WWS tops Hoffman Estates,
gives Callipari landmark b-day win
Callipari marks 400th girls coaching victory in regional semi
By Curt Herron
GENEVA -- Tuesday's IHSA Class 3A Geneva Regional semifinal match against Hoffman Estates was a little different than most of the other 50-plus regional openers that J. Guy Callipari has coached during his successful career at Wheaton Warrenville South.
On his 61st birthday, his Tigers awarded the 2012 Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Famer with a well-played 5-0 victory which also happened to be the 400th victory as a girls coach for the native of London, Ontario, whose parents still live there. His father surprised him with a call just before the match began.
Callipari is believed to be just the ninth individual in IHSA history to win 400 or more matches coaching girls teams. He joins current coaches: Mark Longo, Notre Dame (Quincy); Jim Burnside, New Trier; Brian Papa, Bloom, Sandburg, Lincoln-Way, Lincoln-Way East, Downers Grove North); Ed Watson, Naperville Central; Joe Moreau, St. Charles, St. Charles East, Neuqua Valley; Jay Lipe, Glenwood; and Rick Prangen, Lemont; and retired coach Barry Jacobson, Downers Grove South; as a member of the exclusive club.
Callipari began coaching the Tigers boys in 1991 when the school was still Wheaton Central. He has led the girls program since 1995 and is believed to be one of just seven coaches who have won 300 or more matches in both girls and boys soccer.
Papa is the lone individual to win 400 in each sport. Prangen is the only other active coach who has 400 or more wins with girls and more than 300 with boys. Others who achieved that feat include: Andy Bitta, Libertyville; Tom Bower, Latin; Chris Phillips, Crystal Lake Central, Cary-Grove and Tim Dailey St. Charles, St. Francis.
If Waterloo beats Carterville on Friday in the Class AA Centralia Regional final, Bulldogs coach Chad Holden will joins the 300 club for the girls. He already has a membership card to that club for the boys.
Wheaton Warrenville South got off to a 3-4-2 start while mixing some veterans with a talented group of newcomers. The Tigers head into Friday's 4:30 p.m. Geneva Regional final against the host Vikings on a roll. They are 9-0-1 in the last 10 matches, have recorded seven shutouts in the span and yielded one goal in the other three matches.
"I think what we're accomplishing this season is an accumulation of creating a tradition of success through a template that they can see and understand," Callipari said. "We have to go back to the hundreds of girls that have played before this team to really understand where that comes from and how it has contributed all along to our ability to win games and compete.
“And at the end of the day, that's what we strive to do. I've just been fortunate to kind of watch it unfold over the course of time. And obviously you're in it for a long time because you're enjoying it. And the reason that you're enjoying it is because the players are of quality, and they're just great personalities and great people.
"I would definitely give credit to some of my mentors, like Andy Bitta, a Hall of Famer from Libertyville who I coached under for one year, and we won a state championship there. Tom Chmela at Evanston kind of brought me into the Chicagoland area. And I had great coaches under me who have been very supportive, and Gary Luckey has always been my voice of reason when I was young and still learning. He was there to guide me and mentor. It's been a combination of a lot of things.
"And the community of Wheaton Warrenville has always been supportive. As high school coaches, we are the by-product of all of the work that they do with four-, five- and six-year-olds and prepare them.
“And then we kind of guide them in the short time that we have them, it's such a short window, and the time goes so quickly. It's always been a pleasure and a privilege. And I have a great administration that's been supportive and a great soccer staff, including this one, which has been here for over 10 years, so things work like clockwork."
The veteran head coach led his girls program to a second place finish in 2002 and a third place showing in 2003 also had a third place boys squad in 2003.
He is pleased with how this season's squad has come together as they prepare for a second match with Geneva. The Tigers (12-4-3) won 1-0 in DuKane Conference play on May 10 at Burgess Field. Coach Megan Owens' Vikings (12-9-2) are looking for a little revenge after advancing to the finals with a 7-1 victory over Lake Park on Wednesday. The winner advances to Wednesday's 4:30 p.m. St. Charles East Sectional semifinals against the winner of Friday's Streamwood Regional between St. Charles North and Bartlett.
One of the few disappointments of late for the Tigers is that senior forward Meghan Economos suffered a season-ending injury in the final seconds of their regular season-finale, a 1-1 draw with Glenbard West. But Callipari has seen his team step up following other losses of key players, so he feels encouraged about how they will respond.
