis senior forward Trey Gora, a four-year varsity player, credited the Warriors for following their game-plan.
“It was very hard fought, but we didn’t execute,” said Gora, an Eastern Illinois signee. “They did, and we didn’t. We didn’t run our game-plan, didn’t execute and weren’t technical enough. It was great to go out this way, almost undefeated, but it stinks to lose on the final day. Our fans kept us going and this was a good way to send us off. (Wheaton Academy) just kept the pressure on us. They press very well, and we weren’t smart with the ball.”
Before the match, all the signs pointed toward a memorable ending to the St. Francis soccer season.
The game turned into an epic battle among rivals.
As the Spartans set out for the ideal ending to close out one of the best seasons in recent program history, there was one another obvious impediment: the Wheaton Academy fans.
Before the game, the Warriors sent out word through social media that Wheaton Academy students should attend the big game.
It worked.
With a large and boisterous student body in attendance, Wheaton Academy played with high energy and intensity, relying on a solid backline to record their fourth-straight shutout victory.
In a way, the road game resembled more of a home game for the Warriors. The visitors had more fans in attendance and their throng constantly cheering throughout the spirited and physical game.
“This felt like a state championship, just with the environment and all the fans,” Finnegan said. “It was a blast. We told everyone to come via Instagram, and they did. We didn’t want to jog past the finish line. We wanted to sprint through it. We did.”
The Spartans, who had a large home crowd with the the conference title, undefeated season and local bragging rights at stake, could not mount a consistent attack. Besides two clear shots, the Spartans rarely found an opening for a clean look against the Warriors.
Finnegan finished with three saves, including a highlight-reel stop with his foot in the eighth minute. He earned his ninth shutout of the season.
“Declan made a huge save within the first 15 minutes which happened from a center back miscommunication,” Snouffer said. “We ask our goalie to save the game once. We didn’t put him into that situation more than once. It was really a testament to the way we try and play. We try and win the ball back and decide what we want to do with it. To limit a team only a few chances that has done well is really fantastic soccer.”
In his first season playing for Wheaton Academy, Bautista made a memorable impression by adding his name to the school’s all-time performances with his two-goal effort.
“Rian had a fantastic end to his senior year,” Snouffer said. “He had been home-schooled, so this was his first time playing high school soccer. He came in the summer, fell in love with the guys and program. These are his two important goals of the season. He scored goals before but to get two on the road in the conference championship is pretty special.”
Bautista scored the first goal off an assist from Kyle Holwerda in the 25th minute, tapping in a short shot off an excellent cross to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
“I saw Kyle going for the ball, and the guy was trying to box him out,” Bautista said. “He was able to fight to get the ball back. I just made a quick run to the goal and able to cut in front of the other defender and tap the ball in.”
After two near goals within a four-minute span early in the second half by the Warriors, Bautista added an insurance goal on a penalty kick in the 51st minute. He drilled his second goal inside the near post for a 2-0 edge.
“I got the ball down the line, looked up and saw the opportunity to make a run into the box and got a quick one-two and was able to draw the penalty,” Bautista said. “I walked over to the guys, and said, ‘I’m taking this, I feel good. This is on me.’ I was confident. I was feeling good today. It was a great team effort and a great way to finish off this weird season.”
Many Spartans stayed after the defeat to credit the Warriors for the hard-fought victory. Senior forward Nico Lajewski, who finished with 11 goals and 14 assists, said the Warriors outplayed the Spartans.
“We just couldn’t hold onto the ball,” Lajewski said. “We could not possess, and that was the downfall. We did a few times, but we couldn’t make anything of it. We played our hearts out in our last game at home. We wanted this win badly, just put our bodies into it and just fell little short.
“This was my best year here, just having fun with my friends and a great year for us. Everybody stepped up this year. That’s what made the year so amazing. We surprised ourselves and everybody else. It was probably the best year for us in a few years.”
St. Francis coach Kevin Ward said the loss shouldn’t take away from his team’s special season.
“It was very hard fought,” Ward said. “We didn’t execute. They did, and we didn’t. We didn’t run our game plan, didn’t execute and weren’t technical enough.
