Welcome Wagon needed
for W. Aurora, Aurora C. meeting
By Bob Narang
West Aurora and Aurora Central are not traditional neighborhood rivals.
Normally two teams that reside just two miles away from each other would have an intimate knowledge of each other’s programs.
That’s not the case when West Aurora (3-8-1) and Aurora Central (6-4-0) head into Monday’s 4:30 p.m. nonconference battle at West Aurora.
“I don’t know much about them, for they don’t have the camera on their games, but I’m going to watch their game against Elmwood Park,” West Aurora coach Laura Wagley said.
Aurora Central first-year coach Enrique Anaya echoed a similar sentiment about the Blackhawks.
“I’ve tried to see their scores and hear about them from other coaches,” Anaya said. “I know they had a (tough) loss to East Aurora. They're struggling, but you never know. You can catch a team on the good or bad day.”
Let’s try and make a little sense of the two programs. The Blackhawks, who have a 2-6-1 mark in the Southwest Prairie Conference, are set to compete in the rugged Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional. West Aurora’s strength of schedule is a positive in its favor for Monday's game.
They’ve been playing an average of only two games a week, according to Wagley. On Thursday, they suffered a 4-0 loss to Plainfield North.
Wagley said the Blackhawks had significant graduation losses from last season's team, thus have been relying on a collection of untested and young players. The Blackhawks are honoring their four seniors before the game.
“We’re definitely a young team with a ton of sophomores,” she said. “We have only four seniors, but last year we had 11. So it's been challenging only having three wins. But my girls are going to play hard every minute of every game. Having only three wins is not a negative, because we’re getting better.
“It was tough not playing last year. We had a very talented team. We moved eight girls up in their freshmen year. As a coaching staff, we knew we were going to build something, and we did.
“Unfortunately, the season didn’t happen. We had a good opportunity to win our regional and sectional and get to state. But this is a fun group of girls. We have some great leaders, and the older girls accepted the new girls.”
Wagley noted the play of senior goalie Madison Russell, sophomore defender Arely Lares, junior sweeper Krystal Diaz, sophomore midfielder Isabella Vargas and junior midfielder Elizabeth Kuhn for their consistent efforts.
“Madison has kept us in a ton of close games,” she said. “She’s definitely stepped up and been a great leader on the field. She’s done a great job. Arely could’ve been pulled up last year and has played great. Krystal was out for two weeks for quarantine and then sprained her ankle. Arely has done a great job filling Krystal’s shoes. Isabella and Elizabeth are our offense. They work well together and assist each other. The team is growing and gaining experience.
“We play in a really good conference and a lot of them only played together for a short time.”
Since taking over the Chargers’ program, Anaya admitted he has big shoes to fill trying to replace the highly successful run of former coach Kristy Kane.
The Chargers, who compete in Class A, gained a signature win by knocking off previously unbeaten Lisle 1-0 on May 17. Anaya is hoping for a second-straight week of Monday magic against the 3A Blackhawks.
“We’ve been progressing though the year,” he said. “In the beginning, we were playing some really good teams like St. Francis and Wheaton Academy.
“We showed we were able to stay up against those top teams in our conference. That’s a big progression. It will be interesting to see what we can do the rest of the season.
“I think we’re in a good position to continue making strides in the playoffs. The Lisle win was one of our strongest moments. It was good for the girls to see that the hard work they put in paid off.”
The Chargers, who have eight seniors, have leaned on seniors midfielder Alexia Jones and Claire Olesen. Anaya said sophomore midfielder Alexa Orozco, freshman defender Amanda Bush, sophomore midfielder K.K. Nash and junior striker Riley Russellburg are all promising players
“Our midfield and defense are the strength of the team,” he said. “Amanda has really stepped up to the plate. We have the potential to do some really good things. I want to keep the tradition going set by Kristy. We have a good group of girls.”
for W. Aurora, Aurora C. meeting
By Bob Narang
West Aurora and Aurora Central are not traditional neighborhood rivals.
Normally two teams that reside just two miles away from each other would have an intimate knowledge of each other’s programs.
That’s not the case when West Aurora (3-8-1) and Aurora Central (6-4-0) head into Monday’s 4:30 p.m. nonconference battle at West Aurora.
“I don’t know much about them, for they don’t have the camera on their games, but I’m going to watch their game against Elmwood Park,” West Aurora coach Laura Wagley said.
Aurora Central first-year coach Enrique Anaya echoed a similar sentiment about the Blackhawks.
“I’ve tried to see their scores and hear about them from other coaches,” Anaya said. “I know they had a (tough) loss to East Aurora. They're struggling, but you never know. You can catch a team on the good or bad day.”
Let’s try and make a little sense of the two programs. The Blackhawks, who have a 2-6-1 mark in the Southwest Prairie Conference, are set to compete in the rugged Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional. West Aurora’s strength of schedule is a positive in its favor for Monday's game.
They’ve been playing an average of only two games a week, according to Wagley. On Thursday, they suffered a 4-0 loss to Plainfield North.
Wagley said the Blackhawks had significant graduation losses from last season's team, thus have been relying on a collection of untested and young players. The Blackhawks are honoring their four seniors before the game.
“We’re definitely a young team with a ton of sophomores,” she said. “We have only four seniors, but last year we had 11. So it's been challenging only having three wins. But my girls are going to play hard every minute of every game. Having only three wins is not a negative, because we’re getting better.
“It was tough not playing last year. We had a very talented team. We moved eight girls up in their freshmen year. As a coaching staff, we knew we were going to build something, and we did.
“Unfortunately, the season didn’t happen. We had a good opportunity to win our regional and sectional and get to state. But this is a fun group of girls. We have some great leaders, and the older girls accepted the new girls.”
Wagley noted the play of senior goalie Madison Russell, sophomore defender Arely Lares, junior sweeper Krystal Diaz, sophomore midfielder Isabella Vargas and junior midfielder Elizabeth Kuhn for their consistent efforts.
“Madison has kept us in a ton of close games,” she said. “She’s definitely stepped up and been a great leader on the field. She’s done a great job. Arely could’ve been pulled up last year and has played great. Krystal was out for two weeks for quarantine and then sprained her ankle. Arely has done a great job filling Krystal’s shoes. Isabella and Elizabeth are our offense. They work well together and assist each other. The team is growing and gaining experience.
“We play in a really good conference and a lot of them only played together for a short time.”
Since taking over the Chargers’ program, Anaya admitted he has big shoes to fill trying to replace the highly successful run of former coach Kristy Kane.
The Chargers, who compete in Class A, gained a signature win by knocking off previously unbeaten Lisle 1-0 on May 17. Anaya is hoping for a second-straight week of Monday magic against the 3A Blackhawks.
“We’ve been progressing though the year,” he said. “In the beginning, we were playing some really good teams like St. Francis and Wheaton Academy.
“We showed we were able to stay up against those top teams in our conference. That’s a big progression. It will be interesting to see what we can do the rest of the season.
“I think we’re in a good position to continue making strides in the playoffs. The Lisle win was one of our strongest moments. It was good for the girls to see that the hard work they put in paid off.”
The Chargers, who have eight seniors, have leaned on seniors midfielder Alexia Jones and Claire Olesen. Anaya said sophomore midfielder Alexa Orozco, freshman defender Amanda Bush, sophomore midfielder K.K. Nash and junior striker Riley Russellburg are all promising players
“Our midfield and defense are the strength of the team,” he said. “Amanda has really stepped up to the plate. We have the potential to do some really good things. I want to keep the tradition going set by Kristy. We have a good group of girls.”