Season recap: Wheaton Warrenville South
By Dave Owen
Wheaton Warrenville South can look back with pride at its recently concluded season and point back to a few big wins. The program returns a strong group of underclassmen coming back or moving up to buoy the future.
The Tigers concluded the season with an 8-8-3 final record that included a 3-3-1 mark and third place tie with St. Charles North in the tough DuKane Conference.
“Some people played up a level, some plateaued and some played down,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said.
“It's high school soccer. They're 16- or 17-year-olds, so they can be all over the map. But overall, I'm pleased that they finished at .500 and finished third in the conference. They won the Wheaton Cup (with a 2-1 win over Wheaton North). In big moments they had some big opportunities, and they played big.
“And what I can take going into next year,” Callipari added, “is that we have a good base of players returning.”
A total of 11 underclassmen were on the varsity roster all season, and six played key roles.
But before rolling out the crystal ball to eye the future, it’s worth taking a good look at the Tigers’ senior corps.
There were also 11 seniors on the varsity squad, including tri-captains Jason Weisheit, Drew Murman and Cristian Munoz.
“Jason’s seven goals led the team,” Callipari said, “but we spread it around.
“When you look at the conference, we had seven players responsible for goals. That was the most in the conference. St. Charles East was second with six (different scorers), but had one player who scored 13. Our top player Jason scored three in conference.
“That's the good and bad. We didn't have that one person to rely on game in and game out, but the flip side of that is nobody could defend easily when they don’t know who's going to show up. It could be anybody as the hero that day.”
Regardless of quantity, Weisheit could match up the importance of his goals with anyone.
He netted the game-winner in a 3-2 August victory over Burlington Central, following two earlier Tiger goals by junior Tim Foley.
Weisheit then bagged a PK goal in the Tigers’ 1-1 tie with St Charles North.
On Sept. 23, his finish was the difference when the Tigers celebrated a successful Senior Night with a 1-0 win over Batavia. Weisheit followed two days later with two goals in a 2-2 tie with Glenbard West, then struck again Oct. 5 for the eventual winner in a 3-2 triumph over Lake Park.
But when summing up the season, Weisheit looked beyond his crunch time goals to focus on other big-time memories.
“Playing with these guys was a really special thing,” he said. “And to be coached by these coaches...they've taught me and I hope everyone else a lot. And I hope as a captain I was able to pass on some of my traits to the underclassmen.
“This season for the team and myself has been good,” he added. “And my time here...I wouldn't choose anything else besides this. Being my senior season, it was about remembering everything I've learned from this program and hopefully carrying on a legacy.”
Munoz was on varsity since the start of freshman year. And as he looked back on his final prep season, one night stood out.
“The game wasn't perfect,” Munoz said, “but the Wheaton North game (Sept. 28), since it meant a lot as a town (bragging rights) thing in Wheaton. I was happy we were able to win it. That's one of the best games of the season I would say.”
Murman’s recollections of 2021 went beyond one game.
“This being my last season with this group of guys, I wouldn't have asked for anyone else,” Murman said. “Through ups and downs I had a fun time. Everything on and off the field was how I wanted it to be to end my career.
“This might be my last time putting on the cleats, the boots. So, it's just (the memories of) playing the sport itself that's really going to hit me.”
The Tigers’ defense allowed 26 goals in 18 regular-season games. And the schedule included sectional champion York, sectional finalist St. Charles East and regional winner Geneva.
“Last year (with the scheduled 2020 fall season moved to the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19) we had a quick restart coming into this season, and the backline didn't change much,” Weisheit said.
“The communication and being able to play together quickly for two seasons back-to-back helped. In club you're playing with them basically year-round. In high school that doesn't usually happen.”
One defensive newcomer of note was freshman goalkeeper Jared Ferreya, and three juniors also played prominent defender roles.
“Nikhil (Bawa) in the back is a force,” Callipari said, “and I thought Tim (Foley) did a really nice job. Tim had to move back there after we had an injury, and I thought he did really well.”
Underclassmen also joined Weisheit in making their presence felt upfield.
“Leading the way was Jason up top in our offensive third,” Callipari said, “and (juniors) Gael (Alfaro) and Chase (Kedzior) in the middle third.
“And I thought (sophomore midfielder) Edgar (Guzman) played really well (in the regional loss to East Aurora) shadowing their number 10 (star striker Roman Hernandez).”
