Sprague saves Naperville C.
from Plainfield N.
Senior goalkeeper worth the wait,
protects 1-0 win for BOTW final berth
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Sitting on the bench for most of last season did not sit well with Naperville Central goalkeeper Wesley Sprague.
Joe Kallikadan was entrenched as the starting goalie, meaning Sprague had to bide his time and settle for playing in a few games here and there.
Now it’s his turn and everyone is getting to see how good he really his.
Sprague came up with five saves, including two tough ones in the second half, and recorded the shutout as the host Redhawks edged Plainfield North 1-0 at home on Saturday morning to capture the top spot in Group 1 in the Best of the West Tournament.
Naperville Central (4-0-2) thus qualified for Saturday night’s 6 p.m. championship game at home. Crosstown rival Naperville North is the opponent in a rematch of last year’s sectional final.
“I definitely wasn’t the happiest being behind Joe,” Sprague said. “I never really sat on the bench before last year, so that was kind of disappointing.
“But it taught me patience and to keep working hard, and I feel comfortable. I love playing.”
The Redhawks, ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, love playing in front of the senior, who has been stellar in the early going this season.
Three saves stood out against the Tigers (2-1-2), who were trying to avenge a loss in last year’s regional final.
The first came with 33:00 left in the second half when he fully extended to his left to punch away Nick Thompson’s hard 27-yard free-kick. That kept the game scoreless.
Then, two minutes after Felix Leyva’s breakaway goal gave the Redhawks the lead, Sprague denied Thompson again, this time on a snap-header off a 40-yard free-kick from Ian Aslam.
“Wes has played outstanding this year,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “Nobody likes me telling them, but we’ve got three or four guys that can easily be varsity starters at a lot of schools.
“Wes understands that. We’ve had some JV kids get opportunities with the varsity, just like he did last year, to get them ready for when they’re going to have to start.
“It’s a good problem, but I think Wes has really taken a lot of ownership this year. He really has done an amazing job.”
It was just the second time Sprague has played a full game this year as Adams has gotten backups Brad Palagi, Ethan Connors and Michael Daas, all underclassmen, some playing time.
But his teammates picked Sprague as one of four co-captains and he has shown why they made a wise choice.
Sprague was steady as Plainfield North worked desperately to get the equalizer. The Tigers nearly got it with 2:40 left when Adam Ratini got loose just outside the 6, but Sprague deflected the shot wide of the right post.
“There were definitely a couple of those (anxious) moments, but I’m glad I reacted well and I did what I needed to do,” Sprague said. “But there were definitely some close calls.”
The Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match had an opinion as to why.
“We knew their forwards were good, and so we anticipated that and prepared for that in practice,” Sprague said. “We had good possession in the first half, and after we got the 1-0 lead I think we got a bit comfortable and started to kick the ball up the field and not trying to possess.
“We definitely need to fix that. But I thought we played well and finished strong.”
The only finish of the match came when Leyva bagged his first goal of the season with 12:25 to go in the second half.
Kyle Crawford sent a through-ball up the middle to Leyva, who got in behind the Tigers’ stingy defense.
The breakthrough was a long time coming even though the Redhawks did a good job of passing and possessing. The hosts needed every ounce of effort against a Plainfield North team determined to make a statement despite playing without two key starters.
“They definitely wanted revenge from last year,” Leyva said. “We knew they were going to come in strong, which is why we came in stronger.
“We worked a lot on our passes. Coach talked a lot about 1-2 passes. I think we finally learned how to play as a team, and we’ll use that in the championship.”
“This is kind of the first complete game that we’ve played,” Adams said. “We did a lot of things that we had talked about. We were defensively sound, we found the midfielders, midfielders linked to other midfielders and our forwards started making the runs we wanted them to make.
“But the biggest thing was the work rate was there. All of a sudden, when you work everything seems to be easier. Our work rate today was without a doubt the best it’s been this year.
“So now we have a baseline of what we can do, so we know we’re not going to go below this baseline. That’s the goal for the year.”
Plainfield North has plenty of team goals for 2016 despite graduating most of its goal-scorers from the best team in program history. The Tigers went 18-3-0 and won the Southwest Prairie Conference championship last year before falling 3-2 to Naperville Central in the regional finals.
The Tigers have never won a regional, something they want to accomplish soon.
“We knew that last year was a positive year for us with a ton of goals,” Plainfield North coach Steve Berry said. “We graduated some key players so it was kind of rebuilding, but more than that it was kind of retooling our mindset and challenging ourselves with a different level of play and that started with our schedule.
“We dropped some teams and moved into this tournament which is obviously a step up from other events. We play Wheaton Academy and St. Charles East.
“We want hard games. We want to be ready for the postseason. I’m not sure we were ready for the postseason last year with the teams we rolled over last year.”
