St. Charles North blanks WW South
North Stars post impressive 4-0 win on Senior Night
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES --- For the St. Charles North seniors, Tuesday’s combined regular season and DuKane Conference finale was an evening to remember.
Pardon the pun, but several shined in starring roles during the North Stars dominant 4-0 shutout of Wheaton Warrenville South.
Juniors Colin Nelson, Andrew Kraft and Matt Polovin, plus sophomores Brandon Collins and Sam Strader were elevated from the JV squad to varsity for the game.
Historically, the match will be remembered for the stellar play and leadership of seven North Stars who were honored during Senior Night pregame festivities.
Vito Lagioia got things headed the way the seniors wanted with a display of ball possession that allowed him to cut back toward the middle and launch a 17-yarder that sailed into the right side of the goal. That was his sixth goal and second game-winner for the season and earned him Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match acclaim.
“For myself and the rest of the seniors getting a victory in our last home match was the best way to show the energy and dedication we’ve put into the program and this year,” Lagioia said. “Seeing the ball coming I could tell their outside back couldn’t reach it, plus I was able to cut back to take advantage of some open space. I saw the goalie going away and just fired.”
The win helped North (11-5-1) erase the aftertaste of last week’s 2-0 loss at Batavia, and it enabled Tuesday’s hosts to finish their inaugural year of DuKane play with a 3-3-1 ledger that will be good for no less than fourth place.
Wheaton Warrenville South (5-8-1) was hoping to continue the momentum from back-to-back league wins, but instead dipped to 2-3-1 heading into a Thursday visit from Lake Park. The Tigers can play spoilers in the rescheduled match because the Lancers (4-1-1) are trying to match Wheaton North’s 5-1-1 DKC record to tie for the league crown.
Lagioia’s match served a spark for North which added to its lead a mere 32 seconds later. North Stars junior midfielder Nolan Sinnaeve blasted a ball from 22 yards that appeared to take a bad hop off the turf making it too hard for Tiger goalie Joe Adamek to stop.
Shortly after the restart, South’s Sumani Husseini raced down the left sideline getting enough ahead of a defender to cut goalward as he neared the end line, unfortunately for the Tiger senior a last touch proved a tad too much and resulted in a North goal kick. Husseini worked tirelessly throughout his
time on the field but couldn't find a break.
The Tigers’ Ryan Dufty had a dangerous free kick chance from the left wing but the 28-yard boot sailed high. With 5:52 to play before halftime, Sam Schlegel had a monster 43-yard direct kick from the far left side but North senior keeper Nick Ragano snared it. He did the same just over a minute later when Jordy
Morales launched a similar bomb from the right sideline.
Less than a minute into the second half, South’s Paul Thalmann drove a corner kick through the box that had the Tigers bench screaming for a hand ball violation. But with no whistle there was no chance to cut the deficit in half. South had a threatening through ball sail into the box, however Ragano dropped to his knees to make the defensive catch.
At the other end, Adamek was equal to the task of hauling in a tricky carom from a shot off the foot of North senior Adam Bear. Lagioia had back-to-back corner kicks but Adamek soared to catch the second. There was 26:03 left in regulation when Husseini attempted to volley a bouncing ball but missed it and sat for an extra second with a look of frustration.
In the meantime it was North’s turn to attack and Lagioia earned his third assist for the season setting up Bear for a sharp 12-yard header at 55:30.
“I saw the deflection, and Vito sending the ball back. I just wanted it more than their keeper, so I chipped it past him,” Bear explained. “Scoring in a match rather than practice is so much better. The feeling is greater because of how your teammates react and being at home, hearing our fans.”
It marked Bear’s third goal for the year and gave him another opportunity to use his unique celebration.
“My routine is to pretend to shoot off two guns and then holster them. It’s something that makes my teammates happy,” Bear said.
“I’ve been close friends (with Bear) for a long time, and I know he feels the same hunger I do to contribute with a goal,” Lagioia said. “Seeing the chance, I really wanted to find him. Getting to link up with him is something else that makes this 100 percent more special.”
