Wheaton N. tops Wheaton A.
in offense-fueled battle
Moreno's 2nd tally gives Falcons 3-2 road win
By Ken Keenan
WEST CHICAGO -- High-flying offense was the theme in a nonconference thriller between Wheaton North and host Wheaton Academy on Tuesday night. North's Falcons had the final say, netting a late goal to prevail 3-2.
The action-packed affair swung like a pendulum, with Wheaton North (6-5-1) grabbing a 2-0 lead in the early going and the Warriors (6-6-0) soaring back to forge a 2-2 tie before the break.
Wheaton North freshman forward Olivia Moreno's second tally of the match was the game-winner, coming with 10:32 remaining in the second half. The lightning-fast Moreno, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, also opened the scoring with a rebound goal in the 8th minute.
Falcons senior mid Sarah Brcka upped the lead to 2-0 lead with a tip-in from short-range in the 26th minute. Relentless Wheaton Academy sophomore midfielder Amy Alexander then scored a pair of goals, in the 31st minute and and 36th minutes, to knot the score at 2-2.
"It was an entertaining game," said Wheaton North head coach Tim McEvilly. "We can be dangerous offensively, so we look to go forward. If you're quick going forward, that creates space to attack."
In turn, McEvilly said he wanted the Falcons to limit Warriors senior mid Sophia Lindquist to "as few touches as possible. Collectively we did a fantastic job of that. Both of (Wheaton Academy's) goals were kind of mistakes on our part, not in the flow of the play. The idea was to stop their dangerous players and allow ours to make the difference."
Wheaton Academy skipper Jeff Brooke said, "It was a good game. I'm proud of us for responding down 2-0. I really like how we were playing. We gave up some goals, but we fought hard. These girls are a courageous group. I'm very proud of 'em. I just would have liked the result."
Wheaton North's most dangerous players, Moreno and sophomore forward Kayla Shebar, teamed up for the Falcons' first goal. Settling a ball deep on the right side, Shebar sent a cross to the box that was juggled and dropped by Warriors sophomore goalkeeper Julia Liposky. Moreno pounced on the rebound and popped it in for a 1-0 lead.
Back came the Warriors, who controlled play for the next several minutes to create numerous chances in search of the tying marker. In the 14th minute, Alexander fired a 30-yard rocket that sailed over the crossbar, and she also was stopped by Falcons junior keeper Hanley Elftmann on a 40-yard blast with 27:20 to go in the opening session.
Less than a minute later, Wheaton Academy's Lindquist missed wide-right from 30 yards on the right side. Soon after, Warriors senior forward Rebecca Steininger sent a corner kick to junior mid Emma Goebel for a header that Elftmann stopped.
The Falcons keeper also had the answer for Goebel's 30-yard missile from the right side with 17:10 left in the first half.
A 50-yard free kick by sophomore midfielder Camille Cote led to Wheaton North's second goal. After nabbing the ball in-close on the left side, fellow sophomore mid Izzy Fenn barely toe-tipped it to Brcka, who finished with a tap-in.
Wheaton Academy answered with 9:18 left in the first half when Alexander secured a loose ball on the right side and beat Elftmann with a low strike from 10 yards on the right side. The Warriors tied it less than five minutes later on a well-placed corner by Steininger that was finished by Alexander with a left-footed tap-in on the doorstep.
"It felt good to tie it," Alexander said. "I really wanted to get us going, to keep fighting, being down 2-0. We were still in it. Once we tied, we came together even more as a team. There was more motivation."
The second half featured plenty of opportunities for both sides, starting with a charge by Shebar through two Warriors defenders for a try that missed wide-right in the 47th minute. In the 49th minute, a long run by Moreno down the left side resulted in a left-footed shot by Falcons junior forward Riley Winckler that zoomed wide-left.
In the 52nd minute, Lindquist nearly scored for Wheaton Academy when her short try from the right side deflected off the foot of a Wheaton North defender and rolled barely wide of the far post.
Liposky then made a pair of saves in the 53rd minute to thwart Wheaton North's Shebar, who unleashed a solid a left-footed shot in-close, as well as Falcons freshman mid Claudia Kim on a 25-yard blast.
The dizzying pace continued. Alexander missed just high from 30 yards in the 55th minute; Wheaton North's Fenn sent a shot wide-left in the 61st minute; Elftmann snuffed a 10-yard try by Steininger with 13:30 remaining; and Shebar narrowly missed the far post with a drive from the left side in the 71st minute.
