Finish line approaches
for DuPage Valley opponents
Naperville C., Wheaton Warrenville S. try to set tone for playoffs
By Chris Walker
It’s been a roller coaster of a season for DuPage Valley Conference foes Naperville Central and Wheaton Warrenville South.
Wheaton Warrenville South's Tigers won four in a row at one time and also lost three in a row.
Naperville Central's Redhawks had their share of tough losses against strong opponents, including Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Wheaton North. They just ended a four-game slide with a 2-0 win over Normal on Saturday.
Now the two teams will square off on at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Naperville. It’ll be the final regular-season game for the Redhawks, while the Tigers have one more game on the schedule: Glenbard West on Wednesday.
Both teams will have close to a week off before beginning play in the Class 3A playoffs.
Naperville Central (10-8-1) will travel to Plainfield North to take on former DVC foe West Aurora, while Wheaton Warrenville South (10-7-1) will stay close to home, making the easy trip to Wheaton North to face West Chicago.
“I’d like to think that we are figuring things out, but we can’t keep going in and giving up multiple goals,” Redhawks coach Ed Watson said. “Saturday we kept a team at zero, and we just need to stop worrying about our scoring and focus on keeping opponents at zero. If that means 100 minutes of a soccer and then a shootout, so be it, but we can’t keeping worrying and fixating on the scoring issue. We’re going to get one, but it’s just a matter of holding them.”
The Redhawks may have lost eight games already, but Watson believes the record is misleading in a lot of ways.
“I don’t think we’ve played a team this year that has been considerably better, barring St. Charles East and Barrington,” he said. “In every other game we’ve had 50 percent of the play or greater, and we just have had some tough losses. But it would appear that we should’ve won them when you look at the statistics, like shots, corner kicks and time of possession.
“We just have found ways to lose games. Neuqua Valley only had two shots on goal and beat us 1-0. Wheaton North, we had a five-to-one ratio in terms of scoring opportunities and lost. Naperville North we had at least equal play and a phantom goal and they beat us, and against Lake Park scored twice, but we had 27 shots and completely dominated play but couldn’t score.”
Getting back on track on Saturday was significant.
“It was Senior Day, so that was a good day and the majority of the game was seniors,” Watson said. “We played very well and found two goals late in the game, which was uplifting.”
The Tigers have been decimated with injuries. They were without seven players in Saturday’s 0-0 tie against Batavia, including four starters.
“We’re a little shallow on that end right now, so we brought up six varsity reserves and two freshmen,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “Over the last week and a half we found ourselves on three occasions with no subs because JV played before us in conference games, so we couldn’t use them. But it gives other kids opportunities.”
The biggest loss has been A.J. Jakuszewski.
“She’s the face of the program and she’s kind of got tendinitis and an Achilles so she’s got to get that under control,” Callipari said. “With the inflammation from the tendinitis, we’re not sure of her time frame right now, but she’s hoping to be ready for the playoffs.”
Erin Madigan, who has been bitten by the injury bug most of the spring, is also out and likely won’t return, while a stress fracture has sidelined Emily Calloway.
“It’s tough, but fortunately we have these last two games to get ready. It’s a lot of chalkboard learning as you go,” Callipari said. “It can be very difficult to get the new girls up to speed with the roles applied to the formation when you’re getting ready for the survival part of the season.”
On the flip side, a positive for the Redhawks has been their health. They’ve stayed fairly injury-free up to this point.
“We’ve been fortunate,” Watson said. “Isabel Reedy (junior midfielder) has been out for three weeks, so she’s our one starter that’s missing. But we hope to have her back for the postseason.”
for DuPage Valley opponents
Naperville C., Wheaton Warrenville S. try to set tone for playoffs
By Chris Walker
It’s been a roller coaster of a season for DuPage Valley Conference foes Naperville Central and Wheaton Warrenville South.
Wheaton Warrenville South's Tigers won four in a row at one time and also lost three in a row.
Naperville Central's Redhawks had their share of tough losses against strong opponents, including Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Wheaton North. They just ended a four-game slide with a 2-0 win over Normal on Saturday.
Now the two teams will square off on at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Naperville. It’ll be the final regular-season game for the Redhawks, while the Tigers have one more game on the schedule: Glenbard West on Wednesday.
Both teams will have close to a week off before beginning play in the Class 3A playoffs.
Naperville Central (10-8-1) will travel to Plainfield North to take on former DVC foe West Aurora, while Wheaton Warrenville South (10-7-1) will stay close to home, making the easy trip to Wheaton North to face West Chicago.
“I’d like to think that we are figuring things out, but we can’t keep going in and giving up multiple goals,” Redhawks coach Ed Watson said. “Saturday we kept a team at zero, and we just need to stop worrying about our scoring and focus on keeping opponents at zero. If that means 100 minutes of a soccer and then a shootout, so be it, but we can’t keeping worrying and fixating on the scoring issue. We’re going to get one, but it’s just a matter of holding them.”
The Redhawks may have lost eight games already, but Watson believes the record is misleading in a lot of ways.
“I don’t think we’ve played a team this year that has been considerably better, barring St. Charles East and Barrington,” he said. “In every other game we’ve had 50 percent of the play or greater, and we just have had some tough losses. But it would appear that we should’ve won them when you look at the statistics, like shots, corner kicks and time of possession.
“We just have found ways to lose games. Neuqua Valley only had two shots on goal and beat us 1-0. Wheaton North, we had a five-to-one ratio in terms of scoring opportunities and lost. Naperville North we had at least equal play and a phantom goal and they beat us, and against Lake Park scored twice, but we had 27 shots and completely dominated play but couldn’t score.”
Getting back on track on Saturday was significant.
“It was Senior Day, so that was a good day and the majority of the game was seniors,” Watson said. “We played very well and found two goals late in the game, which was uplifting.”
The Tigers have been decimated with injuries. They were without seven players in Saturday’s 0-0 tie against Batavia, including four starters.
“We’re a little shallow on that end right now, so we brought up six varsity reserves and two freshmen,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “Over the last week and a half we found ourselves on three occasions with no subs because JV played before us in conference games, so we couldn’t use them. But it gives other kids opportunities.”
The biggest loss has been A.J. Jakuszewski.
“She’s the face of the program and she’s kind of got tendinitis and an Achilles so she’s got to get that under control,” Callipari said. “With the inflammation from the tendinitis, we’re not sure of her time frame right now, but she’s hoping to be ready for the playoffs.”
Erin Madigan, who has been bitten by the injury bug most of the spring, is also out and likely won’t return, while a stress fracture has sidelined Emily Calloway.
“It’s tough, but fortunately we have these last two games to get ready. It’s a lot of chalkboard learning as you go,” Callipari said. “It can be very difficult to get the new girls up to speed with the roles applied to the formation when you’re getting ready for the survival part of the season.”
On the flip side, a positive for the Redhawks has been their health. They’ve stayed fairly injury-free up to this point.
“We’ve been fortunate,” Watson said. “Isabel Reedy (junior midfielder) has been out for three weeks, so she’s our one starter that’s missing. But we hope to have her back for the postseason.”