Wheaton Academy sails
past Notre Dame (Quincy) for AA bronze
'Rookie' coach Selvaggio delights in alma mater’s decisive 6-1 triumph
By Bill McLean
PALATINE — Notre Dame (Quincy) coach Mark Longo was in his 15th season when he guided the Lady Raiders to a 20-4-3 record in 2004.
Meanwhile, at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, a 5-foot-11 sophomore midfielder named Maria Della Torre helped her school capture the Class A state championship.
The Warriors edged Boylan 2-1 in four overtimes.
Seventeen years later Longo — still at Notre Dame and a five-time state champion coach — deployed his Lady Raiders against Wheaton Academy and its first-year coach in the Class A state match for third place Saturday morning at Fremd.
Longo had amassed 570 career victories since the start of the 1990 season.
The Warriors’ rookie manager, going for her 19th triumph in 2021?
Maria Selvaggio, nee Della Torre.
The greenhorn topped the grizzled veteran, as Selvaggio’s potent crew struck for four first half goals en route to a 6-1 victory in toasty, breezy conditions.
“We came in eager and determined to end our season with a win,” said Warriors senior midfielder Kelly Bickhart, who blasted a 35-yard free kick through a strong wind in the 31st minute to tally a goal that upped Wheaton Academy’s advantage to 4-1 — the score at halftime.
“Only six teams (in three classes) get to say they won their last game in a season, and now we’re one of them.”
Junior forward Emily Setran netted two of the Warriors’ goals, including one of the rebound variety in the 15th minute. A Bickhart shot off Lady Raiders freshman goalkeeper Addison Van Hecke’s frame set up the Mendota Supersectional champion’s third goal of the half.
Warriors freshman Anna Africa, a strong reserve forward, initiated the action that led to Setran’s second goal in the 52nd minute. Junior forward Jocelyn Royce then slid a nice feed to Setran, who booted a well-placed shot from mid-box territory past backup goalie Aly Young.
The ball’s journey ended in the southwest corner of the net.
“We came out ready to play,” said Setran, who increased her goal total to 11, behind Bickhart’s 14 and senior midfielder Amy Alexander’s team-best 19. “All season we were willing to work hard, no matter the circumstances. We’re a family, with a strong bond.”
Wheaton Academy “head of household” Selvaggio shepherded her girls to the program’s third state trophy in five years after being hired to helm the varsity in 2020 following nine seasons as an assistant coach at the school.
The pandemic scrubbed the ’20 season.
Wheaton Academy, ranked no. 25 in the final regular-season Chicagoland Soccer Top 2, finished 19-5-0 after a 3-2-0 start this season. Both of the early one-goal setbacks came against 3A schools Lincoln-Way Central and Benet.
“It’s been a blast,” Selvaggio said Saturday, a day after her club fell 3-0 to eventual state champion Althoff in a state semifinal. “Yes, we were disappointed after the semifinal.
“Today,” she added, “was all about confidence. Our girls believed in themselves, and it showed.”
What did Notre Dame’s roster reveal? Youth, and gobs of it. Longo’s 31st edition — ranked no. 8 in the final Chicagoland Soccer Illinois 10 poll of the season — included seven sophomores and five freshmen. Lady Raiders sophomore forward Lia Quintero entered Saturday’s third place contest with 38 goals and 11 assists.
Her 39th goal, from close range, cut Wheaton Academy’s lead to 2-1 in the 17th minute, a mere 16 seconds after a high shot from Alexander beat Van Hecke.
“Lia is a very dangerous player,” Selvaggio said. “The key for us was to manage her. We owned the midfield against a strong, fast team. We were well aware of Notre Dame’s strengths.
“I’m proud right now, very proud.”
Notre Dame (17-3-1) executed the save of the day in the 37th minute, and the one who made it wasn’t even wearing gloves. Freshman reserve midfielder Lauryn Peters, planted three yards in front of the goal line, used a foot to alertly clear a promising Wheaton Academy shot and keep her club within three goals.
“Amazing,” Quintero said. “I expected nothing less from her.”
Wheaton Academy bookended the scoring Saturday with a goal from senior back Sarah Vander Klok in the seventh minute and a tally from senior forward Emma Van Wagner in the 74th minute. Vander Klok’s goal traveled eight yards; the flight of Van Wagner’s left-footed score approximately doubled that distance.