With a number of underclassmen contributing, the tri-captains and fellow Wheaton Warrenville South seniors Gabe Waszak, Brian Tunney, P.J. Brocious, backup goalkeeper Owen Haas, Jimmy Houlihan, Oleg Greben, Jack Dalby and Andrew Walker played a key role setting a standard for the future.
“We did have a large senior class,” Callipari said. “I told our seniors their legacies will be not so much what they were able to do this year, but what this class behind them does going forward.
“We have kids in the mix now (juniors on varsity) and coming up now that won two conference championships as freshmen, and this year our JVI team won the conference.
“So we have a nucleus of really young players that we are going to count on going forward, and we look forward to it.”
Junior standout Alfaro also can’t wait.
“I think our group is going to be really good next year,” he said. “I've seen all the guys playing here (eon JVI and lower levels), and I think they have really good potential.”
The Tigers never fell below the .500 level in the fall season and twice climbed two games over the mark.
“I just think our learning curve overall was a little bit longer than I would have anticipated,” Callipari said. “But we had a lot of injuries and a lot of setbacks. We had people in and out of the lineup all season long, so there wasn’t a lot of consistency early on.
“Yet we seemed to find our way in conference play (3-3-1) and found some consistency there (all league games were decided by one goal except vs. champion St. Charles East). At the end we thought we were healthy enough, and we started to establish a rhythm of play and an understanding of who we are.”
Tough luck early in both the regular season finale (a 1-0 loss to Glenbard North) and the regional match at East Aurora (a 4-0 setback) threw a final wrench into the Tigers’ hopes.
“It's unfortunate in the last two outings,” Callipari said, “that we gave up a penalty (kick) in the first few minutes, which accounted to be the game-winner (each time). And both were soft (fouls) to some degree.
“Whether it's a penalty or not is debatable, but we allowed those plays to develop. That's what is heartbreaking. We could have been cleaner and could have been better, and it's tough to come back when you're on your heels early.”
Callipari’s overview of the regional loss to East Aurora was a good summation of how the Tigers battled.
“A lot of things didn't go our way today,” Callipari said, “but they had the fight, were competitive and gave it their best shot.”
Click here to see the Tigers' team page
By Dave Owen
Wheaton Warrenville South can look back with pride at its recently concluded season and point back to a few big wins. The program returns a strong group of underclassmen coming back or moving up to buoy the future.
The Tigers concluded the season with an 8-8-3 final record that included a 3-3-1 mark and third place tie with St. Charles North in the tough DuKane Conference.
“Some people played up a level, some plateaued and some played down,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said.
“It's high school soccer. They're 16- or 17-year-olds, so they can be all over the map. But overall, I'm pleased that they finished at .500 and finished third in the conference. They won the Wheaton Cup (with a 2-1 win over Wheaton North). In big moments they had some big opportunities, and they played big.
“And what I can take going into next year,” Callipari added, “is that we have a good base of players returning.”
A total of 11 underclassmen were on the varsity roster all season, and six played key roles.
But before rolling out the crystal ball to eye the future, it’s worth taking a good look at the Tigers’ senior corps.
There were also 11 seniors on the varsity squad, including tri-captains Jason Weisheit, Drew Murman and Cristian Munoz.
“Jason’s seven goals led the team,” Callipari said, “but we spread it around.
“When you look at the conference, we had seven players responsible for goals. That was the most in the conference. St. Charles East was second with six (different scorers), but had one player who scored 13. Our top player Jason scored three in conference.
“That's the good and bad. We didn't have that one person to rely on game in and game out, but the flip side of that is nobody could defend easily when they don’t know who's going to show up. It could be anybody as the hero that day.”
Regardless of quantity, Weisheit could match up the importance of his goals with anyone.
He netted the game-winner in a 3-2 August victory over Burlington Central, following two earlier Tiger goals by junior Tim Foley.
Weisheit then bagged a PK goal in the Tigers’ 1-1 tie with St Charles North.
On Sept. 23, his finish was the difference when the Tigers celebrated a successful Senior Night with a 1-0 win over Batavia. Weisheit followed two days later with two goals in a 2-2 tie with Glenbard West, then struck again Oct. 5 for the eventual winner in a 3-2 triumph over Lake Park.
But when summing up the season, Weisheit looked beyond his crunch time goals to focus on other big-time memories.