Soon after, North's Moreno finished in front with a knee-high kick to knock a bouncing ball past Liposky for the 3-2 lead. Shebar, who started the play with a nice curl move, earned the assist.
"It was frustrating losing that two-goal lead," Moreno said. "But we knew we had to get it done. As forwards up-top, the mentality is to score goals. There was never a time we thought we'd never get another goal."
Added Brcka: "It was the most energetic game of the year. We had to fight adversity ... had to keep going."
Shebar said, "At halftime, we knew the intensity would increase in the second half. We had to bind together."
Wheaton Academy certainly matched that approach. They simply fell a bit short.
"I'm proud of the way we kept pushing," Steininger said. "We worked hard, overall. But it's a tough loss."
Added Alexander: "Even though the score doesn't show it, we controlled a lot of the game. Just unlucky in the end."
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
G: Hanley Elftmann
D: Rachel Brady
D: Amanda Tegart
D: Kristen Szumski
D: Audrey Cicmanec
M: Sarah Brcka
M: Claudia Kim
M: Anna Warfield
F: Kayla Shebar
F: Olivia Moreno
F: Riley Winckler
Wheaton Academy
G: Julia Liposky
D: Sarah VanderKlok
D: Kat Sezonov
D: Kelsey Bowling
D: Lydia Sedjo
M: Faith Pollino
M: Emma Goebel
M: A.C. Hardy
M: Sophia Lindquist
M: Amy Alexander
F: Rebecca Steininger
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Olivia Moreno, fr., F, Wheaton North
Officials: Kelly McLean, Scott Lichtfuss, John O'Bryan
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton North: Olivia Moreno (assisted by Kayla Shebar) in 8th minute
Wheaton North: Sarah Brcka (assisted by Izzy Fenn) in 26th minute
Wheaton Academy: Amy Alexander (unassisted) in 31st minute
Wheaton Academy: Alexander (assisted by Rebecca Steininger) in 36th minute
Second half
Wheaton North: Moreno (assisted by Shebar) in 70th minute
in offense-fueled battle
Moreno's 2nd tally gives Falcons 3-2 road win
By Ken Keenan
WEST CHICAGO -- High-flying offense was the theme in a nonconference thriller between Wheaton North and host Wheaton Academy on Tuesday night. North's Falcons had the final say, netting a late goal to prevail 3-2.
The action-packed affair swung like a pendulum, with Wheaton North (6-5-1) grabbing a 2-0 lead in the early going and the Warriors (6-6-0) soaring back to forge a 2-2 tie before the break.
Wheaton North freshman forward Olivia Moreno's second tally of the match was the game-winner, coming with 10:32 remaining in the second half. The lightning-fast Moreno, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match, also opened the scoring with a rebound goal in the 8th minute.
Falcons senior mid Sarah Brcka upped the lead to 2-0 lead with a tip-in from short-range in the 26th minute. Relentless Wheaton Academy sophomore midfielder Amy Alexander then scored a pair of goals, in the 31st minute and and 36th minutes, to knot the score at 2-2.
"It was an entertaining game," said Wheaton North head coach Tim McEvilly. "We can be dangerous offensively, so we look to go forward. If you're quick going forward, that creates space to attack."
In turn, McEvilly said he wanted the Falcons to limit Warriors senior mid Sophia Lindquist to "as few touches as possible. Collectively we did a fantastic job of that. Both of (Wheaton Academy's) goals were kind of mistakes on our part, not in the flow of the play. The idea was to stop their dangerous players and allow ours to make the difference."
Wheaton Academy skipper Jeff Brooke said, "It was a good game. I'm proud of us for responding down 2-0. I really like how we were playing. We gave up some goals, but we fought hard. These girls are a courageous group. I'm very proud of 'em. I just would have liked the result."
Wheaton North's most dangerous players, Moreno and sophomore forward Kayla Shebar, teamed up for the Falcons' first goal. Settling a ball deep on the right side, Shebar sent a cross to the box that was juggled and dropped by Warriors sophomore goalkeeper Julia Liposky. Moreno pounced on the rebound and popped it in for a 1-0 lead.