The scoring was capped off with only 5:09 remaining when the younger Sinnaeve, sophomore Jared, nailed a 41-yard cracker that Adamek got his gloves on, but not quite enough to keep it from trickling into the back of the net.
“No question they are a very good team, and they’ll make you pay for any mistakes,” Wheaton Warrenville South assistant coach Aaron Press said. “Unfortunately we had a couple mental lapses back-to-back and then you’re faced with digging out of a hole. We had some good possessions in the middle, but just couldn’t connect in the final third.”
Veteran Tigers coach Guy Callipari wasn’t in attendance but instead was pacing outside of a maternity ward until 11 p.m. when grandfather was added to his resume. Brinley Rose Callipari, at 8 lbs., 12 ounces and 21 inches, made father Brayden Callipari (DePaul University soccer player) and mother Racheal as happy as proud grandparents Dyann and Guy.
On a far less pleasant medical front, senior co-captain Declin Ermer was also missing having given up his wisdom teeth.
“We were missing our best center back, so too often things just seemed empty,” Husseini noted.
“We were all off with our timing. Our pride wouldn’t let us quit or stop trying, but we’re capable of so much more.”
That was the case last week when South surprised St. Charles East with a 2-0 setback.
“We need to regroup and make certain we’re connecting better like we did in the two previous games,” Press said. “A lot of guys showed how much more dangerous we can be when we do a better job passing.
“I did think that our two outside backs, Sam (Schlegel) and Jordy (Morales), did a good a job limiting their skilled players from executing as they would have liked. And at times they also got involved on the attack.”
After the rescheduled match with Lake Park, 19th-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South is back in action on Saturday to play at no. 15-seed Elk Grove to start postseason play. The winner moves on in the Hoffman Estates Regional to face York, the third seed within the Addison Trail Sectional structure.
St. Charles North is in the same sectional, but the four-seed North Stars face 13-seed Glenbard North in Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. first game in the St. Charles East Regional. An encore victory over the Panthers, the North Stars posted a 3-0 DKC win earlier this season, would lead to Saturday title match against either rival East,
a five seed, 11th-seeded Glenbard East.
St. Charles North will soldier on after the dismissal of seven players from the team.
District 303 spokesperson Carol Smith provided the following response: “We are unable to discuss student discipline matters and have no additional information to share.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Joe Adamek
D Sam Shlegel
D Jackson Moran
D Jared Coria
D Jordy Morales
DM Kevin Stumbris
DM Paul Thalmann
OM Nick McGrath
OM Cristian Munoz
OM Ryan Dufty
F Sumani Husseini
St. Charles North
GK Nico Ragano
D Nicky Sommer
D Joey Sommer
D Xander Jao
D Nate Hanselman
M Jared Sinnaeve
M Michael Cooke
M Matt Beaulieu
M Vito Lagioia
F Logan Michels
F Adam Bear
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Vito Lagioia, sr. F, St. Charles North
Referees: Vinh Trimh (center), Rabindra Narayan, Alex Alvarro
Game summary
St. Charles North 4, Wheaton Warrenville South 0
WWS 0 0 --- 0 (5-8-1 / DKC 2-3-1)
SCN 2 2 --- 4 (11-5-1 / DKC: 3-3-1)
Scoring
First half
SCN – Lagioia cut back to middle for 17-yard rocket (unassisted), 17:58 gone
SCN – N. Sinnaeve right of center 22-yard blast with hard hop (unassisted), 18:30 gone
Second half
SCN – Bear 12-yard solid header (Lagioia assist), 55:30 gone
SCN – J. Sinnaeve 39-yard cannon volley (unassisted), 74:51 gone
Shots
WWS 5 – 3 --- 8
SCN 10 – 9 --- 19
Shots on goal
WWS 3 – 0 --- 3
SCN 5 – 5 --- 10
Saves (GK)
WWS (Adamek, 77 min., 2 saves, Coria 1) 3 - (Adamek, 3, Chavez, 3 min.) 3 --- 6
SCN (Ragano 77min) 3 - (Curran 3min) 0 --- 3
Corner kicks
WWS 0 – 1 --- 1
SCN 0 – 2 --- 2
Offsides
WWS 0 – 0 --- 0
SCN 0 – 1 --- 1
North Stars post impressive 4-0 win on Senior Night
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES --- For the St. Charles North seniors, Tuesday’s combined regular season and DuKane Conference finale was an evening to remember.
