Wheaton Academy blows past Lake View

With conditions dictating play Wheaton Academy’s boys soccer team made the most of the situation.

On a small, artificial-turf field with a 30 mph wind coming from over the north goal, the Warriors made the adjustments they needed to make and defeated Lake View 1-0 at Tuesday’s Class 2A Solorio supersectional on Chicago’s southwest side.

“When you want to play it on the ground, but the wind would carry it,” Wheaton Academy junior Grant Stoneman said. “You couldn’t get it in the air at all because the wind would just take it. But we were able to get one goal off it, at least.”

“We took the wind to start,” added Warriors coach Jeff Brooke. “They did a good job of limiting the amount of balls we got on frame. We were really in their half, and to put that ball away Stoneman has been just a rock for us all year. He produces goals, he defends, he distributes.”

Stoneman got that goal, his 28th of the season, in the 35th minute with the wind at his back. Stoneman got his head to a Gareth Flynn corner kick and put the ball in the net.

“A great ball in by Flynn off the corner, and I buried it,” Stoneman said.

As Lake View did in the first half, the Warriors (21-6) spent the second half playing a lot of defense, a task made harder by the wind.

“We put five in the back. I dropped off. It was just easier to get the box cleared,” Stoneman said.

“We knew the second half would be a battle,” Brooke added. “We wanted to continue to play. We thought the wind would help us hold some balls up so we could get through a little, but credit to them. I thought they looked solid individually and very technical in the second half. With the wind at their back I thought they looked comfortable, so that limited our ability to get in behind (Lake View the back line).”

The ball usually found its way back toward the south goal quickly, because it wasn’t going very far with the clearance. Moving the ball upfield took a lot of effort and skill against a strong Lake View team.

“They were pretty tough,” Stoneman said. “They had a good three set in the middle and (Uriel Landa), the left back, was pretty good. But we just fought through it. (Goalkeeper Spencer Graf) played well, didn’t give up a goal.”

Wheaton Academy will play Peoria Notre Dame at 11 a.m. Friday in the Class 2A semifinals at Lincoln-Way North High School.