Great effort, even result
for Wheaton A., WWS
Frosh Miller impresses for host Tigers,
WA's Pearson robbed of goal in 72nd minute
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – Wheaton Warrenville South freshman Paige Miller has yet to score her first goal, but two games into her career one thing is clear.
It’s only a matter of time before the fleet forward finds the back of the net.
“Oh, yeah, I predict at least two a game,” Wheaton Warrenville South senior goalkeeper Nell Rosenthal quipped.
Rosenthal’s forecast may be a case of irrational exuberance but her excitement is justified.
Miller flashed some precocious talent during Tuesday night’s 0-0 tie with Wheaton Academy at Red Grange Field. She was consistently dangerous shooting in the first half and created some anxious moments for the visiting Warriors with her passing in the second half.
“Oh, my gosh, she is so scrappy, one of the fastest players on the team,” Rosenthal said. “It’s so fun to watch her be her little fireball self.”
Miller took three of the Tigers’ five shots in the first half and all were dangerous. The first came in the 11th minute when she made a steal in the midfield and raced 45 yards up the middle of the field before firing a left-footed shot wide of the right post.
Sixteen minutes later, Miller had a pair of scoring chances in a 45-second span. On the first play, she rifled a 24-yard shot into the belly of Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Liana Ledesma.
Then Miller received a pass from junior Julia Hildebrand, beat a defender into the box with a nifty move and got off a 12-yard shot. That, too, went straight at Ledesma.
“I think I had a pretty good game tonight,” Miller said. “I had a hard time finishing in the first half, but I think taking shots was a good thing for us. We struggled with that the first game.”
The Tigers (0-1-1) showed substantial improvement from Saturday’s season-opening 3-1 loss to Batavia. That included Miller, who isn’t frazzled by the pace or physicality of the varsity game.
“I love it,” said Miller, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “I love it. The girls were so welcoming when we got here. I’m sure the other freshmen would say the same.
“The play has been really competitive, a lot of aggressive girls playing here. They’re all so talented, and it’s definitely good competition.”
Talented is a good way to describe the four freshmen on the Wheaton Warrenville South roster, all of whom started Tuesday.
In addition to Miller, midfielder Allie Anderson scored the lone goal against Batavia and goalkeeper Abbie Brennan played the first half against the Warriors before giving way to Rosenthal. Defender Maria Dohse, who played varsity basketball this winter, is the other rookie.
The Tigers have a good blend of old and new, with seniors like Rosenthal, striker Anna Fank, midfielder Sarah Burns and defender Allison Harvey providing leadership.
“We’re trying to put it together,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “We’re trying to get them to start reading each other.
“You saw a couple of situations where we’re still running into each other, and it’s just a matter of our spacing and awareness and what our tendencies are. That just takes some time.”
It will take time, of course, for Miller to realize her potential, but Callipari likes what he sees.
“She’s trying to get acclimated to the speed of play,” Callipari said. “She’s trying to get acclimated to the strength of the girls -- playing against 17-year-olds as a 15-year-old.
“She got knocked down and face-planted a couple times, and she looked at me and goes, ‘I know, check my shoulder.’ You gotta know where the second one is coming. She gets past the first one, but then she doesn’t realize they support real well at this level and the next one’s coming.
“She was surprised a couple times. It was just getting acclimated to the complexity of the game and the speed of play.”
Miller did not attempt a shot in the second half, though she did get in behind the defense with 30 minutes left, only to have Ledesma rush out to break up the play before a shot was taken.
Instead, she focused more on creating. One cross from the right wing found Rachel Erdman in front, but Erdman sent a header over the crossbar with 10:30 to go.
“She was (dangerous),” Callipari said of Miller. “I told her to be a little less unselfish and take some of it upon herself and maybe test the goalie a little bit with those shots to the back post.”
Fank got the back post with alarming regularity over the final 15 minutes but had nothing to show for. She missed a golden opportunity with 13:50 remaining when she ran onto a long ball up the left wing, got past a defender and walked in on Ledesma before sending a five-yard shot off the crossbar.
Fank had the last scoring chance of the game but missed a 15-yard shot wide left at the 1:50 mark.
“Anna made some great runs in the second half,” Callipari said. “We played her a little bit underneath.
“We felt we could threaten a bit and get in behind with Paige’s pace and play it to Anna’s feet underneath and that seemed to work out pretty well.”
Both sides did a lot that worked out well, particularly in the first half and with the passing game.
“I do appreciate Wheaton Academy’s attempts to play the game nicely out of the back,” Callipari said. “It wasn’t a kick-and-run affair.
“Both teams got fatigued in the second half and when that happened, the play broke down. We just need to work on it.”
Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood had similar sentiments.
“We didn’t want to come out of here with a tie, but overall I was happy with the way our girls played really hard,” Underwood said. “It was a little sloppy at times but I loved the energy and intensity.