"You have to buy into the culture, and the culture starts with our staff, our leadership, our captain and our seniors," Callipari said. "As the young ones' eyes are opening to what that means, they have to be guided. They also have to be okay with stepping through that door and taking on that ownership and knowing that one day this is going to be us guiding the next group. And in the same token, on the field, we have to contribute now.
We've had some great people who went down (to injury), but everybody has just stepped up all year long in support of each other.
"With our culture of acceptance, when you come into our program, you definitely have to buy into it. And from day one, she (Meghan) has been all in. For somebody who's not played in her first three years, in a short amount of time, it seems like she's been here all along. And I'd say the same about Kate (Grunland) and Carrie (Harvey), who are two juniors that are playing their first varsity year, as well. They have bought into the system and into the culture and the traditions that are Tigers soccer and just make life so much easier. Meghan's (future) coaching staff at Loyola (University) has been so good with her, so that's been helpful for her. She knows she'll be okay and have her time.
"We're always going to respect our opposition. Geneva is well-coached and athletic, and they're dangerous in the final third. So, we certainly have to play to a higher standard than perhaps we needed to do today. But consequently, I thought that we played a good brand of soccer.
“I thought Hoffman Estates did a nice job of trying to run with us and close down gaps. They didn't give in; it didn't matter what the score was. They were still coming at us late in the game. So, there's a culture being built there, and you have to give credit to their coaching staff for instilling that."
Wheaton Warrenville South went on the attack quickly and fired off a number of early attempts, but Hawks goalie Paige Schneider did her best to keep them at bay. Top opportunities early in the match were sent in by juniors Grunland and Lauren Barnett and senior Elie Farrell.
Wheaton Warrenville South finally connected in the 16th minute when Lily Petrie fired in a liner from about 15 yards. She shares a birthday with her coach.
"The team played really well," Petrie said. "Everyone was just really pumped up on the bus and super excited to play. We knew that we had to get some goals in the back of the net, and we ended up doing that.
"I walked in not knowing many people but the team welcomed me and got to know me and I got to know them. It just really became like a bond. It's super special, and I don't think I would get that anywhere else. Everyone's work ethic is so high, and it's high intensity and people make other people accountable for stuff, and that's really cool. I was so excited coming into this knowing that he (Callipari) had achieved so much history."
The Tigers continued to send in dangerous attempts as freshman Ashlyn Adams and senior Mia Taullahu both had shots that were halted by defenders. Petrie, Grunland, senior Olivia Vassios and freshman Ella Byrnes were all denied by the Hawks goalie.
After junior Kate Hartnett had a shot stopped by a defender and Schneider punched away a corner kick by Grunland, Wheaton Warrenville South got a boost late in the half when Hartnett was fouled in the box. Vassios lined the subsequent penalty inside the post in the 38th minute for a 2-0 advantage the Tigers took into the break.
"We've come a long way since the first game, and we're really excited and hopefully we can make a long run into the playoffs," Vassios said. "We had an eight-game winning streak, so we're really just trying to use that momentum to keep us moving forward.
"It also was his birthday, so it was a huge celebration day for him. He's put so much time and energy into the program, and he has all of his things that he likes to do to make it special."
It was more of the same Wheaton Warrenville South action in the final half. However the Tigers were more successful finding the net while sending in fewer attempts. Shortly after Taullahu got things started with a liner, Adams collected a loose ball in front of the net and scored in the 44th minute to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
After Barnett was thwarted on two tries, the third time proved to be the charm as she put in a rebound after a block on an attempt by Taullahu that made it 4-0 in the 55th minute. And Grunland followed up on that score with another in the 57th minute after taking a pass from junior Ella McClatchy and connecting from close range.
Tigers senior goalie Caroline Spayth didn't have to do much but watch during the opening half, but Hoffman Estates started to threaten about an hour into the match. Some of the best attempts on goal were sent in by Katelyn Paszkiewicz, Kelly Pekovitch and Maddy Rakoci.
Senior Eva Aimonette finished the game in net for Wheaton Warrenville South.
It was another strong defensive effort for the Tigers, who recorded their ninth shutout of the season.
"It took us a while, but I feel like we now have kind of gotten into our groove and you could see that tonight when we scored five," Spayth said. "We've done a really good job of blending as a team. We have a lot of new girls, and I feel like they've done a really good job of stepping up and playing as a team.
