Archrivals battle to a standoff
Two days after suffering a late Glenbard West free-kick goal that forced a 1-1 tie, Wheaton North decided to spread some of that suffering Wheaton Academy's way.
Monday's 1-1 tie between the Falcons and Warriors in boys soccer featured a first-half goal by the Warriors' Corey Burke -- and second-half free kick hit perfectly from 25 yards out by the Falcons' Kyle Fishleigh.
"That's the first time all year I've hit one that good," Fishleigh said. "That's my spot."
Fishleigh's left-footed blast bent over a Warriors' defensive wall and dropped under the crossbar, in the 60th minute of a hard-fought game in Wheaton featuring no shortage of momentum swings between the local rivals.
"I think that's the third straight year we've tied, and they may have all been 1-1 games," said Warriors coach Dave Underwood.
Underwood's crew came out flying, possessing well and applying good attacking pressure through the first 20 minutes. Brooks VanderVeen took a shot from 12 yards out that deflected hard off of teammate Lucas Young, and forced Falcons' keeper Josh Giuliano to dive and smother it.
Wheaton North (7-1-3) began to match the intensity of Wheaton Academy (6-2-4) thereafter, but through 20 minutes the Warriors were the sharper team.
"We're getting better," Young said. "We're finally figuring out what positions people are in, and what our strengths and weaknesses are."
The Warriors struck first in the 33rd minute, when Corey Burke dribbled in on the right side and hammered a shot in off a defender at close range.
A different home team took the field to start the second half, as the Falcons took a turn applying steady pressure in their attacking third. A trio of long throw-ins by Kristian Rosenberger led to a solid shot on net that Warriors defender Danny Torres headed away on the goal line in the 42nd minute.
"We were nervous about that long throw," Underwood said. "We felt coming in that we could limit their opportunities to get behind us, but then every time the ball goes out of bounds, (Rosenberger) can throw it to the back post."
The Warriors began to answer the Falcons surge in the 55th minute, and play largely went back-and-forth until Fishleigh's perfect boot in the 60th minute.
"That was a miraculous free kick," Young said. "Props to him."
"In the second half, I thought we did a fantastic job of closing that space, and it resulted in us spending some time running at the goal," said Falcons coach Bryce Cann. "I also thought we did a better job of limiting the number of opportunities they had."
"It was another classic Wheaton Academy-Wheaton North matchup," Underwood said. "Just kind of a knock-down, drag-out."