Season recap: Wheaton Warrenville South
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Youth is typically rendered as a state of mind or free expression generously ecstatic, beautiful and open to possibility. It is a portrait in time, but also a way to measure and study and examine progress.
For the Wheaton Warrenville South soccer team, youth was both catalyst and definition. Eleven of the 2017 team’s 21 players were sophomores, compared to six seniors, three juniors and a freshman. That created an obvious challenge -- especially when you are a charter member of the DuPage Valley Conference, the state’s best soccer conference.
The team’s best player, sophomore forward Paige Miller, articulated the point of pride. It is not just soccer, she pointed out. The school’s sophomore class has impacted multiple sports this year.
“Our class brought a lot to South this year,” Miller said. “It was fun to play with a great group of sophomores and to have a young team. It was good to be able to play against older competition and work hard together. I thought it was fun having a young team.”
Miller registered a team-best nine goals and added an assist for the Tigers. She made the transition to forward from an outside midfielder and demonstrated a sharp command of timing, speed, rhythm and pace.
Being part of such a young team, the parts are malleable. Miller could mold and shape the team to her particular talent. Coach Guy Callipari acknowledged as much. Callipari shifted gears and deployed a somewhat risky strategy. Rather than adopt a defensive or possession-oriented style, the Tigers opted for an aggressive and uptempo game.
“I think it is more fast, with the team we are playing with right now,” Miller said. “We are connecting with our passes, and we like to take it down the field. Just working with everybody else is how we are playing and evolving as a team.”
It was a high-risk, high-reward brand of soccer, Callipari dictated the style to the talent.
“I think some things became apparent and trended as we moved forward,” Callipari said. “Our youth became very apparent. We were typically the youngest team on the pitch, day-in and day-out, and we were the smallest team on the pitch. That presented some challenges, both physically and tactically. To offset that, we needed to try to discover a pattern of play that was faster and still allowed us opportunities.
“We were able to find opportunities, but our youth and our inexperience in certain environments did not help us play with a little bit of confidence in certain areas of the game.”
Midfielder Allie Anderson also symbolized the team dynamic. The margin for error was narrow, especially when going up against programs like Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley. If getting thrown immediately into the mix was not always an ideal introduction, players like Anderson learned very quickly about the intensity, physical style and speed of play.
“We graduated a lot of seniors last year,” Anderson said. “I think, since we were a young team and did not have much experience at the varsity level, it was kind of new for some people. Towards the end of the season, when we figured out how everybody played together, I think it got better.”
To their credit, from the perspective of Callipari or the players, Wheaton South did not grade on the curve. The Tigers entered the year loaded with promise and optimistic they could reach the upper tier of the league. The Tigers finished 9-10-1, including a 3-5-0 conference finish.
“I think for how young we were, we did very against the competition we had,” Anderson said. “With all of the sophomores we had, they were all very excited to play this year. They had the heart and drive to try and go against the harder competitors. We knew we had a different style than other teams. We still had the goals to win each game, no matter what, if the other team had more skilled players than us.”
Two seniors, defender Julia Hildebrand and forward Caitlin Anderson, were the only players in their class who recorded goals. Hildebrand had two goals and assist and Anderson registered a goal and assist.
Every other player who made a statistical contribution offensively is an underclassmen: junior forward Morgan Schwerin emerged as the top complementary scoring threat to Miller with six goals and three assists. Sophomore midfielder Evelyn Demsher had four goals and assist. Two sophomore midfielders, Audrey Siebert and Ellery Fahey, each scored two goals.
Siebert emerged as a creative ball distributor who recorded a team-best five assists. Junior midfielder Julia Cox also scored a goal.
Freshman midfielder Jennifer Aalbue, one of the brightest of its young talent, also scored a goal. Other offensive contributors who saw action this year were senior midfielder Emily Calloway and sophomore midfielder Katie Johnson.
Sophomore defender Maria Dohse anchored the backline. She was named the team’s MVP, defensive player of the year and earned all-conference distinction. Junior Emily Snyder, senior Kelly Kern, sophomore Maddie Monaco and sophomore Molly Fank solidified the defensive backfield.
Sophomore goalkeeper Abbie Brennan came into her own in recording 75 saves and posting a 1.37 goals-against average. She registered six shutouts. Her backup, sophomore Kimberly Aalbue, added seven shutouts. Senior Sarah Mueller was the team’s third keeper.
The stage is set, Allie Anderson said.