“Playing with these guys was a really special thing,” he said. “And to be coached by these coaches...they've taught me and I hope everyone else a lot. And I hope as a captain I was able to pass on some of my traits to the underclassmen.
“This season for the team and myself has been good,” he added. “And my time here...I wouldn't choose anything else besides this. Being my senior season, it was about remembering everything I've learned from this program and hopefully carrying on a legacy.”
Munoz was on varsity since the start of freshman year. And as he looked back on his final prep season, one night stood out.
“The game wasn't perfect,” Munoz said, “but the Wheaton North game (Sept. 28), since it meant a lot as a town (bragging rights) thing in Wheaton. I was happy we were able to win it. That's one of the best games of the season I would say.”
Murman’s recollections of 2021 went beyond one game.
“This being my last season with this group of guys, I wouldn't have asked for anyone else,” Murman said. “Through ups and downs I had a fun time. Everything on and off the field was how I wanted it to be to end my career.
“This might be my last time putting on the cleats, the boots. So, it's just (the memories of) playing the sport itself that's really going to hit me.”
The Tigers’ defense allowed 26 goals in 18 regular-season games. And the schedule included sectional champion York, sectional finalist St. Charles East and regional winner Geneva.
“Last year (with the scheduled 2020 fall season moved to the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19) we had a quick restart coming into this season, and the backline didn't change much,” Weisheit said.
“The communication and being able to play together quickly for two seasons back-to-back helped. In club you're playing with them basically year-round. In high school that doesn't usually happen.”
One defensive newcomer of note was freshman goalkeeper Jared Ferreya, and three juniors also played prominent defender roles.
“Nikhil (Bawa) in the back is a force,” Callipari said, “and I thought Tim (Foley) did a really nice job. Tim had to move back there after we had an injury, and I thought he did really well.”
Underclassmen also joined Weisheit in making their presence felt upfield.
“Leading the way was Jason up top in our offensive third,” Callipari said, “and (juniors) Gael (Alfaro) and Chase (Kedzior) in the middle third.
“And I thought (sophomore midfielder) Edgar (Guzman) played really well (in the regional loss to East Aurora) shadowing their number 10 (star striker Roman Hernandez).”
With a number of underclassmen contributing, the tri-captains and fellow Wheaton Warrenville South seniors Gabe Waszak, Brian Tunney, P.J. Brocious, backup goalkeeper Owen Haas, Jimmy Houlihan, Oleg Greben, Jack Dalby and Andrew Walker played a key role setting a standard for the future.
“We did have a large senior class,” Callipari said. “I told our seniors their legacies will be not so much what they were able to do this year, but what this class behind them does going forward.
“We have kids in the mix now (juniors on varsity) and coming up now that won two conference championships as freshmen, and this year our JVI team won the conference.
“So we have a nucleus of really young players that we are going to count on going forward, and we look forward to it.”
Junior standout Alfaro also can’t wait.
“I think our group is going to be really good next year,” he said. “I've seen all the guys playing here (eon JVI and lower levels), and I think they have really good potential.”
The Tigers never fell below the .500 level in the fall season and twice climbed two games over the mark.
“I just think our learning curve overall was a little bit longer than I would have anticipated,” Callipari said. “But we had a lot of injuries and a lot of setbacks. We had people in and out of the lineup all season long, so there wasn’t a lot of consistency early on.
“Yet we seemed to find our way in conference play (3-3-1) and found some consistency there (all league games were decided by one goal except vs. champion St. Charles East). At the end we thought we were healthy enough, and we started to establish a rhythm of play and an understanding of who we are.”
Tough luck early in both the regular season finale (a 1-0 loss to Glenbard North) and the regional match at East Aurora (a 4-0 setback) threw a final wrench into the Tigers’ hopes.
“It's unfortunate in the last two outings,” Callipari said, “that we gave up a penalty (kick) in the first few minutes, which accounted to be the game-winner (each time). And both were soft (fouls) to some degree.
“Whether it's a penalty or not is debatable, but we allowed those plays to develop. That's what is heartbreaking. We could have been cleaner and could have been better, and it's tough to come back when you're on your heels early.”
Callipari’s overview of the regional loss to East Aurora was a good summation of how the Tigers battled.
“A lot of things didn't go our way today,” Callipari said, “but they had the fight, were competitive and gave it their best shot.”
Click here to see the Tigers' team page