Wheaton North angles to win at Lake Park
Senior F Pau’s mind-bending goal leads Falcons to 4-2 victory
By Bill McLean
ROSELLE — Wheaton North senior forward Thang Pau admitted Saturday morning that he didn’t exactly ace geometry class.
But you never would have believed him, based on the seemingly impossible angle from which he chose to strike his club’s first goal in Wheaton North’s 4-2 defeat of host Lake Park on a day postcard photographers pray for.
Thang, with his team trailing 1-0 in the 39th minute of the DuKane Conference clash, got downright Euclidean after collecting a throw-in from junior back Lucas Klingler and
dribbling down to an area normally used for the launch of crosses.
His laser, though, somehow entered the goal via a far-post, upper-90 route, stunning just about everyone at Krupke Memorial Field.
Those who didn’t utter, “Are you kidding me?” must have at least thought it.
“Insane,” Wheaton North junior forward Josh Simon said of the tally that came three minutes after Lake Park senior midfielder Nick Gironda’s goal. “There’s no way I thought that was going in. Not at that angle.
“I wanted to celebrate with PaPu, but I couldn’t because I was on the bench at the time.”
The otherworldly goal made Wheaton North’s acting coach Joe Klingelhoffer scrap the halftime speech he had begun to conceive in the waning moments of the first 40.
“That goal was pretty helpful and meant we wouldn’t have to chase at the beginning of the second half,” said Klingelhoffer, who filled in for Falcons head coach Rob Stassen (family matter).
The 10-minute intermission failed to abate any of the momentum that Pau’s memorable goal had established.
Wheaton North (6-5-2, 3-1-0 in the DKC) needed only five minutes to secure a lead it would not relinquish.
Falcons junior midfielder Carter Evans started a chaotic sequence with a free kick. The ball descended toward a crowded box in front of Lancers senior goalkeeper Andrew Swacha (seven saves). The ball pinballed here and there before banging the crossbar. Lake Park backs attempted to execute clears a number of times, setting the stage for Wheaton North’s Tim Dulzer to soar — picture a filled-out, ascending pogo stick — and head a five-yard shot past Swacha.
Reserve senior forward David Kam provided the assist amid the frenzy.
“We were disorganized there,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said. “We had opportunities to clear; we did not. You can’t quit in that area; we did and Wheaton North did not.
“That stings a little,” the coach added after his crew slipped to 7-6-3, 2-2-1 in the DKC. “Wheaton North outfought us there. Wheaton North had better fight in them.”
The visitors then poured it on atop the grass pitch, notching a pair of goals in a two-minute span. Wheaton North junior Josh Simon — everywhere all at once, or so it seemed and the easy pick for the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor — made a 1-v-1 steal, dribbled a few feet and then crushed a shot from just above the top of the 18 in the 56th minute to make it a 3-1 match.
“Josh stayed aggressive immediately after his steal,” Klingelhoffer noted. “I liked his energy, all of our guys’ energy, in the second half. That type of play helped us create opportunities.”
Wheaton North sophomore forward Edgar Carmona widened the advantage to 4-1 shortly thereafter, getting a feed from senior midfielder Max Riccelli before netting a 15-yard, near-post tally in minute 58.
“We came out hungry in the second half and stayed hungry,” Simon said.
The second-best treat for the eyes Saturday morning, after Pau’s sensational net jostler, might have been Lake Park’s first goal. Lancers senior center back Oscar Sagan initiated the 0-0 breaker at one end of the pitch, winning a tackle and then looking up milliseconds later to make the pass of the day.
Sagan served a lengthy ball to a sprinting Gironda, who solved winning keeper Joe Wakeman (four saves) with a 10-yard, near-post poke.
Another Sagan, an astronomer named Carl, wrote the book “Billons and Billions” in 1997.
Oscar Sagan’s assist total this fall, before Saturday, was zero.
“Big, big tackle by Oscar before his assist,” Crosby said.
Lake Park capped the scoring on the sun-splashed, mild Oct. 1 from the PK spot. Senior midfielder Devin Czeremuga converted after Max Bogucki, another senior midfielder, had drawn the foul.
Two days earlier, in Lake Park’s 3-1 defeat of host Batavia, Czeremuga dished the assist on Bogucki’s first goal of the season.
“They’ve had good connections lately,” Crosby said. “Max hasn’t seen a ton of minutes this fall, but he had a few shining moments for us the last couple of games.”
Crosby also praised Lancers senior back Joe Mangold for making the most of his minutes as a reserve.
Indispensable Wheaton North senior back Axel Leon earned plaudits from Klingelhoffer for often disrupting Lake Park’s possessions and triggering strong transitions.