“But it was a fantastic season. If somebody would’ve told us we would be 9-0 and going in for a conference championship at the end, I didn’t know where we would be at the start of the season. There was no thought about this. We had some strong seniors, but it was almost like we were rebuilding. This was a great group of guys.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Simon Hartle
D Jack Hartle
D Nick Madden
D Justin Klein
M Brendan Yarusso
M Cooper Winslow
M Mason Karch
M Guy DeFeo
F Trey Gora
F Cameron Crawford
F Nico Lajewski
Wheaton Academy
GK Declan Finnegan
D Alex Anaya
D Jude Barton
D Solomon Pitts
D Gabe Olsen
MF Evan Eckert
MF Haetham Nasr
MF Caleb Mariotti
MF Josh Mariotti
F Rian Bautista
F Robert Platt
Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Match: Rian Bautista, sr., F, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton Academy— Rian Bautista (Kyle Holwerda) 25’
Second half
Wheaton Academy — Rian Bautista (unassisted) 51’
for share of league title
Uses social media to draw large crowd for 2-0 crosstown win
By Bob Narang
WHEATON -- Wheaton Academy senior forward Rian Bautista started the party early by sprinting 50 yards to the bench following his first half goal in Saturday afternoon’s game against St. Francis.
He immediately glanced at the overflow crowd in the main grandstand, focusing on a large contingent of Wheaton Academy students standing up in the first row behind his team’s bench.
This was no normal celebration, with Bautista and his teammates soaked the exhilaration of scoring the first goal in the rivalry game that would decide the conference title.
“My adrenaline was pumping after that first goal,” Bautista said. “I had to run to the bench. Those guys (fans) have been with us all season. We’ve been looking forward to this game for awhile.
“The loss early in the season against Timothy Christian kind of killed us internally. I was injured, so I only played a few minutes. We came into this game acting like it was our state final, because we don’t have any playoffs.
“We responded really well to that and had great intensity. It’s a surreal moment, because I don’t know what I’m doing in the future (with soccer). This could be my last game. It was great to know I could rise to the occasion.”
In the game for the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division championship, Bautista certainly did rise to the occasion, producing his biggest game on the biggest stage of his senior season.
He added a second half goal to cap off a sterling performance that guided Wheaton Academy to a thrilling 2-0 road victory.
The Warriors, who captured the Class AA state championship in 2014, are no strangers to emotionally filled games. The program has earned four top-four state placings since 2012, but there was something different — and unique — about Saturday’s season finale that led to a number of mini-celebrations all over the field after the final whistle.
Host St. Francis entered the game ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, while the Warriors were slotted in at no. 25.
Wheaton Academy (12-3-1, 10-1-0) ended the Spartans (9-1-0, 9-1-0) dreams of an undefeated conference championship season in a bragging rights victory on the road.
As the final seconds ticked off, Wheaton Academy junior Alexander Anaya chased after the ball, picked it up and punted it to put a final stamp to the memorable victory. Bautista jumped around on the field, hugging goalie Declan Finnegan near midfield.
Wheaton Academy students stormed onto the field, jumping up and down, while a group of St. Francis fans rejoiced stealing away a Warriors’ flag.
The Warriors gathered together for a team picture in front of the grandstand — with their fans in the background. A few seconds later, the Warriors took another picture in the football end zone.
Well after the Spartans had exited the stadium, the Warriors remained on the blue turf reveling in the shutout victory.
“Just a huge credit to St. Francis, as a school and soccer program,” Wheaton Academy coach Cody Snouffer said. “This is a different year because you know when your last game is. There was so much specialness knowing this was the last game for this team. We would’ve loved to play a state series with this team, but we don’t get to this year, so to get a piece of the conference championship, on the road and on a beautiful, sunny Saturday is great.”
St. Francis senior forward Trey Gora, a four-year varsity player, credited the Warriors for following their game-plan.
“It was very hard fought, but we didn’t execute,” said Gora, an Eastern Illinois signee. “They did, and we didn’t. We didn’t run our game-plan, didn’t execute and weren’t technical enough. It was great to go out this way, almost undefeated, but it stinks to lose on the final day. Our fans kept us going and this was a good way to send us off. (Wheaton Academy) just kept the pressure on us. They press very well, and we weren’t smart with the ball.”
Before the match, all the signs pointed toward a memorable ending to the St. Francis soccer season.
The game turned into an epic battle among rivals.
As the Spartans set out for the ideal ending to close out one of the best seasons in recent program history, there was one another obvious impediment: the Wheaton Academy fans.
