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Girls soccer: Wheaton Academy blanks West Aurora

Erin Teevans was coming up big in the clutch as soon as she joined Wheaton Academy as a freshman a few years ago.

She wasted little time doing it again as she began her senior year on Wednesday afternoon at West Aurora.

Teevans scored on a breakaway a little more than midway through the second half and the Warriors held on for a 1-0 nonconference girls soccer victory.

"Danielle (Bessey) just played me a big ball ahead and I knew it was pretty open," she said. "All she needed to do was get it over the top. I got it and decided to dribble as fast as I could to see if I could score."

Scoring hasn't ever been a problem for Teevans, who walked into the program just like smoke in 2015 and entered this season with 66 career goals already. Now she has 67.

"School has went by really fast and I'm so thankful to play with this team and I love it," she said. "We have a special program with our team chemistry and even though we lost a lot of seniors we came here with confidence knowing we could get back to where we were last year."

Warriors coach Jeff Brooke has watched his star blossom into more than a scorer.

"I think Erin is a much more well-rounded player now," he said. "I think she could play any of the top four spots that we have. I think she's really developed her overall game."

West Aurora (0-2) already had a game under its belt, a 2-0 loss to Naperville Central on Monday, but appeared lethargic at the start.

"I just think we started off really slow, had a lack of focus in warmups and our first few passes were right at them," Blackhawks coach Laura Wagley said. "I thought on Monday we were more excited than we were today. We were too laid back and not ready to go."

Wheaton Academy (1-0) had a handful of chances in the first half, including 4 corner kicks and a couple shot attempts from Teevans, but was unable to finish. Still, it had nearly all of the possession and Brooke estimated that about a half dozen girls were seeing their first varsity action.

"The girls came out great so I was pleased," Brooke said. "We graduated 12, including five who went on to play college soccer. I thought the girls looked around and were excited to jump into their roles. I was wondering if we'd step up and we did."

The Blackhawks finally came to life once they realized time wasn't on their side.

In the final 10 minutes, Sarai Munoz was off target on two decent scoring attempts, Olivia McPherson rolled a shot off the left post and Marlene Sanchez had a hybrid shot/pass attempt that was batted away.

"Once they scored we tried to push more girls," Wagley said. "We saw the formation they were playing and knew we could put more offense and try to get chances but we just couldn't follow through on that."

With just 44 seconds left Riley O'Brien nearly tied the game but Wheaton Academy keeper Marta Oster was ready to make the save.

"Marta was great," Brooke said. "She made three big saves when it was late and we were fighting a little fatigue there so she was a difference."

Wagley was satisfied with the play of her defense, especially junior Isela Chavez in allowing the Blackhawks to remain just a play away from a tie until the buzzer sounded.

"We're doing well defensively with marking and finding our center mids and then moving up to the forwards," Wagley said. "We defended well and Isela Chavez played very well at stopper. She didn't get to play Monday but did very well today for us."

  Wheaton Academy's Maggie Bailey tries to get through West Aurora's Yanna Papoutsis and Alexis Juarez Wednesday in a girls soccer game in Aurora. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Wheaton Academy's Emma Goebel keeps West Aurora's Audrey Stephens off the ball Wednesday in a girls soccer game in Aurora. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  West Aurora's Sarai Munoz stays in front of Wheaton Academy's Lizzy Swoboda as they chase the ball Wednesday in a girls soccer game in Aurora. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  West Aurora's Marlene Sanchez and Wheaton Academy's Emma Goebel compete for a header Wednesday in a girls soccer game in Aurora. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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