The Best of the West provided the Tigers with the challenge they craved. Their 2-1-0 performance, which included victories over Sandburg and 2015 state semifinalist Bartlett, proved they belong.
“We were at Lemont last year, and that really didn’t do a purpose for us,” Thompson said. “This tournament helped us out a lot in finding out who we are and preparing us for the playoffs. I’m feeling really good.”
Thompson, a junior defender, and his teammates have good reason for a positive outlook. They came close to advancing to the tournament title game despite playing without senior midfielder Jake Farley and senior forward Jackson Ranck.
Farley was serving a one-game suspension for a red card, while Ranck has a hamstring injury.
“We played good but Farley is by far the best player on the team,” Thompson said.
The Tigers were playing their fourth game of the week but Berry was happy with his team’s performance.
“It was a pretty even game,” Berry said. “We competed. Even at the end we had one last chance, so it was a fun game.
“It is only September 3rd, and it was two of the better teams in our sectional going at each other and getting a feel for what October will be like. We feel happy with where we are as a program, and we’re ready to go for the rest of the season.”
But not quite ready to beat teams like Naperville Central, yet. That could change in the near future as the Tigers build a program that will be consistently excellent.
“We’ve got really good freshmen coming in next year, a great coaching staff and we will outwork any team,” said Thompson, who also gave the Redhawks their due. “(The Redhawks) are a very good team, and I wish them the best of luck.”
While the Tigers get the rest of the day off, the Redhawks had just six hours to get ready for Naperville North, which brings a 4-1-1 record into the first of two crosstown matches the Redhawks will host on consecutive Saturday nights.
“It’s always exciting,” Leyva said. “They’re also going to look for revenge from the sectional final (last year). We know they’re going to come in strong, so we’re bringing all we have.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK Cade Fink
D Patrick Elster
D Jared Osborne
D Adam Ratini
D Nick Thompson
M Ian Aslam
M Ryan Cartwright
M Ryley Burich
M Brian Bertoni
M Oliver Fisher
F Nick Anweiler
Naperville Central
GK Wesley Sprague
D Michael Tung
D Frank DeStefano
D Jake Lies
D Griffin Geisler
D Cameron Strang
M Zach Kokes
M Joe Granato
F Kyle Crawford
F Jimmy Kalkofen
F Taha Din
Man of the Match: Wesley Sprague, GK, Naperville Central
from Plainfield N.
Senior goalkeeper worth the wait,
protects 1-0 win for BOTW final berth
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Sitting on the bench for most of last season did not sit well with Naperville Central goalkeeper Wesley Sprague.
Joe Kallikadan was entrenched as the starting goalie, meaning Sprague had to bide his time and settle for playing in a few games here and there.
Now it’s his turn and everyone is getting to see how good he really his.
Sprague came up with five saves, including two tough ones in the second half, and recorded the shutout as the host Redhawks edged Plainfield North 1-0 at home on Saturday morning to capture the top spot in Group 1 in the Best of the West Tournament.
Naperville Central (4-0-2) thus qualified for Saturday night’s 6 p.m. championship game at home. Crosstown rival Naperville North is the opponent in a rematch of last year’s sectional final.
“I definitely wasn’t the happiest being behind Joe,” Sprague said. “I never really sat on the bench before last year, so that was kind of disappointing.
“But it taught me patience and to keep working hard, and I feel comfortable. I love playing.”
The Redhawks, ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, love playing in front of the senior, who has been stellar in the early going this season.
Three saves stood out against the Tigers (2-1-2), who were trying to avenge a loss in last year’s regional final.
The first came with 33:00 left in the second half when he fully extended to his left to punch away Nick Thompson’s hard 27-yard free-kick. That kept the game scoreless.
Then, two minutes after Felix Leyva’s breakaway goal gave the Redhawks the lead, Sprague denied Thompson again, this time on a snap-header off a 40-yard free-kick from Ian Aslam.
“Wes has played outstanding this year,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “Nobody likes me telling them, but we’ve got three or four guys that can easily be varsity starters at a lot of schools.
“Wes understands that. We’ve had some JV kids get opportunities with the varsity, just like he did last year, to get them ready for when they’re going to have to start.
“It’s a good problem, but I think Wes has really taken a lot of ownership this year. He really has done an amazing job.”
It was just the second time Sprague has played a full game this year as Adams has gotten backups Brad Palagi, Ethan Connors and Michael Daas, all underclassmen, some playing time.
But his teammates picked Sprague as one of four co-captains and he has shown why they made a wise choice.
Sprague was steady as Plainfield North worked desperately to get the equalizer. The Tigers nearly got it with 2:40 left when Adam Ratini got loose just outside the 6, but Sprague deflected the shot wide of the right post.