Junior goalkeeper Sara Swoboda picked up the win.
“We didn’t play our best,” Longo said. “(Wheaton Academy) took advantage of our mistakes. You know what they say about the ‘hammer’ and the ‘nail’ in sports.
“Well, we were the ‘nail’ today.”
Footnotes
Selvaggio paced Wheaton Academy in assists (21), to go with 11 goals, when she played for the Class A state champion Warriors as a sophomore midfielder in 2004. … Wheaton Academy senior and Metro Suburban Conference co-MVP Alexander scored 15 of her 19 goals in the last eight games, including a trio of hat-tricks. … Notre Dame sophomore midfielder Anna Keck suffered a serious knee injury in the Lady Raiders’ 1-0 loss to eventual Class A state runnerup Timothy in the Friday semifinal. … Longo’s five state championships at Notre Dame occurred from 2010-2018. … Wheaton Academy outscored its final eight opponents of the ’21 season by a combined margin of 37-4. … Notre Dame senior midfielder Ellie Peters, the Lady Raiders’ most experienced player, and her sister Lauryn are the third and fourth Peters sisters to play for Longo at the West Central Conference school.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
GK Sara Swoboda
D Sarah Vander Klok
D Jillian Paulson
D Olivia Crane
D Kelsey Bowling
M Kelly Bickhart
M Amy Alexander
M Katelyn Schoepke
F Emma Van Wagner
F Emily Setran
F Jocelyn Royce
Notre Dame (Quincy)
GK Addison Van Hecke
D Grace Bertram
D Sheridan Hull
D Audrey Henkenmeier
M Madeline Fitzgerald
M Ellie Peters
M Bella Douglas
M Avery Keck
F Lia Quintero
F Ella Hummel
F Eva Dickerman
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Emily Setran, jr., F, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton Academy — Vander Klok, 5’
Wheaton Academy — Alexander , 7’
Quincy Notre Dame — Quintero, 7’
Wheaton Academy — Setran (Bickhart), 15’
Wheaton Academy — Bickhart (free kick), 31’
Second half
Wheaton Academy — Setran (Royce), 52’
Wheaton Academy — Van Wagner, 74’
past Notre Dame (Quincy) for AA bronze
'Rookie' coach Selvaggio delights in alma mater’s decisive 6-1 triumph
By Bill McLean
PALATINE — Notre Dame (Quincy) coach Mark Longo was in his 15th season when he guided the Lady Raiders to a 20-4-3 record in 2004.
Meanwhile, at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, a 5-foot-11 sophomore midfielder named Maria Della Torre helped her school capture the Class A state championship.
The Warriors edged Boylan 2-1 in four overtimes.
Seventeen years later Longo — still at Notre Dame and a five-time state champion coach — deployed his Lady Raiders against Wheaton Academy and its first-year coach in the Class A state match for third place Saturday morning at Fremd.
Longo had amassed 570 career victories since the start of the 1990 season.
The Warriors’ rookie manager, going for her 19th triumph in 2021?
Maria Selvaggio, nee Della Torre.
The greenhorn topped the grizzled veteran, as Selvaggio’s potent crew struck for four first half goals en route to a 6-1 victory in toasty, breezy conditions.
“We came in eager and determined to end our season with a win,” said Warriors senior midfielder Kelly Bickhart, who blasted a 35-yard free kick through a strong wind in the 31st minute to tally a goal that upped Wheaton Academy’s advantage to 4-1 — the score at halftime.
“Only six teams (in three classes) get to say they won their last game in a season, and now we’re one of them.”
Junior forward Emily Setran netted two of the Warriors’ goals, including one of the rebound variety in the 15th minute. A Bickhart shot off Lady Raiders freshman goalkeeper Addison Van Hecke’s frame set up the Mendota Supersectional champion’s third goal of the half.
Warriors freshman Anna Africa, a strong reserve forward, initiated the action that led to Setran’s second goal in the 52nd minute. Junior forward Jocelyn Royce then slid a nice feed to Setran, who booted a well-placed shot from mid-box territory past backup goalie Aly Young.
The ball’s journey ended in the southwest corner of the net.
“We came out ready to play,” said Setran, who increased her goal total to 11, behind Bickhart’s 14 and senior midfielder Amy Alexander’s team-best 19. “All season we were willing to work hard, no matter the circumstances. We’re a family, with a strong bond.”