“I think next year, having so many young girls play on the team now, we are going to have more confidence for the teams coming up and we are going to succeed and go farther next year,” Allie Anderson said.
Apart from one-sided conference losses against Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley, the Tigers acquitted themselves well. It was often trial by fire. Wheaton South never backed down.
“The other schools in our conference are very talented,” Miller said. “They are big schools and have a big pool of talent to choose from. I think they are really talented and we worked very hard to compete and work at their level. I think at times we could have done more to stay in those games.”
Miller paused, realizing the process and growth is ongoing.
“I am proud of the team,” she said.
After the Tigers closed out the regular season with one of their best performances, a 2-0 shutout of rival Glenbard West, Wheaton South entered the state tournament eager to see where they stood. They drew a tough opening draw, a trap game against lower-seeded DeKalb on its home field.
The 2-1 loss was a hard way to go out, a disappointing end to a season that was by nature volatile and given to an ebb and flow.
“One of the things we came to live by was that we said, ‘We don’t lose. We learn.’ We held onto that because at that point we were trying to get better for tomorrow,” Callipari said.
“That was how the season went.”
At its annual team banquet, the Tigers celebrated its hard work for the season and honored the following payers:
Rookie of the year: Ellery Faye
Offensive player of the year: Miller
Defensive player of the year: Dohse
Eye of the Tiger: Allie Anderson
Most Valuable Player: Dohse
Sportsmanship: Hildebrand
Christine Tomek Award (senior who impacts team and inspires teammates) : Calloway
The team also selected Class of 2018 members Cox and Claire Kiple as team captains for next year
The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard famously asserted that life is only “understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” So it is with the Wheaton South program, where the heartbreak and the joy and power of learning go naturally together.
“It was evident where the bar was, and I think it became evident where we were,” Callipari said. “It is easy to reflect, not only as a team but as individuals, there is going to be a direct correlation if we can improve as a player, we can add to what we can accomplish as a team. Time will help. We are hopeful. We certainly have promise. That was our word this year. I think we are going to hang onto that idea.
“The word is going to change. The idea is we do have promise. We have a good foundation. I think we played a nice brand of soccer. We tried to maintain the integrity of the game and establish a rhythm and not to panic and not be so direct. It was a risk, and sometimes we lost, but it was still important to take the risk.”
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Youth is typically rendered as a state of mind or free expression generously ecstatic, beautiful and open to possibility. It is a portrait in time, but also a way to measure and study and examine progress.
For the Wheaton Warrenville South soccer team, youth was both catalyst and definition. Eleven of the 2017 team’s 21 players were sophomores, compared to six seniors, three juniors and a freshman. That created an obvious challenge -- especially when you are a charter member of the DuPage Valley Conference, the state’s best soccer conference.
The team’s best player, sophomore forward Paige Miller, articulated the point of pride. It is not just soccer, she pointed out. The school’s sophomore class has impacted multiple sports this year.
“Our class brought a lot to South this year,” Miller said. “It was fun to play with a great group of sophomores and to have a young team. It was good to be able to play against older competition and work hard together. I thought it was fun having a young team.”
Miller registered a team-best nine goals and added an assist for the Tigers. She made the transition to forward from an outside midfielder and demonstrated a sharp command of timing, speed, rhythm and pace.
Being part of such a young team, the parts are malleable. Miller could mold and shape the team to her particular talent. Coach Guy Callipari acknowledged as much. Callipari shifted gears and deployed a somewhat risky strategy. Rather than adopt a defensive or possession-oriented style, the Tigers opted for an aggressive and uptempo game.
“I think it is more fast, with the team we are playing with right now,” Miller said. “We are connecting with our passes, and we like to take it down the field. Just working with everybody else is how we are playing and evolving as a team.”
It was a high-risk, high-reward brand of soccer, Callipari dictated the style to the talent.
“I think some things became apparent and trended as we moved forward,” Callipari said. “Our youth became very apparent. We were typically the youngest team on the pitch, day-in and day-out, and we were the smallest team on the pitch. That presented some challenges, both physically and tactically. To offset that, we needed to try to discover a pattern of play that was faster and still allowed us opportunities.
“We were able to find opportunities, but our youth and our inexperience in certain environments did not help us play with a little bit of confidence in certain areas of the game.”
Midfielder Allie Anderson also symbolized the team dynamic. The margin for error was narrow, especially when going up against programs like Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley. If getting thrown immediately into the mix was not always an ideal introduction, players like Anderson learned very quickly about the intensity, physical style and speed of play.
