Wheaton Academy gets
payback vs. St. Francis
Warriors knock Spartans out of playoffs with 2-1 win
By Bobby Narang
LA GRANGE PARK — Five days ago, Wheaton Academy sophomore Katelyn Schoepke was not in attendance at her team’s final regular-season game against St. Francis.
Schoepke said it was hard to hear that the Warriors lost 2-1, but she was motivated for the rematch when the two local rivals squared off in Wednesday’s Class AA Nazareth Regional semifinal.
“I’ve just missed that one game all year,” Schoepke said. “I was so ready for this game.
“I wanted to be at that (last) game so bad, but my parents had family stuff. I was so looking forward to this game. It was hard, because I don’t like missing games in general.”
Schoepke showed her worth and desire by scoring an important goal, the second of her career, that helped spark the no. 5-seeded Warriors to a 2-1 win.
Tenth-seeded St. Francis defeated Wheaton Academy 2-1 last Friday, but the Warriors were missing three starters including Schoepke and classmate forward Anna Africa. The third was senior midfielder Sydney Abbott, who got back on the pitch for the win, but did not start Wednesday due to the lingering effects of the flu.
The Warriors (13-6-2) move forward in their quest to match last season’s run to the championship weekend. They play host Nazareth in the regional championship game on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
“We’ve not played Nazareth this year but we’ve seen them,” Wheaton Academy coach Maria Selvaggio said. “We know they have some speed and size upfront, similar to St. Francis. Our center backs and outside backs are very seasoned now. They’ve seen some of the best players in the state, so I’m not expecting to see anything different from what we’ve seen. We will be prepared.”
Schoepke opened up the scoring by knocking in a shot after a corner kick in the 29th minute. The ball bounced hard toward the middle about 24 yards out, which allowed her to set her feet. She drilled the ball into the far upper corner for a 1-0 lead off the assist from Lily Lebo.
Lebo added the eventual game-winning goal for the Warriors in the 54th minute.
“I’m excited for the regional (final),” Schoepke said. “It was nice to score, came off a corner and I was just hanging back in case it popped out. One of my teammates, Lily Lebo, fed me it. I was able to get a good shot. It was so exciting to score, especially since I’m more of a defensive player.
“We made sure we had a lot of energy and were quick to step to the ball and not let them get around, and we played with urgency. We played 50/50s and were there for everything.”
St. Francis coach Jim Winslow, who has won two state titles, said it was a tough defeat for his young team. Paige Chrustowski scored the Spartans’ lone goal, tapping in a shot just in front of the goal line in the 55th minute — just 14 seconds after Wheaton Academy took its 2-0 lead.
The Spartans (7-8-1) played with energy throughout the match, forcing Wheaton Academy goalie Sara Swoboda into a busy evening. She finished with 11 saves, including six in the second half.
“We outshot them badly, and we out-cornered them badly,” Winslow said. “The game was ugly, which was to their advantage. The goalkeeper situation came to bite us on the second goal, but that’s inexperience. The first 20 minutes we had two (shots) we needed to put away, but that’s youth.
“We’re going to miss all of our seniors. Mia is one of these kids who wants to be part of the team and work hard. For Claire, Lauren and Sarah ... they’re good players. But the future is very bright. The class coming in is even better. The group coming in is dynamite.”
St. Francis was the aggressor in the opening 16 minutes, but Swoboda quelled the attack with several impressive saves. She stopped a potential goal on St. Francis midfielder Claire Reinke’s shot just five minutes into the game.
Wheaton Academy relied on Swoboda, a senior with a ton of big-game experience. She said she tried to buckle down during the tough first 20 minutes.
“It definitely gives me more confidence at the beginning of the game,” Swoboda said. “It happens so fast sometimes that you barely know what you’re doing, but it was really fun to be able to get that (early) save. It’s tough coming back from a goal early on. It gets the team down, so I was so happy to make that save for my team.”
And she was far from done. The keeper made two saves in a 41-second sequence, causing the crowd to stand up and applaud. She tipped a shot over the crossbar and then added another save after losing control of the ball but recovering it just in time.
Swoboda said she felt relief following the win, especially after losing to the Spartans last week.
“It feels so good to come back and show we were ready,” she said. “It was nice to play them in the first game. We had a fresh view of them, knew what was coming and able to prepare for them. It’s tough to get the first (playoff) win.”
Lebo did not want to see the game go into overtime. Immediately after the full-time victory, she left with a teammate for another school function
The senior was in the right place at the right time to give the Warriors their 2-0 lead. Haleigh Manske’s free kick took a big bounce, which caused some confusion. That gave Lebo a tap-in at the goal line.
St. Francis, demonstrated the very definition of urgency, when the Spartans got the goal back 14 seconds later.
Reinke beat Swoboda to the ball just inside the box in the corner and centered a pass to Chrustowski for an easy finish.