"Everyone is playing very well. And it was his birthday and his 400th win, so it was a pretty good day. It's awesome to play for a coach who has so much experience and really knows what he's doing and everyone on the coaching staff is awesome. So, I'm really lucky to play for a team like this.
"Mallory Cadagin in the back is just consistent in every game, and Ella McClatchy and Liv (Olivia) Vassios on the ends and Carrie Harvey is up in a kind of stopper position. Everyone else who plays back there does a good job. In games like today, I didn't have to do much. It really helps having top girls back there. I've really seen the progression from the first game to seeing some passes here and there, to see the plays and how everyone is thinking and see their movement."
NOTEWORTHY: The center referee for the match, Trevor Nash, was not your everyday center referee for a match, especially a state tournament affair. Nash, shared something in common with the players, he was their age. The Lyons senior, who didn't play high school soccer, out on an impressive performance. Praise came his way from both benches and other observers. With a growing shortage of high school officials, hopefully Nash signals a turnaround to that trend.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G Caroline Spayth
D Mallory Cadagin
D Olivia Vassios
D Ella McClatchy
D Carrie Harvey
M Elie Farrell
M Lily Petrie
M Kate Grunland
F Mia Taullahu
F Ashlyn Adams
F Lauren Barnett
Hoffman Estates
G Paige Schneider
D Maya Schmidt
D Madison Garcia
D Sam Roberts
D Bella Wehrle
M Hailey Weidner
M Mallory Anderson
M Katelyn Paszkiewicz
M Maddy Rakoci
F Stephanie De La Torre
F Natasha Navarro
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Mallory Cadigan, sr., D, WW South;
Olivia Vassios, sr., D, WW South;
Ella McClatchy, jr., D, WW South;
Carrie Harvey, jr., D. WW South
Scoring summary
First half
WWS: Lily Petrie, 16th
WWS: Olivia Vassios (PK), 38th
Second half
WWS: Ashlyn Adams, 44th
WWS: Lauren Barnett (Mia Taullahu), 55th
WWS: Kate Grunland (Ella McClatchy), 57th
gives Callipari landmark b-day win
Callipari marks 400th girls coaching victory in regional semi
By Curt Herron
GENEVA -- Tuesday's IHSA Class 3A Geneva Regional semifinal match against Hoffman Estates was a little different than most of the other 50-plus regional openers that J. Guy Callipari has coached during his successful career at Wheaton Warrenville South.
On his 61st birthday, his Tigers awarded the 2012 Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Famer with a well-played 5-0 victory which also happened to be the 400th victory as a girls coach for the native of London, Ontario, whose parents still live there. His father surprised him with a call just before the match began.
Callipari is believed to be just the ninth individual in IHSA history to win 400 or more matches coaching girls teams. He joins current coaches: Mark Longo, Notre Dame (Quincy); Jim Burnside, New Trier; Brian Papa, Bloom, Sandburg, Lincoln-Way, Lincoln-Way East, Downers Grove North); Ed Watson, Naperville Central; Joe Moreau, St. Charles, St. Charles East, Neuqua Valley; Jay Lipe, Glenwood; and Rick Prangen, Lemont; and retired coach Barry Jacobson, Downers Grove South; as a member of the exclusive club.
Callipari began coaching the Tigers boys in 1991 when the school was still Wheaton Central. He has led the girls program since 1995 and is believed to be one of just seven coaches who have won 300 or more matches in both girls and boys soccer.
Papa is the lone individual to win 400 in each sport. Prangen is the only other active coach who has 400 or more wins with girls and more than 300 with boys. Others who achieved that feat include: Andy Bitta, Libertyville; Tom Bower, Latin; Chris Phillips, Crystal Lake Central, Cary-Grove and Tim Dailey St. Charles, St. Francis.
If Waterloo beats Carterville on Friday in the Class AA Centralia Regional final, Bulldogs coach Chad Holden will joins the 300 club for the girls. He already has a membership card to that club for the boys.
Wheaton Warrenville South got off to a 3-4-2 start while mixing some veterans with a talented group of newcomers. The Tigers head into Friday's 4:30 p.m. Geneva Regional final against the host Vikings on a roll. They are 9-0-1 in the last 10 matches, have recorded seven shutouts in the span and yielded one goal in the other three matches.
