Wheaton Warrenville South has some unfinished business to attend to this season. After falling in the regional final in the 2023 IHSA playoffs following back-to-back plaques in 2021 and 2022, the Tigers want to return to the success they have grown accustomed to.

Last spring was largely viewed as a rebuilding season that allowed many players to develop. The DuKane Conference was once again one of the toughest in Illinois, and the Tigers posted a record of 2-2-3 in conference play and dropped from a third place finish in 2022 to fifth place in 2023. Ultimately, the results fell short of Wheaton Warrenville South’s high standards. However, the experience that was gained has set up the current team for success.

One sore subject for the Tigers last year was their amount of ties. They often put themselves in a position to win games, but didn’t execute in the end.

“If you look at the last six years, we had 13 to 15 wins in each of those years. Last year we were 8-8, but we had five ties,” said head coach Guy Callipari. “The idea is to turn those ties into victories, and we’re back to what we expect in terms of our consistency to compete. If we can raise that bar slightly, then we’re in good shape.”

The cumulative number of juniors and seniors on the team has increased from 12 in 2023 to 17. And having 14 of 23 players return to the varsity roster will lead to continuity within the team. Furthermore, the Tigers feature two Division I athletes on the roster: junior forward Ashlyn Adams (Illinois); and junior goalkeeper Marilyn Dixon (Fairfield). 

“I feel like we had a lot of younger players last year. So, we have a lot of returning players, which is good for our offense,” said senior midfielder and captain Ava Walsh. “Last year, I feel like we just had trouble scoring. We ended in a lot of ties, but I think that’ll be better this year.”

Goal scoring, or the lack thereof, was a major factor in many of Wheaton Warrenville South’s stalemates last year. The Tigers were held to one goal or less in 12 of their matchups, including six shutouts and a 1.67 goals per game average for the entire season. The offense has retooled and plans to flip the script on its previous struggles.

“I think the ties definitely make us more hungry this year,” said senior forward and captain Molly Spayth. “We wanna go out and win and improve our record.”

The Tigers are confident in their ability to improve this season. Given their experience and developing talent on both ends of the pitch, more success is within reach.

“I’m really excited for the season, I feel like we’re gonna be pretty good,” said senior defender and captain Mia Harbert. “We have a lot of girls on offense who are really strong with the ball, really strong going forward. Our backline’s pretty strong too. I think we just need to work a little on going through the middle.”

One highlight of 2023 was that the defense held up throughout the entire season. When the offense wasn’t scoring goals, the backline made up for it. The group posted an impressive eight shutouts and only allowed 1.09 goals per game. Wheaton Warrenville South’s defense promises to return with a similar mindset.

“I think we’re a pretty strong defensive team,” said Harbert. “Since there’s a lot of returning players, I think we’ll be able to do it pretty well. I think everybody needs to watch out for Brooke (Ittersagen) and Lily (Petrie).”

Ittersagen and Petrie are both returning starters and will join be joined by Harbert, Sabrina Stransky, Chloe Trinkl, Grace Rodadowski, Kayla Waterman, Berkley Dylla, Delaney Miller, Tessa Gonzalez and Marissa Peterman in fortifying Wheaton Warrenville South’s defense and protecting Dixon’s goal.

“Our centerbacks and outside defenders work really well together with pressure and covering,” said Harbert. “They’re really quick on their feet and and play tough. I think we’ll be pretty good at keeping the ball out of our net.”

The Tigers’ midfield will work to link up its defensive efforts with produce dynamic plays that ultimately threaten the opponents’ net. The battle in the midfield is always key in terms of controlling possession and dictating the pace of play. Both loom large for Wheaton Warrenville South’s more offensive style of play this year.

“Our midfielders are really good at connecting the ball between the defense and offense. They’re really good with connecting the ball to Ashlyn (Adams) at the top,” said Walsh. “I think we’ll be really strong in the midfield this year.”

Walsh, alongside Anna Ittersagen, Emma Gronlund, Kelsey Clousing, Ella Byrnes, Addison Poquette, Alyse Whaley and Camryn Fleming, will secure the midfield for the Tigers.

Furthermore, the offense is determined to improve upon last season with an emphasis on creating space on the pitch and generating shots on goal.

“We’ve been working and training to keep the wingers wide and being able to send balls in, and everybody trying to run to the goal,” said Spayth. “(Coach) Cal keeps reiterating we need to get shots at the net.”

Spayth and Adams will be joined by Lucy Jethani in the Tigers’ attacking front line. Last year, Adams tallied 13 goals and four assists, earning all-conference and Chicagoland Soccer All-State honors. Wheaton Warrenville South is expecting her to once again lead the offense on the pitch.

“Ashlyn (Adams) up-front is a very strong player,” said Spayth.

The Tigers are also mixing things up from a tactical standpoint. Last season, the focus was mostly defensive, hence the low-scoring results. Now, the team is shifting gears to get on the scoresheet more and take command of games.

“We’re also playing with two 10s, so I think we have more of an offensive posture this year,” said Harbert. “Last year, we played with two sixes, and we had a stopper-sweeper so we were more focused on keeping a defensive position. This year I think we’ve switched a little to a more offensive-minded game.”

Featuring two offensive midfielders instead of two holding midfielders demonstrates that Callipari and company expect to have plenty of firepower while still retaining their defensive stability.

In terms of objectives, the Tigers certainly want to aim higher than what they achieved last year. Defeating cross-town rival Wheaton North is always high on the list, but there are also greater possibilities. Climbing up the DuKane Conference standings, which is always difficult with powerhouses like St. Charles North and St. Charles East, will be the main priority during the regular-season. The Tigers hope to avenge their 2-0 loss to St. Charles North in the regional final that the North Stars hosted.

There are others,

“(Winning the) Wheaton Cup, of course,” said Spayth. 

“Last year one of our goals was to get over 10 wins, but we didn’t do that so I think that’s probably one of our main goals,” said Harbert. “Capitalize on the moments we have in our games.”

It’s still early, but Wheaton Warrenville South has already demonstrated great improvement in their first two games, which were a 3-0 win against Waubonsie Valley and 2-0 victory versus Oswego East. That second win was the 500th in program history, a historic mark. 

The Tigers are now ranked 15th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 (Week 3) after not making the cut for the preseason First 50 poll. So far, all signs seem to be point that Wheaton Warrenville South is poised for a bounce-back season. 

The Tigers return to action after their spring break hiatus with their DuKane Conference opener at 6:30 p.m. at 24th-ranked Geneva on Thursday (April 4). The interruption to the season stretched to 13 days after a nonconference match against Burlington Central was postponed due to the weather Tuesday (April 2).

“It’s just a learning curve, and everybody seems to be getting along really well right now,” said Callipari. “They seem to be holding up pretty well.”