“I just kept running toward (the ball), because I didn’t know if she had it yet. So, a good outcome came out of that play,” Reinke said of the goal. “I was really happy that we played until the very end.
“We had a lot of opportunities we could’ve finished. I know I had a couple I could’ve put in. But overall, we played together. In a couple of years, this team is going to be amazing, even next year. I’m really excited to see where this team ends up.”
Swoboda credited Reinke for making a great play on the goal.
“I tried to get to the ball, but it was a 50/50, and we both had a touch on it. (I) was so close, but she got to it,” Swoboda said.
St. Francis nearly scored the equalizer in the 57th minute when the Reinke-to-Chrustowski connection almost delivered again. But Wheaton Academy junior defender Britta Love worked her way into the play and cleared the ball off the line.
Swoboda added a jump-save in the 60th minute to stop the last major threat.
St. Francis suffered a major blow when Ellie Bielenda suffered an injury in the opening minutes. Bielenda, a junior forward, scored the winning goal in the 77th minute in the previous meeting between the two teams.
After starting the season with a 2-7-1 record and dealing with countless injuries to go with a very young squad, St. Francis closed out the season with a flourish to earn a share of the title in the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division for its second-consecutive crown. The loss column looks better when it’s considered that four games were dropped against teams ranked ninth or better in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Senior Lauren Bruce said the future is bright for the Spartans.
“We didn’t give up and kept fighting,” Bruce said. “This is a tough loss, but we gave it our all today. We’re really grateful to have a full season. We really pushed everyone on our team to give it their all and compete with the really great teams we played throughout the season.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Elise Ward
D Alyssa Suriano
D Shannon Brown
D Adriana Suriano
D Sara Dziengel
MF Ellie Bielenda
MF Sophia Roszkowski
MF Elle Wainscott
MF Claire Reinke
F Lauren Bruce
F Paige Chrustowski
Wheaton Academy
GK Sara Swoboda
D Jillian Paulson
D Haleigh Manske
D Britta Love
D Lexi Rojek
MF Lily Lebo
MF Katelyn Schoepke
MF Emily Setran
MF Jocelyn Royce
F Anna Africa
F Eva DeSouza
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Lily Lebo, sr., MF, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
WA: Katelyn Schoepke (Lily Lebo), 29th minute
Second half
WA: Lily Lebo (Haleigh Manske), 54th minute
SF: Paige Chrustowski (Claire Reinke), 55th minute
payback vs. St. Francis
Warriors knock Spartans out of playoffs with 2-1 win
By Bobby Narang
LA GRANGE PARK — Five days ago, Wheaton Academy sophomore Katelyn Schoepke was not in attendance at her team’s final regular-season game against St. Francis.
Schoepke said it was hard to hear that the Warriors lost 2-1, but she was motivated for the rematch when the two local rivals squared off in Wednesday’s Class AA Nazareth Regional semifinal.
“I’ve just missed that one game all year,” Schoepke said. “I was so ready for this game.
“I wanted to be at that (last) game so bad, but my parents had family stuff. I was so looking forward to this game. It was hard, because I don’t like missing games in general.”
Schoepke showed her worth and desire by scoring an important goal, the second of her career, that helped spark the no. 5-seeded Warriors to a 2-1 win.
Tenth-seeded St. Francis defeated Wheaton Academy 2-1 last Friday, but the Warriors were missing three starters including Schoepke and classmate forward Anna Africa. The third was senior midfielder Sydney Abbott, who got back on the pitch for the win, but did not start Wednesday due to the lingering effects of the flu.
The Warriors (13-6-2) move forward in their quest to match last season’s run to the championship weekend. They play host Nazareth in the regional championship game on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
“We’ve not played Nazareth this year but we’ve seen them,” Wheaton Academy coach Maria Selvaggio said. “We know they have some speed and size upfront, similar to St. Francis. Our center backs and outside backs are very seasoned now. They’ve seen some of the best players in the state, so I’m not expecting to see anything different from what we’ve seen. We will be prepared.”
Schoepke opened up the scoring by knocking in a shot after a corner kick in the 29th minute. The ball bounced hard toward the middle about 24 yards out, which allowed her to set her feet. She drilled the ball into the far upper corner for a 1-0 lead off the assist from Lily Lebo.
Lebo added the eventual game-winning goal for the Warriors in the 54th minute.
“I’m excited for the regional (final),” Schoepke said. “It was nice to score, came off a corner and I was just hanging back in case it popped out. One of my teammates, Lily Lebo, fed me it. I was able to get a good shot. It was so exciting to score, especially since I’m more of a defensive player.
“We made sure we had a lot of energy and were quick to step to the ball and not let them get around, and we played with urgency. We played 50/50s and were there for everything.”