"I think what we're accomplishing this season is an accumulation of creating a tradition of success through a template that they can see and understand," Callipari said. "We have to go back to the hundreds of girls that have played before this team to really understand where that comes from and how it has contributed all along to our ability to win games and compete.
“And at the end of the day, that's what we strive to do. I've just been fortunate to kind of watch it unfold over the course of time. And obviously you're in it for a long time because you're enjoying it. And the reason that you're enjoying it is because the players are of quality, and they're just great personalities and great people.
"I would definitely give credit to some of my mentors, like Andy Bitta, a Hall of Famer from Libertyville who I coached under for one year, and we won a state championship there. Tom Chmela at Evanston kind of brought me into the Chicagoland area. And I had great coaches under me who have been very supportive, and Gary Luckey has always been my voice of reason when I was young and still learning. He was there to guide me and mentor. It's been a combination of a lot of things.
"And the community of Wheaton Warrenville has always been supportive. As high school coaches, we are the by-product of all of the work that they do with four-, five- and six-year-olds and prepare them.
“And then we kind of guide them in the short time that we have them, it's such a short window, and the time goes so quickly. It's always been a pleasure and a privilege. And I have a great administration that's been supportive and a great soccer staff, including this one, which has been here for over 10 years, so things work like clockwork."
The veteran head coach led his girls program to a second place finish in 2002 and a third place showing in 2003 also had a third place boys squad in 2003.
He is pleased with how this season's squad has come together as they prepare for a second match with Geneva. The Tigers (12-4-3) won 1-0 in DuKane Conference play on May 10 at Burgess Field. Coach Megan Owens' Vikings (12-9-2) are looking for a little revenge after advancing to the finals with a 7-1 victory over Lake Park on Wednesday. The winner advances to Wednesday's 4:30 p.m. St. Charles East Sectional semifinals against the winner of Friday's Streamwood Regional between St. Charles North and Bartlett.
One of the few disappointments of late for the Tigers is that senior forward Meghan Economos suffered a season-ending injury in the final seconds of their regular season-finale, a 1-1 draw with Glenbard West. But Callipari has seen his team step up following other losses of key players, so he feels encouraged about how they will respond.
"You have to buy into the culture, and the culture starts with our staff, our leadership, our captain and our seniors," Callipari said. "As the young ones' eyes are opening to what that means, they have to be guided. They also have to be okay with stepping through that door and taking on that ownership and knowing that one day this is going to be us guiding the next group. And in the same token, on the field, we have to contribute now.
We've had some great people who went down (to injury), but everybody has just stepped up all year long in support of each other.
"With our culture of acceptance, when you come into our program, you definitely have to buy into it. And from day one, she (Meghan) has been all in. For somebody who's not played in her first three years, in a short amount of time, it seems like she's been here all along. And I'd say the same about Kate (Grunland) and Carrie (Harvey), who are two juniors that are playing their first varsity year, as well. They have bought into the system and into the culture and the traditions that are Tigers soccer and just make life so much easier. Meghan's (future) coaching staff at Loyola (University) has been so good with her, so that's been helpful for her. She knows she'll be okay and have her time.
"We're always going to respect our opposition. Geneva is well-coached and athletic, and they're dangerous in the final third. So, we certainly have to play to a higher standard than perhaps we needed to do today. But consequently, I thought that we played a good brand of soccer.
“I thought Hoffman Estates did a nice job of trying to run with us and close down gaps. They didn't give in; it didn't matter what the score was. They were still coming at us late in the game. So, there's a culture being built there, and you have to give credit to their coaching staff for instilling that."
Wheaton Warrenville South went on the attack quickly and fired off a number of early attempts, but Hawks goalie Paige Schneider did her best to keep them at bay. Top opportunities early in the match were sent in by juniors Grunland and Lauren Barnett and senior Elie Farrell.
Wheaton Warrenville South finally connected in the 16th minute when Lily Petrie fired in a liner from about 15 yards. She shares a birthday with her coach.
"The team played really well," Petrie said. "Everyone was just really pumped up on the bus and super excited to play. We knew that we had to get some goals in the back of the net, and we ended up doing that.
