WHEATON – There was no shortage of electricity on the pitch Thursday night.

The Wheaton Cup battle between host Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South was a charged-up affair.

The two DuKane Conference teams had a lot at stake, from a conference win, to local bragging rights to snaring the large and shiny traveling trophy.

Male fans from the Wheaton North student body, were dressed – or not dressed – for the big game. Several went shirtless and marked their backs with a player’s name and jersey number.

The two teams more than made for the lack of electricity that reduced the scoreboard to a blank rectangle.

Wheaton Warrenville South junior forward Semin Razman stole the show with his 50th-minute goal that led the Tigers to their 1-0 win.

The victory gave the Tigers (5-2-4, 2-0-1) the Wheaton Cup trophy for the fifth-consecutive time and earned an important DuKane Conference road win.

Razman, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, raised his season total to seven goals.

“What Semin does is he makes everyone else better, in that they (the opponents) concentrate so much on him,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. 

"We’re just not taking opportunities where he pushes that line back. (Our opponents) have to respect him, and then we should be taking opportunities where they exist and not always trying to take that last pass into him.

“Everyone wants to reward his runs, and he wants to be rewarded on his runs. He overhit a shot in the first half over the keeper. Other than two games, he’s scored in every game.”

Razman extended his hot streak after a free kick from Jet Oehrlein.

Razman could far outpace his 2023 campaign, when he had nine goals and four assists.

The Tigers equaled their win total from last season with the victory.

“I’m feeling pretty good, feeling like we have to keep moving together,” Razman said. “I feel like I have a good chemistry with the team, and they are finding me every single time.

“We wanted this bad. Every year we come into this and know what’s at stake to win the Wheaton Cup and conference is at stake. We won’t shy away and are here to play and win.”

The duo of Razman and Oehrlein caused fits for the Falcons.

Oehrlein credited the pair’s chemistry for sparking the surge of goals this season.

“We were talking about our plays,” Oehrlein said. “I had to put it back post. Semin earned it. I saw his head out of the crowd, and he knew where to go. 

“I feel I have almost every single assist on his goals. Every time I pick up my head in the midfield, he’s the one kid I’m looking for.”

Wheaton North (2-9-1, 1-1-1) had two good chances in the final 30 minutes to tie the game. The best, a header off a free kick, hit the side net in the 62nd minute.

Falcons coach Joe Klingelhoffer said his players fought hard in the highly anticipated game. The Falcons have several new faces in their lineup. Senior defender Jackson Galbraith is the only returning starter from a 4-13-1 team in 2023.

“It’s a loss that hurts, but also keeps us hopeful because (WWS) is a good team, and we’re playing much better than we were a month ago,” Klingelhoffer said. 

“We’re learning and getting better. I was really happy with the way the guys played tonight. It’s some of the best passing, moving and defense we’ve played. I told the guys this is the best we’ve looked so far skill-wise and physically. That just means we have to keep moving forward and keep getting better.”

Wheaton Warrenville South had a multitude of chances to score goals throughout the game. Wheaton North goalie Maxwell Henderson earned a break following his busy 80-minute performance. He piled up several highlight plays with his jumping and diving ability. 

The keeper tallied nine saves, including two tap-out stops.

Henderson had five saves in the opening half, including two in a 20-second sequence at the mid-way point. His tap-out save with just under seven minutes until halftime, on a free kick, received a big round of cheers.

Wheaton Warrenville South got its only score after Oehrlein sent a long ball to the far post. Razman was in the ideal spot to knock in a four-yard shot.

“I took the ball after getting fouled at the start,” Razman said. “I told Jet that he knows how to perfectly place it to me: ‘You take it, and I’ll go in.’

“Just told him to find me, and I’ll finish it off. He placed it perfectly. I trust him with the ball throughout the season.”

Oehrlein was a marked man from the opening whistle but found a way to find his main partner for the winning goal.

“Right from the start, I realized I couldn’t turn,” Oehrlein said. “I had two (guys) on my back the whole time. At first it was difficult. But later in the first half, I figured it out, and we got through the challenge.”

Two minutes later, the Tigers nearly added another goal from a free kick in almost the same spot as before. The visiting team closed out the game with three opportunities to add an insurance goal, but came up empty, including having a hard-hit shot blocked by a Falcons’ defender in the 74th minute.

Wheaton Warrenville South goalie Jared Ferreyra notched four saves to earn the clean-sheet. 

Ferreyra saved the day with a tap-out save by the near post in the 78th minute for the finishing touch on his shutout.

Wheaton Warrenville South senior defender Quentin Oker, a three-year varsity player, said the backline hung tight against the Falcons. He credited the play of his mates Santiago Mosca, Rob Redlich and Noah Giannasi.

“We’ve been playing really well lately as a defensive unit,” Oker said. “We move well and shifted well. Me and Santi (Mosca) have been working really hard in practice, working on our balancing and stepping up. We were really connected tonight.