St. Francis coach Jim Winslow, who has won two state titles, said it was a tough defeat for his young team. Paige Chrustowski scored the Spartans’ lone goal, tapping in a shot just in front of the goal line in the 55th minute — just 14 seconds after Wheaton Academy took its 2-0 lead.
The Spartans (7-8-1) played with energy throughout the match, forcing Wheaton Academy goalie Sara Swoboda into a busy evening. She finished with 11 saves, including six in the second half.
“We outshot them badly, and we out-cornered them badly,” Winslow said. “The game was ugly, which was to their advantage. The goalkeeper situation came to bite us on the second goal, but that’s inexperience. The first 20 minutes we had two (shots) we needed to put away, but that’s youth.
“We’re going to miss all of our seniors. Mia is one of these kids who wants to be part of the team and work hard. For Claire, Lauren and Sarah ... they’re good players. But the future is very bright. The class coming in is even better. The group coming in is dynamite.”
St. Francis was the aggressor in the opening 16 minutes, but Swoboda quelled the attack with several impressive saves. She stopped a potential goal on St. Francis midfielder Claire Reinke’s shot just five minutes into the game.
Wheaton Academy relied on Swoboda, a senior with a ton of big-game experience. She said she tried to buckle down during the tough first 20 minutes.
“It definitely gives me more confidence at the beginning of the game,” Swoboda said. “It happens so fast sometimes that you barely know what you’re doing, but it was really fun to be able to get that (early) save. It’s tough coming back from a goal early on. It gets the team down, so I was so happy to make that save for my team.”
And she was far from done. The keeper made two saves in a 41-second sequence, causing the crowd to stand up and applaud. She tipped a shot over the crossbar and then added another save after losing control of the ball but recovering it just in time.
Swoboda said she felt relief following the win, especially after losing to the Spartans last week.
“It feels so good to come back and show we were ready,” she said. “It was nice to play them in the first game. We had a fresh view of them, knew what was coming and able to prepare for them. It’s tough to get the first (playoff) win.”
Lebo did not want to see the game go into overtime. Immediately after the full-time victory, she left with a teammate for another school function
The senior was in the right place at the right time to give the Warriors their 2-0 lead. Haleigh Manske’s free kick took a big bounce, which caused some confusion. That gave Lebo a tap-in at the goal line.
St. Francis, demonstrated the very definition of urgency, when the Spartans got the goal back 14 seconds later.
Reinke beat Swoboda to the ball just inside the box in the corner and centered a pass to Chrustowski for an easy finish.
“I just kept running toward (the ball), because I didn’t know if she had it yet. So, a good outcome came out of that play,” Reinke said of the goal. “I was really happy that we played until the very end.
“We had a lot of opportunities we could’ve finished. I know I had a couple I could’ve put in. But overall, we played together. In a couple of years, this team is going to be amazing, even next year. I’m really excited to see where this team ends up.”
Swoboda credited Reinke for making a great play on the goal.
“I tried to get to the ball, but it was a 50/50, and we both had a touch on it. (I) was so close, but she got to it,” Swoboda said.
St. Francis nearly scored the equalizer in the 57th minute when the Reinke-to-Chrustowski connection almost delivered again. But Wheaton Academy junior defender Britta Love worked her way into the play and cleared the ball off the line.
Swoboda added a jump-save in the 60th minute to stop the last major threat.
St. Francis suffered a major blow when Ellie Bielenda suffered an injury in the opening minutes. Bielenda, a junior forward, scored the winning goal in the 77th minute in the previous meeting between the two teams.
After starting the season with a 2-7-1 record and dealing with countless injuries to go with a very young squad, St. Francis closed out the season with a flourish to earn a share of the title in the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division for its second-consecutive crown. The loss column looks better when it’s considered that four games were dropped against teams ranked ninth or better in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Senior Lauren Bruce said the future is bright for the Spartans.
“We didn’t give up and kept fighting,” Bruce said. “This is a tough loss, but we gave it our all today. We’re really grateful to have a full season. We really pushed everyone on our team to give it their all and compete with the really great teams we played throughout the season.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK Elise Ward
D Alyssa Suriano
D Shannon Brown
D Adriana Suriano
D Sara Dziengel
MF Ellie Bielenda
MF Sophia Roszkowski
MF Elle Wainscott
MF Claire Reinke
F Lauren Bruce
F Paige Chrustowski
Wheaton Academy
GK Sara Swoboda
D Jillian Paulson
D Haleigh Manske
D Britta Love
D Lexi Rojek
MF Lily Lebo
MF Katelyn Schoepke
MF Emily Setran
MF Jocelyn Royce
F Anna Africa
F Eva DeSouza
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match:
Lily Lebo, sr., MF, Wheaton Academy
Scoring summary
First half
WA: Katelyn Schoepke (Lily Lebo), 29th minute
Second half
WA: Lily Lebo (Haleigh Manske), 54th minute
SF: Paige Chrustowski (Claire Reinke), 55th minute