Boys soccer: St. Charles North holds off Wheaton Academy

By the time Thursday's boys soccer game ended, St. Charles North didn't mind at all that it had been outplayed in the first half.

The 1-0 victory at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago had the North Stars in a good mood.

"I was just telling the guys, we scored our goal in the first half but I thought that they were the better team. I thought they had more of the play in the first half. We weathered the storms," St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. "But I thought we made some good adjustments in the second half and played a little bit more of our style and stuff that works for us. Just proud of the boys and how hard they worked for us."

The lone goal came on the North Stars' first shot of the game when the Warriors (6-1-2) failed to clear the ball from their penalty area. The ball fell to North Stars senior Ryan Olson, whose shot was deflected on its way into the net in the 14th minute of play for his third goal of the season.

"It'll be our challenge just to get the finish in the big game," Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said. "They got theirs off a deflection. That's a great player at the spot, so maybe he would have finished it anyway. Yeah, they got their finish and we didn't get ours. That's what it felt like."

Wheaton Academy peppered St. Charles North goalkeeper Piercarlo Ricossa with 12 first-half shots, forcing him to make 6 of his 10 saves in the shutout. The second half was more even, with the North Stars owning much of the ball in the first 20 minutes before the Warriors earned more possession as they pushed for an equalizing goal in the final minutes.

"They're a great side," Brooke said. "I actually really like playing them. They provide a physicality that's a stretch for us. We've got some younger guys filling minutes, and their physicality and size was challenging for us. And I liked how they used their strengths. They're a little more direct. They use their size on set pieces, dangerous on corners, ball winners in the middle of the park."

With the win St. Charles North (7-1-3) advanced to the PepsiCo Showdown final Sept. 25.

"This is a really difficult environment to play in, difficult environment to win in," Willson said. "I think it says a lot about where we're at at this point in the season. We've still got some growing to do. We've still got some improving to do. But I like where we're at right now."

The Warriors lost in the tournament semifinals for the fourth consecutive season, leaving them feeling jinxed.

"We can't get by," Brooke said.

Follow Orrin on Twitter @Orrin_Schwarz