Wheaton North visits Geneva — ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., in what will double as a Class 3A Conant Regional semifinal preview.
Wheaton North (seeded no. 11 in the St. Charles East sectional) will face Geneva (no. 5) in their state playoff opener at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19.
Lake Park visits Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Also slotted in the St. Charles East sectional, the Lancers (seeded no. 8), will host Glenbard North (no. 9) at its west campus in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19. Lake Park edged visiting Glenbard North 3-2 on Sept. 27.
Footnotes
Klingelhoffer will serve as Wheaton North’s acting coach for one more game, Tuesday night’s match at Geneva. … Wheaton North’s defeat of Lake Park on Saturday morning — the makeup date for a Sept. 20 rainout — was the Falcons’ fourth straight over the Lancers since the start of the 2021 season. They met in Hillner Classic games this fall and last fall. … Lake Park junior center back Jakub Tourillott, on Wheaton North’s three
unanswered goals in the second half: “That wasn’t us. We have to stay positive for the rest of the regular-season (three more games) and be ready to go in the playoffs.” … Wheaton North (3-1-0 in the DKC) trails no. 15 St. Charles East (5-0-0) by six points in the conference standings. … That’s a nap and a rap(per): Tourillott and Gironda had two completely different plans for after the game. “Sleep,” Tourillott said. “Go to a concert,”
Gironda said, referring to rapper Jack Harlow’s show at Credit Unit 1 Arena in Chicago.
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Joe Wakeman
D William Bonga
D Axel Leon
D Kyle Komro
D Lucas Klingler
MF Carter Evans
MF Carson Bilut
MF Tim Dulzer
MF Max Riccelli
F Edgar Carmona
F Josh Simon
Lake Park
GK Andrew Swacha
D Jakub Tourillott
D Elijah Matas
D Oscar Sagan
D Jack Tucci
MF Shane Donnelly
MF Nick Gironda
MF Rodrigo Diaz
MF Francesco Cardone
MF Devin Czeremuga
F Alessandro Scalera
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Josh Simon, jr., F, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
First half
Lake Park — Gironda (Sagan), 36’
Wheaton North — Pau (Klingler), 39’
Second half
Wheaton North — Dulzer (David Kam), 45’
Wheaton North — Simon (UA), 56’
Wheaton North — Carmona (Riccelli), 58’
Lake Park — Czeremuga (PK), 78’
Senior F Pau’s mind-bending goal leads Falcons to 4-2 victory
By Bill McLean
ROSELLE — Wheaton North senior forward Thang Pau admitted Saturday morning that he didn’t exactly ace geometry class.
But you never would have believed him, based on the seemingly impossible angle from which he chose to strike his club’s first goal in Wheaton North’s 4-2 defeat of host Lake Park on a day postcard photographers pray for.
Thang, with his team trailing 1-0 in the 39th minute of the DuKane Conference clash, got downright Euclidean after collecting a throw-in from junior back Lucas Klingler and
dribbling down to an area normally used for the launch of crosses.
His laser, though, somehow entered the goal via a far-post, upper-90 route, stunning just about everyone at Krupke Memorial Field.
Those who didn’t utter, “Are you kidding me?” must have at least thought it.
“Insane,” Wheaton North junior forward Josh Simon said of the tally that came three minutes after Lake Park senior midfielder Nick Gironda’s goal. “There’s no way I thought that was going in. Not at that angle.
“I wanted to celebrate with PaPu, but I couldn’t because I was on the bench at the time.”
The otherworldly goal made Wheaton North’s acting coach Joe Klingelhoffer scrap the halftime speech he had begun to conceive in the waning moments of the first 40.
“That goal was pretty helpful and meant we wouldn’t have to chase at the beginning of the second half,” said Klingelhoffer, who filled in for Falcons head coach Rob Stassen (family matter).
The 10-minute intermission failed to abate any of the momentum that Pau’s memorable goal had established.
Wheaton North (6-5-2, 3-1-0 in the DKC) needed only five minutes to secure a lead it would not relinquish.
Falcons junior midfielder Carter Evans started a chaotic sequence with a free kick. The ball descended toward a crowded box in front of Lancers senior goalkeeper Andrew Swacha (seven saves). The ball pinballed here and there before banging the crossbar. Lake Park backs attempted to execute clears a number of times, setting the stage for Wheaton North’s Tim Dulzer to soar — picture a filled-out, ascending pogo stick — and head a five-yard shot past Swacha.
Reserve senior forward David Kam provided the assist amid the frenzy.
“We were disorganized there,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said. “We had opportunities to clear; we did not. You can’t quit in that area; we did and Wheaton North did not.
