WHEATON – Back in late September, Wheaton Warrenville South was struggling to play consistent soccer.
The Tigers weren’t necessarily playing bad, but an overloaded schedule was taking a toll on the team.
After a quality effort that resulted in a 1-1 result against highly ranked Glenbrook North, the Tigers strolled into a BodyArmor final Sept. 29 against Maine South with plans for a big postgame celebration.
Instead, Wheaton Warrenville South fell decisively 4-0 after the Hawks scored three second half goals.
Tuesday’s DuKane Conference finale between St. Charles East and Wheaton Warrenville South marked the first of two meetings between the two rivals. The other big one occurs Oct. 22 at St. Charles East, when the 11th-seeded Saints host the seventh-seeded Tigers in a regional semifinal at 6:30 p.m.
As the Tigers slinked off the plush grass field with their heads down following the Maine South defeat, Wheaton Warrenville South Guy Callipari remained upbeat.
He also knew that the absence of senior defender Quentin Oker due to illness had led to some mistakes in the backline.
The Tigers roared back from the setback with an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1), highlighted by a 4-1 home win over St. Charles East on Tuesday night (Oct. 15) that clinched the program’s first DuKane Conference title.
Junior forward Semin Razman led the way with his first-hat trick of the season as Wheaton Warrenville South ended a run of three-straight St. Charles East conference titles.
By beating the Saints, the Tigers (11-5-5, 6-0-1) took the seventh DuKane Conference championship. The young league debuted in 2018. Callipari said the conference title was the first for the program since 2009.
Razman, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, has scored a team-high 21 goals this season. He said the Tigers flipped a switch following the Maine South defeat.
“It feels great, because we’ve worked toward this goal all season,” Razman said. “We’ve put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It feels great.
“We came out on top and felt like we worked so hard for it and deserved it. I feel it comes down to how much we want it. Our loss in the BodyArmor final, it humbled us. We learned how to connect with each other and know where everyone is making those runs. We figured out our team, and we’re looking really good.”
Oker said the defeat to Maine South was a key turning point in the Tigers’ season.
“It feels awesome, because we’ve been talking about this since our freshman year,” Oker said. “We’ve been talking about how good this team could be, so it’s nice to see everything come together. We had a great win and played as a group.
“I think BodyArmor was a wake-up call for the team. We really needed to lock-in, and we started to take practice seriously. We came together as a group.”
After the final buzzer, the Tigers ran over to the main grandstand to celebrate with their fans on the chilly night, then took team and individual photos.
Wheaton Warrenville South standout Jet Oehrlein couldn’t stop smiling after the game. He mentioned how the team stayed focused.
“This is just an honor,” Oehrlein said. “We had been building up all day to this game with our team talks and the boys in the hall (at school). We were ready. We wanted this.
“During the whole game, I knew St. Charles East would be tough. They always show up. They might not have the record this year, but we always know they will show up. We wanted to win a DuKane Conference championship for the first time in our soccer history.
“We kept our composure. Right when we got the first goal, we got excited, but it was a wake-up call when they scored again. Once Semin got the second goal, we knew we would take over.”
Callipari credited his team for fighting back from adversity to close out the regular-season in style.
“I’m really happy for the guys, especially our senior class,” Callipari said. “I’ve known some of them, like Jet Oehrlein, since he was seven-years old. To see their effort pay off in the way it has and going undefeated in this conference is an incredible feat.
“Semin must have had six braces this year, but was always knocking on the door for that third (goal). He’s been able to get 21 goals over the course of the season against tough teams. He’s a special kid and deserving of all the accolades.”
Razman scored the first goal less than 45 seconds into the match, leading to a big celebration. After St. Charles East answered with a 15th-minute equalizer, Razman regained the lead for Wheaton Warrenville South three minutes later.
He added a third goal in the 61st minute, beating two defenders and connecting on a bullet shot from seven yards away. Midfielder Liam Smeir tallied the final goal in the 80th minute.
Razman had a favorite score of the day.
“The second goal, because I got the ball and I thought I took a heavy touch. I don’t know how I got it back, and I just cut it in and slotted it,” Razman said.
St. Charles East showed plenty of fight in the match.
After a potentially demoralizing goal surrendered in the opening minute, the Saints (4-12-4, 2-3-2) battled back to tie the game at 1-1.
Senior reserve Braden Arville silenced the large crowd with an equalizer in the 15th minute after an assist from senior captain Garrett Melton.
“I saw the keeper go in, and I just tried to chip it. It got deflected, and I got it on an angle, and it went in,” Arville said. “It felt good to score. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I guess we got some momentum.
“We have to find our identity and fix ourselves and find our best style of play to get a win next time. I feel like we fought well.”
Melton said it was a solid first half of play by the Saints, which allowed them to focus on a better game plan to stop Razman and Oehrlein.
“We learned that Semin and Jet are their best players. We tied the game in the first half and showed we can compete with them,” Melton said. “This game shows we can score on them and play good defense. We have to lock up Semin and Jet next game, and we will be good. The playoffs are a whole different atmosphere, so we know we can win that game.”
Coach Vince DiNuzzo noted that St. Charles East has been in a different lane this season, a rare developmental stretch. Since 1983, the Fighting Saints have won 21 regional titles, seven supersectionals, qualified for state 11 times and captured two state titles with a runnerup finish in that span.
“We’ve won three-straight conference championships, so we’ve haven’t been in this situation,” DiNuzzo said. “It’s different for us to go through this process. We haven’t been in this situation – ever. It’s different, but I hope what the kids saw tonight, and what we see on the film when we go home, will be valuable in the playoffs.
“We wanted to get a couple of different looks at them, but they played well. They capitalized on a lot of mistakes we made. Hopefully we can learn from and take it forward to the playoffs.”
DiNuzzo has coached his share of special players. He praised the high-scoring Razman for taking over the game.
“(Razman) murdered us with three goals,” DiNuzzo said. “I think two of them were individual goals, just him dribbling around our team. We have to get little more physical with him before that develops.
“But it’s good to see that before the playoffs. Obviously, it was not the result we wanted, but when we were tied, we decided to press and go for it.
“They scored pretty quick after we tied it up. In the second half, I thought we had much more of the ball and played much better. That kid (Razman) scored a goal against the run of play and changes the dynamic. By that point, let’s get them off the field and not risk injury.”
Well after the final buzzer sounded and Wheaton Warrenville South was done celebrating, several players were involved in the clean-up process and helped put away equipment. The afterglow of the conference title remained evident.
“We came into the game knowing we had to win, and that it was a must,” Smeir said. “We gave it our all and came out with a lot of passion and grit. This feels amazing.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK: Ivan Campobasso
D: Giancarlo D’Argento
D: Abe Leidig
D: Colin Harrington
D: Jack Fitzgerald
D: Will Wade
MF: Garrett Melton
MF: Aidan Richbell
MF: Connor Sychowski
F: Sam Arville
F: Huxley Kapoor
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Jared Ferreyra
D: Rob Redlich
D: Santiago Mosca
D: Noah Giannasi
D: Quentin Oker
MF: Aaron Escareno
MF: Liam Smeir
MF: Diego Bautista
MF: Am Za Lian
F: Jet Oehrlein
F: Semin Razman
Chicagoland Man of the Match: Semin Razman, jr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
WWS: Razman (Oehrlein), 1’
SCE: Arville (Melton), 15’
WWS: Razman (unassisted), 18’
Second half
WWS: Razman (Redlich), 61’
WWS: Smeir (Escareno), 80’