“They were going for a lot of long balls. I thought Rob and Noah did a good job of stopping them. We covered for each other well. It feels great to win this game again. It’s awesome. It’s always fun to play against a cross-town rival and to win. It really helps us in conference. This is a big win.”

Mosca, a senior, said the Tigers have smoothed out some of their early-season mistakes in the backline.

“It’s amazing really to win this game five years in a row,” Mosca said. “Every time we play against Wheaton North, it’s a great competition. Me and Quentin have a great chemistry together. I’ve known him since elementary school. We’ve always played together, so it’s nice finishing my senior year with him and winning.

“They had a lot of long balls, so it was lot about getting our head on it. I know Quentin is behind me, so we were ready.”

Wheaton Warrenville South senior midfielder Diego Bautista was on the hunt for a goal but came up empty.

“When I get the ball, I always first look to Jet and Semin, because they are on the scoresheet every single game,” Bautista said. “Even though they were pretty marked, they both still did their job by getting an assist and the goal.

“I really wanted a goal. When I was a sophomore, I was able to score in the Wheaton Cup. So, I really wanted to get that goal in my senior year. It didn’t happen, but we still got the win.”

Wheaton North senior forward Alex Leon, a first-year varsity player, said Wheaton Warrenville South came out aggressive in the second half.

“I thought we did really good in the first half, but they definitely brought it stronger in the second half,” Leon said. “I felt we got outplayed a little bit. It’s different playing in this game; it’s a great experience. I think we will come back stronger after this.”

Playing in his second Wheaton Cup game, Galbraith said the loss was difficult to handle because of the rivalry, but the Falcons made progress.

“I’m really proud of how we played this year in the game,” Galbraith said. “We played really strong, technical and physical. It’s a lot better than last year. I’m happy about that, but it stinks we couldn’t get the result we wanted. 

“I think we’re getting better with each game. If we play like this against other teams but finish in at the end and play the whole game, I think we can do a lot better and win some more conference games.”

Wheaton North senior defender Aiden Kile, also a first-year varsity player, said he was happy to participate in the rivalry after playing club soccer the past three seasons.

“It was a very intense game, a lot different than club,” Kile said. “It’s a different level with all these people out here and the rivalry. It was physical and a very high-level game. We just let in a bouncing ball that found their foot for the goal.”

Wheaton North junior midfielder Ryder Froebe said he was excited to play in the Wheaton Cup for the first time.

“It was a physical game, and I’ve wanted to play in this game after not being on varsity and try and help the team,” Froebe said. “We started off slow and (Wheaton Warrenville South) had a lot of starters back from last year.”

Wheaton North will train up to its next match, a DuKane tilt in Geneva on Oct. 1.

Callipari said his players continue to learn how to mesh together, and their chemistry is becoming evident on the pitch. 

“We’re not going to score a bunch, so we have to figure out not to give up much and figure out how to stay in it long enough until we find our way, which happened tonight for us,” Callipari said.

“Until about mid-way through the second half, it could’ve gone either way. They threatened by attacking the ball, the three-ball and a lot of 50/50 balls around the park. 

“We did make some bad mistakes, but I thought we had good coverage and balance and always had a second defender in there trying to disrupt what they were trying to navigate through.

“In the offensive end, it was about that final third, the final pass. We’ve been talking about 75 percent of goals are scored indirectly or off a free kick. So what happened? Our last three goals have been on free kicks. We have a lot of nice play through the middle third, combinations through our three guys. They love the bumping. 

“I do want to maintain possession, but it’s ironic that it comes down to a free kick. Jet Oehrlein has the last two and this time he finds Semin at the end of it. It’s about being brave and courageous with the goalie coming up, especially since he’s a big kid. It’s about getting a foot on it, soft touch and soft feet.”

The Tigers celebrated the victory by taking several pictures on the field with the Wheaton Cup. It didn’t bother them a bit that the Wheaton North marching band was playing loudly on the other side of the field.

Wheaton Warrenville South followed up the match with a home 1-1 tie with no. 15 Glenbrook North. About 24 hours later, they fell 4-0 to no. 16 Maine South in a BodyArmor final in LaGrange.

The Tigers get a training day before they are back in DuKane Conference action when they host Lake Park on Oct. 1.

Starting lineups
 
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Jared Ferreyra
D: Santiago Mosca
D: Noah Giannasi
D: Quentin Oker
D: Rob Redlich
MF: Aaron Escareno
MF: Diego Bautista
MF: Am Za Lian
MF: Liam Smeir
F: Jet Oehrlein
F: Semin Razman

Wheaton North
GK: Maxwell Henderson
D: Aiden Kile
D: Chris Mann
D: Jackson Galbraith
D: Gabriel Brada
MF: Luke Hodel
MF: Chris Nunez
MF: Rocco Johnson
F: Alex Leon
F: “Junior” Edwin Gitonga Jr.
 
Chicagoland Man of the Match: Semin Razman, jr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South

 
Scoring summary
 
First half
No scoring
 
Second half
WWS: Razman (Oehrlein), 50’