“That stings a little,” the coach added after his crew slipped to 7-6-3, 2-2-1 in the DKC. “Wheaton North outfought us there. Wheaton North had better fight in them.”
The visitors then poured it on atop the grass pitch, notching a pair of goals in a two-minute span. Wheaton North junior Josh Simon — everywhere all at once, or so it seemed and the easy pick for the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor — made a 1-v-1 steal, dribbled a few feet and then crushed a shot from just above the top of the 18 in the 56th minute to make it a 3-1 match.
“Josh stayed aggressive immediately after his steal,” Klingelhoffer noted. “I liked his energy, all of our guys’ energy, in the second half. That type of play helped us create opportunities.”
Wheaton North sophomore forward Edgar Carmona widened the advantage to 4-1 shortly thereafter, getting a feed from senior midfielder Max Riccelli before netting a 15-yard, near-post tally in minute 58.
“We came out hungry in the second half and stayed hungry,” Simon said.
The second-best treat for the eyes Saturday morning, after Pau’s sensational net jostler, might have been Lake Park’s first goal. Lancers senior center back Oscar Sagan initiated the 0-0 breaker at one end of the pitch, winning a tackle and then looking up milliseconds later to make the pass of the day.
Sagan served a lengthy ball to a sprinting Gironda, who solved winning keeper Joe Wakeman (four saves) with a 10-yard, near-post poke.
Another Sagan, an astronomer named Carl, wrote the book “Billons and Billions” in 1997.
Oscar Sagan’s assist total this fall, before Saturday, was zero.
“Big, big tackle by Oscar before his assist,” Crosby said.
Lake Park capped the scoring on the sun-splashed, mild Oct. 1 from the PK spot. Senior midfielder Devin Czeremuga converted after Max Bogucki, another senior midfielder, had drawn the foul.
Two days earlier, in Lake Park’s 3-1 defeat of host Batavia, Czeremuga dished the assist on Bogucki’s first goal of the season.
“They’ve had good connections lately,” Crosby said. “Max hasn’t seen a ton of minutes this fall, but he had a few shining moments for us the last couple of games.”
Crosby also praised Lancers senior back Joe Mangold for making the most of his minutes as a reserve.
Indispensable Wheaton North senior back Axel Leon earned plaudits from Klingelhoffer for often disrupting Lake Park’s possessions and triggering strong transitions.
Wheaton North visits Geneva — ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., in what will double as a Class 3A Conant Regional semifinal preview.
Wheaton North (seeded no. 11 in the St. Charles East sectional) will face Geneva (no. 5) in their state playoff opener at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19.
Lake Park visits Wheaton Warrenville South on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Also slotted in the St. Charles East sectional, the Lancers (seeded no. 8), will host Glenbard North (no. 9) at its west campus in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19. Lake Park edged visiting Glenbard North 3-2 on Sept. 27.
Footnotes
Klingelhoffer will serve as Wheaton North’s acting coach for one more game, Tuesday night’s match at Geneva. … Wheaton North’s defeat of Lake Park on Saturday morning — the makeup date for a Sept. 20 rainout — was the Falcons’ fourth straight over the Lancers since the start of the 2021 season. They met in Hillner Classic games this fall and last fall. … Lake Park junior center back Jakub Tourillott, on Wheaton North’s three
unanswered goals in the second half: “That wasn’t us. We have to stay positive for the rest of the regular-season (three more games) and be ready to go in the playoffs.” … Wheaton North (3-1-0 in the DKC) trails no. 15 St. Charles East (5-0-0) by six points in the conference standings. … That’s a nap and a rap(per): Tourillott and Gironda had two completely different plans for after the game. “Sleep,” Tourillott said. “Go to a concert,”
Gironda said, referring to rapper Jack Harlow’s show at Credit Unit 1 Arena in Chicago.
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK Joe Wakeman
D William Bonga
D Axel Leon
D Kyle Komro
D Lucas Klingler
MF Carter Evans
MF Carson Bilut
MF Tim Dulzer
MF Max Riccelli
F Edgar Carmona
F Josh Simon
Lake Park
GK Andrew Swacha
D Jakub Tourillott
D Elijah Matas
D Oscar Sagan
D Jack Tucci
MF Shane Donnelly
MF Nick Gironda
MF Rodrigo Diaz
MF Francesco Cardone
MF Devin Czeremuga
F Alessandro Scalera
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Josh Simon, jr., F, Wheaton North
Scoring summary
First half
Lake Park — Gironda (Sagan), 36’
Wheaton North — Pau (Klingler), 39’
Second half
Wheaton North — Dulzer (David Kam), 45’
Wheaton North — Simon (UA), 56’
Wheaton North — Carmona (Riccelli), 58’
Lake Park — Czeremuga (PK), 78’