Back came the Warriors, who controlled play for the next several minutes to create numerous chances in search of the tying marker. In the 14th minute, Alexander fired a 30-yard rocket that sailed over the crossbar, and she also was stopped by Falcons junior keeper Hanley Elftmann on a 40-yard blast with 27:20 to go in the opening session.
Less than a minute later, Wheaton Academy's Lindquist missed wide-right from 30 yards on the right side. Soon after, Warriors senior forward Rebecca Steininger sent a corner kick to junior mid Emma Goebel for a header that Elftmann stopped.
The Falcons keeper also had the answer for Goebel's 30-yard missile from the right side with 17:10 left in the first half.
A 50-yard free kick by sophomore midfielder Camille Cote led to Wheaton North's second goal. After nabbing the ball in-close on the left side, fellow sophomore mid Izzy Fenn barely toe-tipped it to Brcka, who finished with a tap-in.
Wheaton Academy answered with 9:18 left in the first half when Alexander secured a loose ball on the right side and beat Elftmann with a low strike from 10 yards on the right side. The Warriors tied it less than five minutes later on a well-placed corner by Steininger that was finished by Alexander with a left-footed tap-in on the doorstep.
"It felt good to tie it," Alexander said. "I really wanted to get us going, to keep fighting, being down 2-0. We were still in it. Once we tied, we came together even more as a team. There was more motivation."
The second half featured plenty of opportunities for both sides, starting with a charge by Shebar through two Warriors defenders for a try that missed wide-right in the 47th minute. In the 49th minute, a long run by Moreno down the left side resulted in a left-footed shot by Falcons junior forward Riley Winckler that zoomed wide-left.
In the 52nd minute, Lindquist nearly scored for Wheaton Academy when her short try from the right side deflected off the foot of a Wheaton North defender and rolled barely wide of the far post.
Liposky then made a pair of saves in the 53rd minute to thwart Wheaton North's Shebar, who unleashed a solid a left-footed shot in-close, as well as Falcons freshman mid Claudia Kim on a 25-yard blast.
The dizzying pace continued. Alexander missed just high from 30 yards in the 55th minute; Wheaton North's Fenn sent a shot wide-left in the 61st minute; Elftmann snuffed a 10-yard try by Steininger with 13:30 remaining; and Shebar narrowly missed the far post with a drive from the left side in the 71st minute.
Soon after, North's Moreno finished in front with a knee-high kick to knock a bouncing ball past Liposky for the 3-2 lead. Shebar, who started the play with a nice curl move, earned the assist.
"It was frustrating losing that two-goal lead," Moreno said. "But we knew we had to get it done. As forwards up-top, the mentality is to score goals. There was never a time we thought we'd never get another goal."
Added Brcka: "It was the most energetic game of the year. We had to fight adversity ... had to keep going."
Shebar said, "At halftime, we knew the intensity would increase in the second half. We had to bind together."
Wheaton Academy certainly matched that approach. They simply fell a bit short.
"I'm proud of the way we kept pushing," Steininger said. "We worked hard, overall. But it's a tough loss."
Added Alexander: "Even though the score doesn't show it, we controlled a lot of the game. Just unlucky in the end."
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
G: Hanley Elftmann
D: Rachel Brady
D: Amanda Tegart
D: Kristen Szumski
D: Audrey Cicmanec
M: Sarah Brcka
M: Claudia Kim
M: Anna Warfield
F: Kayla Shebar
F: Olivia Moreno
F: Riley Winckler
Wheaton Academy
G: Julia Liposky
D: Sarah VanderKlok
D: Kat Sezonov
D: Kelsey Bowling
D: Lydia Sedjo
M: Faith Pollino
M: Emma Goebel
M: A.C. Hardy
M: Sophia Lindquist
M: Amy Alexander
F: Rebecca Steininger
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Olivia Moreno, fr., F, Wheaton North
Officials: Kelly McLean, Scott Lichtfuss, John O'Bryan
Scoring summary
First half
Wheaton North: Olivia Moreno (assisted by Kayla Shebar) in 8th minute
Wheaton North: Sarah Brcka (assisted by Izzy Fenn) in 26th minute
Wheaton Academy: Amy Alexander (unassisted) in 31st minute
Wheaton Academy: Alexander (assisted by Rebecca Steininger) in 36th minute
Second half
Wheaton North: Moreno (assisted by Shebar) in 70th minute