“We graduated a lot of seniors last year,” Anderson said. “I think, since we were a young team and did not have much experience at the varsity level, it was kind of new for some people. Towards the end of the season, when we figured out how everybody played together, I think it got better.”
To their credit, from the perspective of Callipari or the players, Wheaton South did not grade on the curve. The Tigers entered the year loaded with promise and optimistic they could reach the upper tier of the league. The Tigers finished 9-10-1, including a 3-5-0 conference finish.
“I think for how young we were, we did very against the competition we had,” Anderson said. “With all of the sophomores we had, they were all very excited to play this year. They had the heart and drive to try and go against the harder competitors. We knew we had a different style than other teams. We still had the goals to win each game, no matter what, if the other team had more skilled players than us.”
Two seniors, defender Julia Hildebrand and forward Caitlin Anderson, were the only players in their class who recorded goals. Hildebrand had two goals and assist and Anderson registered a goal and assist.
Every other player who made a statistical contribution offensively is an underclassmen: junior forward Morgan Schwerin emerged as the top complementary scoring threat to Miller with six goals and three assists. Sophomore midfielder Evelyn Demsher had four goals and assist. Two sophomore midfielders, Audrey Siebert and Ellery Fahey, each scored two goals.
Siebert emerged as a creative ball distributor who recorded a team-best five assists. Junior midfielder Julia Cox also scored a goal.
Freshman midfielder Jennifer Aalbue, one of the brightest of its young talent, also scored a goal. Other offensive contributors who saw action this year were senior midfielder Emily Calloway and sophomore midfielder Katie Johnson.
Sophomore defender Maria Dohse anchored the backline. She was named the team’s MVP, defensive player of the year and earned all-conference distinction. Junior Emily Snyder, senior Kelly Kern, sophomore Maddie Monaco and sophomore Molly Fank solidified the defensive backfield.
Sophomore goalkeeper Abbie Brennan came into her own in recording 75 saves and posting a 1.37 goals-against average. She registered six shutouts. Her backup, sophomore Kimberly Aalbue, added seven shutouts. Senior Sarah Mueller was the team’s third keeper.
The stage is set, Allie Anderson said.
“I think next year, having so many young girls play on the team now, we are going to have more confidence for the teams coming up and we are going to succeed and go farther next year,” Allie Anderson said.
Apart from one-sided conference losses against Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley, the Tigers acquitted themselves well. It was often trial by fire. Wheaton South never backed down.
“The other schools in our conference are very talented,” Miller said. “They are big schools and have a big pool of talent to choose from. I think they are really talented and we worked very hard to compete and work at their level. I think at times we could have done more to stay in those games.”
Miller paused, realizing the process and growth is ongoing.
“I am proud of the team,” she said.
After the Tigers closed out the regular season with one of their best performances, a 2-0 shutout of rival Glenbard West, Wheaton South entered the state tournament eager to see where they stood. They drew a tough opening draw, a trap game against lower-seeded DeKalb on its home field.
The 2-1 loss was a hard way to go out, a disappointing end to a season that was by nature volatile and given to an ebb and flow.
“One of the things we came to live by was that we said, ‘We don’t lose. We learn.’ We held onto that because at that point we were trying to get better for tomorrow,” Callipari said.
“That was how the season went.”
At its annual team banquet, the Tigers celebrated its hard work for the season and honored the following payers:
Rookie of the year: Ellery Faye
Offensive player of the year: Miller
Defensive player of the year: Dohse
Eye of the Tiger: Allie Anderson
Most Valuable Player: Dohse
Sportsmanship: Hildebrand
Christine Tomek Award (senior who impacts team and inspires teammates) : Calloway
The team also selected Class of 2018 members Cox and Claire Kiple as team captains for next year
The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard famously asserted that life is only “understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” So it is with the Wheaton South program, where the heartbreak and the joy and power of learning go naturally together.
“It was evident where the bar was, and I think it became evident where we were,” Callipari said. “It is easy to reflect, not only as a team but as individuals, there is going to be a direct correlation if we can improve as a player, we can add to what we can accomplish as a team. Time will help. We are hopeful. We certainly have promise. That was our word this year. I think we are going to hang onto that idea.
“The word is going to change. The idea is we do have promise. We have a good foundation. I think we played a nice brand of soccer. We tried to maintain the integrity of the game and establish a rhythm and not to panic and not be so direct. It was a risk, and sometimes we lost, but it was still important to take the risk.”