Wheaton North keeps
the faith despite losses
Wheaton Academy defends home turf with 9-0 record
By Chris Walker
WEST CHICAGO -- Wheaton North has lost four-of-its-last-five games after being shut out 3-0 at Wheaton Academy on Thursday.
While the Falcons haven’t been able to get many wins lately, their opponents have had a lot to do with their struggles.
Prior to the loss against Wheaton Academy (16-1-1), the Falcons lost a 1-0 nail-biter to Lake Park (14-1-4, 14-game unbeaten streak), were shut out 3-0 by Naperville North (11-4-3, nine-game unbeaten streak) and dropped a 3-1 decision to Naperville Central (10-1-5).
“We’ve played a lot of tough teams and are just trying to take it one game at a time,” Falcons senior midfielder Jason Szumski said. “We’re a good team at bouncing back and moving on from what happens in our last game. Our next big one is Tuesday, and we’ll try to get that one and then get rolling for the playoffs.”
They were awarded a No. 3 seed in the Bartlett sectional and will finish the regular season with games against Glenbard North on Tuesday and Leyden on Thursday before taking on either Proviso West or Glenbard West on Oct. 21 in a Class 3A Wheaton North regional semifinal.
“It’s not like we’re playing bad; we’ve had some good games,” said Falcons junior defender Armana Torrez. “We need to find a way to beat some of these better teams.”
Home field advantage
What a debut season it’s been for Wheaton Academy on its new synthetic surface.
Not only did the Warriors finish with a perfect 9-0-0 record at home, but it was silly how dominant they were.
Wheaton Academy outscored its nine home opponents 43-2. No, that is not a typo. The Warriors averaged nearly five goals per game while shutting out seven of nine teams that visited. Overall, only three of Wheaton Academy’s 16 wins so far this season have been decided by just a single goal.
They made it easy to cheer for them as evidenced by a loud-and-proud student section.
“I think we have some of the best fans in the state,” Wheaton Academy senior goalkeeper Drew Sezonov said. “We set a goal that we didn’t want to lose at home, so we had extra motivation to come out and play every game to make sure that never happened. Now we’ve accomplished that goal for the year and we can focus on our other goals.”
Never backing away
Sure, the schedule isn’t loaded from start to finish for Wheaton Academy because of the assorted skill level and size of the schools they play in the Metro Suburban Conference. But you can't fault the Warriors' nonconference slate.
Since September gave way to October, the Warriors traveled to third-ranked St. Charles East and beat the Saints 3-2, tied 1-1 at No. 2 Batavia, shut out Wheaton North on Thursday and finish their DuPage Valley Conference-double with a short trip to Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday. Earlier this season they lost 2-0 to now top-rated Morton and beat Libertyville and Saint Viator.
“It’s big to get wins against these bigger schools and not just winning against (Class) 1A schools because then you think ‘Are we really that good?’ and wonder a bit,” Wheaton Academy senior Reid Culberson said. “Going against Wheaton North and St. Charles East and having the success we’ve had, we’re like, ‘Yes, we’re good, and we can do this.’ ”
Miscellaneous
Wheaton Academy has now shut out the Falcons by the same 3-0 score the past two years. The Falcons last scored against them in a 1-1 tie in 2011 on a late goal from Sam Klatt.
The Warriors will try to win the Wheaton Cup for the second-straight year with a 1 p.m. game at Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday. A win would give them their fourth cup since 2007 and their second-straight season of sweeping their local nonconference foes.
Wheaton Warrenville South possessed the cup in 2011 and 2012.
the faith despite losses
Wheaton Academy defends home turf with 9-0 record
By Chris Walker
WEST CHICAGO -- Wheaton North has lost four-of-its-last-five games after being shut out 3-0 at Wheaton Academy on Thursday.
While the Falcons haven’t been able to get many wins lately, their opponents have had a lot to do with their struggles.
Prior to the loss against Wheaton Academy (16-1-1), the Falcons lost a 1-0 nail-biter to Lake Park (14-1-4, 14-game unbeaten streak), were shut out 3-0 by Naperville North (11-4-3, nine-game unbeaten streak) and dropped a 3-1 decision to Naperville Central (10-1-5).
“We’ve played a lot of tough teams and are just trying to take it one game at a time,” Falcons senior midfielder Jason Szumski said. “We’re a good team at bouncing back and moving on from what happens in our last game. Our next big one is Tuesday, and we’ll try to get that one and then get rolling for the playoffs.”
They were awarded a No. 3 seed in the Bartlett sectional and will finish the regular season with games against Glenbard North on Tuesday and Leyden on Thursday before taking on either Proviso West or Glenbard West on Oct. 21 in a Class 3A Wheaton North regional semifinal.
“It’s not like we’re playing bad; we’ve had some good games,” said Falcons junior defender Armana Torrez. “We need to find a way to beat some of these better teams.”
Home field advantage
What a debut season it’s been for Wheaton Academy on its new synthetic surface.
Not only did the Warriors finish with a perfect 9-0-0 record at home, but it was silly how dominant they were.
Wheaton Academy outscored its nine home opponents 43-2. No, that is not a typo. The Warriors averaged nearly five goals per game while shutting out seven of nine teams that visited. Overall, only three of Wheaton Academy’s 16 wins so far this season have been decided by just a single goal.
They made it easy to cheer for them as evidenced by a loud-and-proud student section.
“I think we have some of the best fans in the state,” Wheaton Academy senior goalkeeper Drew Sezonov said. “We set a goal that we didn’t want to lose at home, so we had extra motivation to come out and play every game to make sure that never happened. Now we’ve accomplished that goal for the year and we can focus on our other goals.”
Never backing away
Sure, the schedule isn’t loaded from start to finish for Wheaton Academy because of the assorted skill level and size of the schools they play in the Metro Suburban Conference. But you can't fault the Warriors' nonconference slate.
Since September gave way to October, the Warriors traveled to third-ranked St. Charles East and beat the Saints 3-2, tied 1-1 at No. 2 Batavia, shut out Wheaton North on Thursday and finish their DuPage Valley Conference-double with a short trip to Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday. Earlier this season they lost 2-0 to now top-rated Morton and beat Libertyville and Saint Viator.
“It’s big to get wins against these bigger schools and not just winning against (Class) 1A schools because then you think ‘Are we really that good?’ and wonder a bit,” Wheaton Academy senior Reid Culberson said. “Going against Wheaton North and St. Charles East and having the success we’ve had, we’re like, ‘Yes, we’re good, and we can do this.’ ”
Miscellaneous
Wheaton Academy has now shut out the Falcons by the same 3-0 score the past two years. The Falcons last scored against them in a 1-1 tie in 2011 on a late goal from Sam Klatt.
The Warriors will try to win the Wheaton Cup for the second-straight year with a 1 p.m. game at Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday. A win would give them their fourth cup since 2007 and their second-straight season of sweeping their local nonconference foes.
Wheaton Warrenville South possessed the cup in 2011 and 2012.