Wheaton Academy “head of household” Selvaggio shepherded her girls to the program’s third state trophy in five years after being hired to helm the varsity in 2020 following nine seasons as an assistant coach at the school.
The pandemic scrubbed the ’20 season.
Wheaton Academy, ranked no. 25 in the final regular-season Chicagoland Soccer Top 2, finished 19-5-0 after a 3-2-0 start this season. Both of the early one-goal setbacks came against 3A schools Lincoln-Way Central and Benet.
“It’s been a blast,” Selvaggio said Saturday, a day after her club fell 3-0 to eventual state champion Althoff in a state semifinal. “Yes, we were disappointed after the semifinal.
“Today,” she added, “was all about confidence. Our girls believed in themselves, and it showed.”
What did Notre Dame’s roster reveal? Youth, and gobs of it. Longo’s 31st edition — ranked no. 8 in the final Chicagoland Soccer Illinois 10 poll of the season — included seven sophomores and five freshmen. Lady Raiders sophomore forward Lia Quintero entered Saturday’s third place contest with 38 goals and 11 assists.
Her 39th goal, from close range, cut Wheaton Academy’s lead to 2-1 in the 17th minute, a mere 16 seconds after a high shot from Alexander beat Van Hecke.
“Lia is a very dangerous player,” Selvaggio said. “The key for us was to manage her. We owned the midfield against a strong, fast team. We were well aware of Notre Dame’s strengths.
“I’m proud right now, very proud.”
Notre Dame (17-3-1) executed the save of the day in the 37th minute, and the one who made it wasn’t even wearing gloves. Freshman reserve midfielder Lauryn Peters, planted three yards in front of the goal line, used a foot to alertly clear a promising Wheaton Academy shot and keep her club within three goals.
“Amazing,” Quintero said. “I expected nothing less from her.”
Wheaton Academy bookended the scoring Saturday with a goal from senior back Sarah Vander Klok in the seventh minute and a tally from senior forward Emma Van Wagner in the 74th minute. Vander Klok’s goal traveled eight yards; the flight of Van Wagner’s left-footed score approximately doubled that distance.
Junior goalkeeper Sara Swoboda picked up the win.
“We didn’t play our best,” Longo said. “(Wheaton Academy) took advantage of our mistakes. You know what they say about the ‘hammer’ and the ‘nail’ in sports.
“Well, we were the ‘nail’ today.”
Footnotes
Selvaggio paced Wheaton Academy in assists (21), to go with 11 goals, when she played for the Class A state champion Warriors as a sophomore midfielder in 2004. … Wheaton Academy senior and Metro Suburban Conference co-MVP Alexander scored 15 of her 19 goals in the last eight games, including a trio of hat-tricks. … Notre Dame sophomore midfielder Anna Keck suffered a serious knee injury in the Lady Raiders’ 1-0 loss to eventual Class A state runnerup Timothy in the Friday semifinal. … Longo’s five state championships at Notre Dame occurred from 2010-2018. … Wheaton Academy outscored its final eight opponents of the ’21 season by a combined margin of 37-4. … Notre Dame senior midfielder Ellie Peters, the Lady Raiders’ most experienced player, and her sister Lauryn are the third and fourth Peters sisters to play for Longo at the West Central Conference school.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Academy
GK Sara Swoboda
D Sarah Vander Klok
D Jillian Paulson
D Olivia Crane
D Kelsey Bowling
M Kelly Bickhart
M Amy Alexander
M Katelyn Schoepke
F Emma Van Wagner
F Emily Setran
F Jocelyn Royce
Notre Dame (Quincy)
GK Addison Van Hecke
D Grace Bertram
D Sheridan Hull
D Audrey Henkenmeier
M Madeline Fitzgerald
M Ellie Peters
M Bella Douglas
M Avery Keck
F Lia Quintero
F Ella Hummel
F Eva Dickerman
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Emily Setran, jr., F, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton Academy — Vander Klok, 5’
Wheaton Academy — Alexander , 7’
Quincy Notre Dame — Quintero, 7’
Wheaton Academy — Setran (Bickhart), 15’
Wheaton Academy — Bickhart (free kick), 31’
Second half
Wheaton Academy — Setran (Royce), 52’
Wheaton Academy — Van Wagner, 74’