Pardon the pun, but several shined in starring roles during the North Stars dominant 4-0 shutout of Wheaton Warrenville South.
Juniors Colin Nelson, Andrew Kraft and Matt Polovin, plus sophomores Brandon Collins and Sam Strader were elevated from the JV squad to varsity for the game.
Historically, the match will be remembered for the stellar play and leadership of seven North Stars who were honored during Senior Night pregame festivities.
Vito Lagioia got things headed the way the seniors wanted with a display of ball possession that allowed him to cut back toward the middle and launch a 17-yarder that sailed into the right side of the goal. That was his sixth goal and second game-winner for the season and earned him Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match acclaim.
“For myself and the rest of the seniors getting a victory in our last home match was the best way to show the energy and dedication we’ve put into the program and this year,” Lagioia said. “Seeing the ball coming I could tell their outside back couldn’t reach it, plus I was able to cut back to take advantage of some open space. I saw the goalie going away and just fired.”
The win helped North (11-5-1) erase the aftertaste of last week’s 2-0 loss at Batavia, and it enabled Tuesday’s hosts to finish their inaugural year of DuKane play with a 3-3-1 ledger that will be good for no less than fourth place.
Wheaton Warrenville South (5-8-1) was hoping to continue the momentum from back-to-back league wins, but instead dipped to 2-3-1 heading into a Thursday visit from Lake Park. The Tigers can play spoilers in the rescheduled match because the Lancers (4-1-1) are trying to match Wheaton North’s 5-1-1 DKC record to tie for the league crown.
Lagioia’s match served a spark for North which added to its lead a mere 32 seconds later. North Stars junior midfielder Nolan Sinnaeve blasted a ball from 22 yards that appeared to take a bad hop off the turf making it too hard for Tiger goalie Joe Adamek to stop.
Shortly after the restart, South’s Sumani Husseini raced down the left sideline getting enough ahead of a defender to cut goalward as he neared the end line, unfortunately for the Tiger senior a last touch proved a tad too much and resulted in a North goal kick. Husseini worked tirelessly throughout his
time on the field but couldn't find a break.
The Tigers’ Ryan Dufty had a dangerous free kick chance from the left wing but the 28-yard boot sailed high. With 5:52 to play before halftime, Sam Schlegel had a monster 43-yard direct kick from the far left side but North senior keeper Nick Ragano snared it. He did the same just over a minute later when Jordy
Morales launched a similar bomb from the right sideline.
Less than a minute into the second half, South’s Paul Thalmann drove a corner kick through the box that had the Tigers bench screaming for a hand ball violation. But with no whistle there was no chance to cut the deficit in half. South had a threatening through ball sail into the box, however Ragano dropped to his knees to make the defensive catch.
At the other end, Adamek was equal to the task of hauling in a tricky carom from a shot off the foot of North senior Adam Bear. Lagioia had back-to-back corner kicks but Adamek soared to catch the second. There was 26:03 left in regulation when Husseini attempted to volley a bouncing ball but missed it and sat for an extra second with a look of frustration.
In the meantime it was North’s turn to attack and Lagioia earned his third assist for the season setting up Bear for a sharp 12-yard header at 55:30.
“I saw the deflection, and Vito sending the ball back. I just wanted it more than their keeper, so I chipped it past him,” Bear explained. “Scoring in a match rather than practice is so much better. The feeling is greater because of how your teammates react and being at home, hearing our fans.”
It marked Bear’s third goal for the year and gave him another opportunity to use his unique celebration.
“My routine is to pretend to shoot off two guns and then holster them. It’s something that makes my teammates happy,” Bear said.
“I’ve been close friends (with Bear) for a long time, and I know he feels the same hunger I do to contribute with a goal,” Lagioia said. “Seeing the chance, I really wanted to find him. Getting to link up with him is something else that makes this 100 percent more special.”
The scoring was capped off with only 5:09 remaining when the younger Sinnaeve, sophomore Jared, nailed a 41-yard cracker that Adamek got his gloves on, but not quite enough to keep it from trickling into the back of the net.