“You could tell it was, I thought, a relatively attractive game in the first half. In the second half that started to disintegrate, but I also thought the second half was a little bit more back-and-forth. They’d get a chance, and we’d come down and create.”
Underwood thought the Tigers had the better of the chances, but it was the Warriors (1-1-1) who had the best one.
It came off the foot of junior Gretchen Pearson, who ripped a 23-yard drive which Rosenthal lunged to tip around the right post with 8:50 left in the game.
“One of the things that was surprising was that goalkeeper in the second half, that was an incredible save on Pearson’s shot,” Underwood said. “I was halfway into my celebration, because I thought that was in.”
Rosenthal, who made three saves, had been enjoying a relatively uneventful game until that point but was ready.
“Coach was telling me that since the wind was at us that they were going to be shooting from far away, so I just took my chance to get ready,” Rosenthal said. “I knew that she had a really good leg. So I waited for her to shoot, and luckily I got it. I took my jump, and it worked out.”
Ultimately, senior midfielder Julia Della Torre thinks things will work out for Wheaton Academy.
“Our team is filled with mostly juniors and seniors so we have a lot of experience, but we still have a lot of newcomers. And we’re jelling with each other and learning how to play with each other and in new positions,” Della Torre said. “But I’m expecting a lot out of this team. We have a lot of really talented players.”
In that regard, the two teams are similar, so a draw was a fair result.
“I think both teams were really even so it was a hard game,” Della Torre said. “Their defense is really tight and really strong.
“We usually look for those overarching balls, but we just didn’t get those. They played really well.
“It’s a big rivalry between us. I’d love to play them again.”
Starting line-ups
Wheaton Academy
GK: Liana Ledesma
D: Emmerson Fuller
D: Britta Cassel
D: Holland Kosiek
MF: Julie Della Torre
MF: Gabi LaMantia
MF: Sophie Lindquist
MF: Maggie Liechty
MF: Anna Joy Setran
F: Erin Teevans
F: Gretchen Pearson
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Abbie Brennan
D: K.J. Waghorne
D: Ava Fickle
D: Allison Harvey
D: Julia Hildebrand
D: Maria Dohse
MF: Sarah Burns
MF: Rachel Deeman
MF: Allie Anderson
F: Paige Miller
F: Anna Fank
MVP of the Match: Paige Miller, F, Wheaton Warrenville South.
for Wheaton A., WWS
Frosh Miller impresses for host Tigers,
WA's Pearson robbed of goal in 72nd minute
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – Wheaton Warrenville South freshman Paige Miller has yet to score her first goal, but two games into her career one thing is clear.
It’s only a matter of time before the fleet forward finds the back of the net.
“Oh, yeah, I predict at least two a game,” Wheaton Warrenville South senior goalkeeper Nell Rosenthal quipped.
Rosenthal’s forecast may be a case of irrational exuberance but her excitement is justified.
Miller flashed some precocious talent during Tuesday night’s 0-0 tie with Wheaton Academy at Red Grange Field. She was consistently dangerous shooting in the first half and created some anxious moments for the visiting Warriors with her passing in the second half.
“Oh, my gosh, she is so scrappy, one of the fastest players on the team,” Rosenthal said. “It’s so fun to watch her be her little fireball self.”
Miller took three of the Tigers’ five shots in the first half and all were dangerous. The first came in the 11th minute when she made a steal in the midfield and raced 45 yards up the middle of the field before firing a left-footed shot wide of the right post.
Sixteen minutes later, Miller had a pair of scoring chances in a 45-second span. On the first play, she rifled a 24-yard shot into the belly of Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Liana Ledesma.
Then Miller received a pass from junior Julia Hildebrand, beat a defender into the box with a nifty move and got off a 12-yard shot. That, too, went straight at Ledesma.
“I think I had a pretty good game tonight,” Miller said. “I had a hard time finishing in the first half, but I think taking shots was a good thing for us. We struggled with that the first game.”
The Tigers (0-1-1) showed substantial improvement from Saturday’s season-opening 3-1 loss to Batavia. That included Miller, who isn’t frazzled by the pace or physicality of the varsity game.
“I love it,” said Miller, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “I love it. The girls were so welcoming when we got here. I’m sure the other freshmen would say the same.
“The play has been really competitive, a lot of aggressive girls playing here. They’re all so talented, and it’s definitely good competition.”
Talented is a good way to describe the four freshmen on the Wheaton Warrenville South roster, all of whom started Tuesday.
In addition to Miller, midfielder Allie Anderson scored the lone goal against Batavia and goalkeeper Abbie Brennan played the first half against the Warriors before giving way to Rosenthal. Defender Maria Dohse, who played varsity basketball this winter, is the other rookie.