Before the game, the Warriors sent out word through social media that Wheaton Academy students should attend the big game.
It worked.
With a large and boisterous student body in attendance, Wheaton Academy played with high energy and intensity, relying on a solid backline to record their fourth-straight shutout victory.
In a way, the road game resembled more of a home game for the Warriors. The visitors had more fans in attendance and their throng constantly cheering throughout the spirited and physical game.
“This felt like a state championship, just with the environment and all the fans,” Finnegan said. “It was a blast. We told everyone to come via Instagram, and they did. We didn’t want to jog past the finish line. We wanted to sprint through it. We did.”
The Spartans, who had a large home crowd with the the conference title, undefeated season and local bragging rights at stake, could not mount a consistent attack. Besides two clear shots, the Spartans rarely found an opening for a clean look against the Warriors.
Finnegan finished with three saves, including a highlight-reel stop with his foot in the eighth minute. He earned his ninth shutout of the season.
“Declan made a huge save within the first 15 minutes which happened from a center back miscommunication,” Snouffer said. “We ask our goalie to save the game once. We didn’t put him into that situation more than once. It was really a testament to the way we try and play. We try and win the ball back and decide what we want to do with it. To limit a team only a few chances that has done well is really fantastic soccer.”
In his first season playing for Wheaton Academy, Bautista made a memorable impression by adding his name to the school’s all-time performances with his two-goal effort.
“Rian had a fantastic end to his senior year,” Snouffer said. “He had been home-schooled, so this was his first time playing high school soccer. He came in the summer, fell in love with the guys and program. These are his two important goals of the season. He scored goals before but to get two on the road in the conference championship is pretty special.”
Bautista scored the first goal off an assist from Kyle Holwerda in the 25th minute, tapping in a short shot off an excellent cross to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
“I saw Kyle going for the ball, and the guy was trying to box him out,” Bautista said. “He was able to fight to get the ball back. I just made a quick run to the goal and able to cut in front of the other defender and tap the ball in.”
After two near goals within a four-minute span early in the second half by the Warriors, Bautista added an insurance goal on a penalty kick in the 51st minute. He drilled his second goal inside the near post for a 2-0 edge.
“I got the ball down the line, looked up and saw the opportunity to make a run into the box and got a quick one-two and was able to draw the penalty,” Bautista said. “I walked over to the guys, and said, ‘I’m taking this, I feel good. This is on me.’ I was confident. I was feeling good today. It was a great team effort and a great way to finish off this weird season.”
Many Spartans stayed after the defeat to credit the Warriors for the hard-fought victory. Senior forward Nico Lajewski, who finished with 11 goals and 14 assists, said the Warriors outplayed the Spartans.
“We just couldn’t hold onto the ball,” Lajewski said. “We could not possess, and that was the downfall. We did a few times, but we couldn’t make anything of it. We played our hearts out in our last game at home. We wanted this win badly, just put our bodies into it and just fell little short.
“This was my best year here, just having fun with my friends and a great year for us. Everybody stepped up this year. That’s what made the year so amazing. We surprised ourselves and everybody else. It was probably the best year for us in a few years.”
St. Francis coach Kevin Ward said the loss shouldn’t take away from his team’s special season.
“It was very hard fought,” Ward said. “We didn’t execute. They did, and we didn’t. We didn’t run our game plan, didn’t execute and weren’t technical enough.
“But it was a fantastic season. If somebody would’ve told us we would be 9-0 and going in for a conference championship at the end, I didn’t know where we would be at the start of the season. There was no thought about this. We had some strong seniors, but it was almost like we were rebuilding. This was a great group of guys.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Simon Hartle
D Jack Hartle
D Nick Madden
D Justin Klein
M Brendan Yarusso
M Cooper Winslow
M Mason Karch
M Guy DeFeo
F Trey Gora
F Cameron Crawford
F Nico Lajewski
Wheaton Academy
GK Declan Finnegan
D Alex Anaya
D Jude Barton
D Solomon Pitts
D Gabe Olsen
MF Evan Eckert
MF Haetham Nasr
MF Caleb Mariotti
MF Josh Mariotti
F Rian Bautista
F Robert Platt
Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Match: Rian Bautista, sr., F, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton Academy— Rian Bautista (Kyle Holwerda) 25’
Second half
Wheaton Academy — Rian Bautista (unassisted) 51’