"I walked in not knowing many people but the team welcomed me and got to know me and I got to know them. It just really became like a bond. It's super special, and I don't think I would get that anywhere else. Everyone's work ethic is so high, and it's high intensity and people make other people accountable for stuff, and that's really cool. I was so excited coming into this knowing that he (Callipari) had achieved so much history."
The Tigers continued to send in dangerous attempts as freshman Ashlyn Adams and senior Mia Taullahu both had shots that were halted by defenders. Petrie, Grunland, senior Olivia Vassios and freshman Ella Byrnes were all denied by the Hawks goalie.
After junior Kate Hartnett had a shot stopped by a defender and Schneider punched away a corner kick by Grunland, Wheaton Warrenville South got a boost late in the half when Hartnett was fouled in the box. Vassios lined the subsequent penalty inside the post in the 38th minute for a 2-0 advantage the Tigers took into the break.
"We've come a long way since the first game, and we're really excited and hopefully we can make a long run into the playoffs," Vassios said. "We had an eight-game winning streak, so we're really just trying to use that momentum to keep us moving forward.
"It also was his birthday, so it was a huge celebration day for him. He's put so much time and energy into the program, and he has all of his things that he likes to do to make it special."
It was more of the same Wheaton Warrenville South action in the final half. However the Tigers were more successful finding the net while sending in fewer attempts. Shortly after Taullahu got things started with a liner, Adams collected a loose ball in front of the net and scored in the 44th minute to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
After Barnett was thwarted on two tries, the third time proved to be the charm as she put in a rebound after a block on an attempt by Taullahu that made it 4-0 in the 55th minute. And Grunland followed up on that score with another in the 57th minute after taking a pass from junior Ella McClatchy and connecting from close range.
Tigers senior goalie Caroline Spayth didn't have to do much but watch during the opening half, but Hoffman Estates started to threaten about an hour into the match. Some of the best attempts on goal were sent in by Katelyn Paszkiewicz, Kelly Pekovitch and Maddy Rakoci.
Senior Eva Aimonette finished the game in net for Wheaton Warrenville South.
It was another strong defensive effort for the Tigers, who recorded their ninth shutout of the season.
"It took us a while, but I feel like we now have kind of gotten into our groove and you could see that tonight when we scored five," Spayth said. "We've done a really good job of blending as a team. We have a lot of new girls, and I feel like they've done a really good job of stepping up and playing as a team.
"Everyone is playing very well. And it was his birthday and his 400th win, so it was a pretty good day. It's awesome to play for a coach who has so much experience and really knows what he's doing and everyone on the coaching staff is awesome. So, I'm really lucky to play for a team like this.
"Mallory Cadagin in the back is just consistent in every game, and Ella McClatchy and Liv (Olivia) Vassios on the ends and Carrie Harvey is up in a kind of stopper position. Everyone else who plays back there does a good job. In games like today, I didn't have to do much. It really helps having top girls back there. I've really seen the progression from the first game to seeing some passes here and there, to see the plays and how everyone is thinking and see their movement."
NOTEWORTHY: The center referee for the match, Trevor Nash, was not your everyday center referee for a match, especially a state tournament affair. Nash, shared something in common with the players, he was their age. The Lyons senior, who didn't play high school soccer, out on an impressive performance. Praise came his way from both benches and other observers. With a growing shortage of high school officials, hopefully Nash signals a turnaround to that trend.
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G Caroline Spayth
D Mallory Cadagin
D Olivia Vassios
D Ella McClatchy
D Carrie Harvey
M Elie Farrell
M Lily Petrie
M Kate Grunland
F Mia Taullahu
F Ashlyn Adams
F Lauren Barnett
Hoffman Estates
G Paige Schneider
D Maya Schmidt
D Madison Garcia
D Sam Roberts
D Bella Wehrle
M Hailey Weidner
M Mallory Anderson
M Katelyn Paszkiewicz
M Maddy Rakoci
F Stephanie De La Torre
F Natasha Navarro
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Mallory Cadigan, sr., D, WW South;
Olivia Vassios, sr., D, WW South;
Ella McClatchy, jr., D, WW South;
Carrie Harvey, jr., D. WW South
Scoring summary
First half
WWS: Lily Petrie, 16th
WWS: Olivia Vassios (PK), 38th
Second half
WWS: Ashlyn Adams, 44th
WWS: Lauren Barnett (Mia Taullahu), 55th
WWS: Kate Grunland (Ella McClatchy), 57th