The Tigers have a good blend of old and new, with seniors like Rosenthal, striker Anna Fank, midfielder Sarah Burns and defender Allison Harvey providing leadership.
“We’re trying to put it together,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “We’re trying to get them to start reading each other.
“You saw a couple of situations where we’re still running into each other, and it’s just a matter of our spacing and awareness and what our tendencies are. That just takes some time.”
It will take time, of course, for Miller to realize her potential, but Callipari likes what he sees.
“She’s trying to get acclimated to the speed of play,” Callipari said. “She’s trying to get acclimated to the strength of the girls -- playing against 17-year-olds as a 15-year-old.
“She got knocked down and face-planted a couple times, and she looked at me and goes, ‘I know, check my shoulder.’ You gotta know where the second one is coming. She gets past the first one, but then she doesn’t realize they support real well at this level and the next one’s coming.
“She was surprised a couple times. It was just getting acclimated to the complexity of the game and the speed of play.”
Miller did not attempt a shot in the second half, though she did get in behind the defense with 30 minutes left, only to have Ledesma rush out to break up the play before a shot was taken.
Instead, she focused more on creating. One cross from the right wing found Rachel Erdman in front, but Erdman sent a header over the crossbar with 10:30 to go.
“She was (dangerous),” Callipari said of Miller. “I told her to be a little less unselfish and take some of it upon herself and maybe test the goalie a little bit with those shots to the back post.”
Fank got the back post with alarming regularity over the final 15 minutes but had nothing to show for. She missed a golden opportunity with 13:50 remaining when she ran onto a long ball up the left wing, got past a defender and walked in on Ledesma before sending a five-yard shot off the crossbar.
Fank had the last scoring chance of the game but missed a 15-yard shot wide left at the 1:50 mark.
“Anna made some great runs in the second half,” Callipari said. “We played her a little bit underneath.
“We felt we could threaten a bit and get in behind with Paige’s pace and play it to Anna’s feet underneath and that seemed to work out pretty well.”
Both sides did a lot that worked out well, particularly in the first half and with the passing game.
“I do appreciate Wheaton Academy’s attempts to play the game nicely out of the back,” Callipari said. “It wasn’t a kick-and-run affair.
“Both teams got fatigued in the second half and when that happened, the play broke down. We just need to work on it.”
Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood had similar sentiments.
“We didn’t want to come out of here with a tie, but overall I was happy with the way our girls played really hard,” Underwood said. “It was a little sloppy at times but I loved the energy and intensity.
“You could tell it was, I thought, a relatively attractive game in the first half. In the second half that started to disintegrate, but I also thought the second half was a little bit more back-and-forth. They’d get a chance, and we’d come down and create.”
Underwood thought the Tigers had the better of the chances, but it was the Warriors (1-1-1) who had the best one.
It came off the foot of junior Gretchen Pearson, who ripped a 23-yard drive which Rosenthal lunged to tip around the right post with 8:50 left in the game.
“One of the things that was surprising was that goalkeeper in the second half, that was an incredible save on Pearson’s shot,” Underwood said. “I was halfway into my celebration, because I thought that was in.”
Rosenthal, who made three saves, had been enjoying a relatively uneventful game until that point but was ready.
“Coach was telling me that since the wind was at us that they were going to be shooting from far away, so I just took my chance to get ready,” Rosenthal said. “I knew that she had a really good leg. So I waited for her to shoot, and luckily I got it. I took my jump, and it worked out.”
Ultimately, senior midfielder Julia Della Torre thinks things will work out for Wheaton Academy.
“Our team is filled with mostly juniors and seniors so we have a lot of experience, but we still have a lot of newcomers. And we’re jelling with each other and learning how to play with each other and in new positions,” Della Torre said. “But I’m expecting a lot out of this team. We have a lot of really talented players.”
In that regard, the two teams are similar, so a draw was a fair result.
“I think both teams were really even so it was a hard game,” Della Torre said. “Their defense is really tight and really strong.
“We usually look for those overarching balls, but we just didn’t get those. They played really well.
“It’s a big rivalry between us. I’d love to play them again.”
Starting line-ups
Wheaton Academy
GK: Liana Ledesma
D: Emmerson Fuller
D: Britta Cassel
D: Holland Kosiek
MF: Julie Della Torre
MF: Gabi LaMantia
MF: Sophie Lindquist
MF: Maggie Liechty
MF: Anna Joy Setran
F: Erin Teevans
F: Gretchen Pearson
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Abbie Brennan
D: K.J. Waghorne
D: Ava Fickle
D: Allison Harvey
D: Julia Hildebrand
D: Maria Dohse
MF: Sarah Burns
MF: Rachel Deeman
MF: Allie Anderson
F: Paige Miller
F: Anna Fank
MVP of the Match: Paige Miller, F, Wheaton Warrenville South.