“No question they are a very good team, and they’ll make you pay for any mistakes,” Wheaton Warrenville South assistant coach Aaron Press said. “Unfortunately we had a couple mental lapses back-to-back and then you’re faced with digging out of a hole. We had some good possessions in the middle, but just couldn’t connect in the final third.”
Veteran Tigers coach Guy Callipari wasn’t in attendance but instead was pacing outside of a maternity ward until 11 p.m. when grandfather was added to his resume. Brinley Rose Callipari, at 8 lbs., 12 ounces and 21 inches, made father Brayden Callipari (DePaul University soccer player) and mother Racheal as happy as proud grandparents Dyann and Guy.
On a far less pleasant medical front, senior co-captain Declin Ermer was also missing having given up his wisdom teeth.
“We were missing our best center back, so too often things just seemed empty,” Husseini noted.
“We were all off with our timing. Our pride wouldn’t let us quit or stop trying, but we’re capable of so much more.”
That was the case last week when South surprised St. Charles East with a 2-0 setback.
“We need to regroup and make certain we’re connecting better like we did in the two previous games,” Press said. “A lot of guys showed how much more dangerous we can be when we do a better job passing.
“I did think that our two outside backs, Sam (Schlegel) and Jordy (Morales), did a good a job limiting their skilled players from executing as they would have liked. And at times they also got involved on the attack.”
After the rescheduled match with Lake Park, 19th-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South is back in action on Saturday to play at no. 15-seed Elk Grove to start postseason play. The winner moves on in the Hoffman Estates Regional to face York, the third seed within the Addison Trail Sectional structure.
St. Charles North is in the same sectional, but the four-seed North Stars face 13-seed Glenbard North in Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. first game in the St. Charles East Regional. An encore victory over the Panthers, the North Stars posted a 3-0 DKC win earlier this season, would lead to Saturday title match against either rival East,
a five seed, 11th-seeded Glenbard East.
St. Charles North will soldier on after the dismissal of seven players from the team.
District 303 spokesperson Carol Smith provided the following response: “We are unable to discuss student discipline matters and have no additional information to share.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Joe Adamek
D Sam Shlegel
D Jackson Moran
D Jared Coria
D Jordy Morales
DM Kevin Stumbris
DM Paul Thalmann
OM Nick McGrath
OM Cristian Munoz
OM Ryan Dufty
F Sumani Husseini
St. Charles North
GK Nico Ragano
D Nicky Sommer
D Joey Sommer
D Xander Jao
D Nate Hanselman
M Jared Sinnaeve
M Michael Cooke
M Matt Beaulieu
M Vito Lagioia
F Logan Michels
F Adam Bear
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Vito Lagioia, sr. F, St. Charles North
Referees: Vinh Trimh (center), Rabindra Narayan, Alex Alvarro
Game summary
St. Charles North 4, Wheaton Warrenville South 0
WWS 0 0 --- 0 (5-8-1 / DKC 2-3-1)
SCN 2 2 --- 4 (11-5-1 / DKC: 3-3-1)
Scoring
First half
SCN – Lagioia cut back to middle for 17-yard rocket (unassisted), 17:58 gone
SCN – N. Sinnaeve right of center 22-yard blast with hard hop (unassisted), 18:30 gone
Second half
SCN – Bear 12-yard solid header (Lagioia assist), 55:30 gone
SCN – J. Sinnaeve 39-yard cannon volley (unassisted), 74:51 gone
Shots
WWS 5 – 3 --- 8
SCN 10 – 9 --- 19
Shots on goal
WWS 3 – 0 --- 3
SCN 5 – 5 --- 10
Saves (GK)
WWS (Adamek, 77 min., 2 saves, Coria 1) 3 - (Adamek, 3, Chavez, 3 min.) 3 --- 6
SCN (Ragano 77min) 3 - (Curran 3min) 0 --- 3
Corner kicks
WWS 0 – 1 --- 1
SCN 0 – 2 --- 2
Offsides
WWS 0 – 0 --- 0
SCN 0 – 1 --- 1