“There were definitely a couple of those (anxious) moments, but I’m glad I reacted well and I did what I needed to do,” Sprague said. “But there were definitely some close calls.”
The Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match had an opinion as to why.
“We knew their forwards were good, and so we anticipated that and prepared for that in practice,” Sprague said. “We had good possession in the first half, and after we got the 1-0 lead I think we got a bit comfortable and started to kick the ball up the field and not trying to possess.
“We definitely need to fix that. But I thought we played well and finished strong.”
The only finish of the match came when Leyva bagged his first goal of the season with 12:25 to go in the second half.
Kyle Crawford sent a through-ball up the middle to Leyva, who got in behind the Tigers’ stingy defense.
The breakthrough was a long time coming even though the Redhawks did a good job of passing and possessing. The hosts needed every ounce of effort against a Plainfield North team determined to make a statement despite playing without two key starters.
“They definitely wanted revenge from last year,” Leyva said. “We knew they were going to come in strong, which is why we came in stronger.
“We worked a lot on our passes. Coach talked a lot about 1-2 passes. I think we finally learned how to play as a team, and we’ll use that in the championship.”
“This is kind of the first complete game that we’ve played,” Adams said. “We did a lot of things that we had talked about. We were defensively sound, we found the midfielders, midfielders linked to other midfielders and our forwards started making the runs we wanted them to make.
“But the biggest thing was the work rate was there. All of a sudden, when you work everything seems to be easier. Our work rate today was without a doubt the best it’s been this year.
“So now we have a baseline of what we can do, so we know we’re not going to go below this baseline. That’s the goal for the year.”
Plainfield North has plenty of team goals for 2016 despite graduating most of its goal-scorers from the best team in program history. The Tigers went 18-3-0 and won the Southwest Prairie Conference championship last year before falling 3-2 to Naperville Central in the regional finals.
The Tigers have never won a regional, something they want to accomplish soon.
“We knew that last year was a positive year for us with a ton of goals,” Plainfield North coach Steve Berry said. “We graduated some key players so it was kind of rebuilding, but more than that it was kind of retooling our mindset and challenging ourselves with a different level of play and that started with our schedule.
“We dropped some teams and moved into this tournament which is obviously a step up from other events. We play Wheaton Academy and St. Charles East.
“We want hard games. We want to be ready for the postseason. I’m not sure we were ready for the postseason last year with the teams we rolled over last year.”
The Best of the West provided the Tigers with the challenge they craved. Their 2-1-0 performance, which included victories over Sandburg and 2015 state semifinalist Bartlett, proved they belong.
“We were at Lemont last year, and that really didn’t do a purpose for us,” Thompson said. “This tournament helped us out a lot in finding out who we are and preparing us for the playoffs. I’m feeling really good.”
Thompson, a junior defender, and his teammates have good reason for a positive outlook. They came close to advancing to the tournament title game despite playing without senior midfielder Jake Farley and senior forward Jackson Ranck.
Farley was serving a one-game suspension for a red card, while Ranck has a hamstring injury.
“We played good but Farley is by far the best player on the team,” Thompson said.
The Tigers were playing their fourth game of the week but Berry was happy with his team’s performance.
“It was a pretty even game,” Berry said. “We competed. Even at the end we had one last chance, so it was a fun game.
“It is only September 3rd, and it was two of the better teams in our sectional going at each other and getting a feel for what October will be like. We feel happy with where we are as a program, and we’re ready to go for the rest of the season.”
But not quite ready to beat teams like Naperville Central, yet. That could change in the near future as the Tigers build a program that will be consistently excellent.
“We’ve got really good freshmen coming in next year, a great coaching staff and we will outwork any team,” said Thompson, who also gave the Redhawks their due. “(The Redhawks) are a very good team, and I wish them the best of luck.”
While the Tigers get the rest of the day off, the Redhawks had just six hours to get ready for Naperville North, which brings a 4-1-1 record into the first of two crosstown matches the Redhawks will host on consecutive Saturday nights.
“It’s always exciting,” Leyva said. “They’re also going to look for revenge from the sectional final (last year). We know they’re going to come in strong, so we’re bringing all we have.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK Cade Fink
D Patrick Elster
D Jared Osborne
D Adam Ratini
D Nick Thompson
M Ian Aslam
M Ryan Cartwright
M Ryley Burich
M Brian Bertoni
M Oliver Fisher
F Nick Anweiler
Naperville Central
GK Wesley Sprague
D Michael Tung
D Frank DeStefano
D Jake Lies
D Griffin Geisler
D Cameron Strang
M Zach Kokes
M Joe Granato
F Kyle Crawford
F Jimmy Kalkofen
F Taha Din
Man of the Match: Wesley Sprague, GK, Naperville Central