Wheeler shoots, scores on PK to spark Viator

After being fouled in the penalty area early in the first half in Saturday's boys soccer match against St. Joseph, St. Viator junior midfielder Trevor Wheeler had a great idea about who should take the ensuing penalty kick.

Anybody but himself.

"I was looking around for somebody else to take it," Wheeler said. "I don't like taking penalty kicks, but they were all saying 'Trevor, it's yours'. Luckily I was able to put it in."

Wheeler buried the kick past St. Joseph goalkeeper Jovani Castanon, a goal which set the tone for the Lions' 3-1 victory in Arlington Heights.

Both teams were undefeated in the East Suburban Catholic Conference entering play.

"This was our biggest game of the season," Wheeler said. "The coaches stressed to us that it could decide the conference."

Wheeler and Jack Horvath added late goals for the Lions, while St. Joseph junior Edgar Lopez scored in the waning moments for the Chargers.

"It took a little out of us, that's for sure," said St. Joseph coach Stan Niemiec of the penalty call and kick, which the Chargers objected to so strenuously that a yellow card was issued. "But these guys never gave up. They fought hard."

Wheeler had taken possession of the ball in the box and dribbled toward the goal. Castanon came out to challenge and the two collided, with Wheeler flipping head over heels as the whistle was blown.

Wheeler was unsure whether a foul would be called.

"It was up in the air," Wheeler said. "It was the goalie who made the foul, and sometimes they don't call that - but the refs gave the call to us."

Castanon helped keep the Chargers in the game in the second half, making several spectacular saves. The sophomore keeper stopped the Lions' Alan Aboona and Petar Milenkovich on point-blank shots right in front of the net midway through the half.

"Their keeper played great," said Lions defenseman Francesco Castaldi. "At one point, we couldn't get anything by him. But our keepers (Joe Marinaro and Patrick Windle) played great as well. They shared the load."

The Lions (16-2, 6-0) kept the pressure on as time wound down and finally were able to break through when Wheeler connected off a cross from Bill Krawzak.

Minutes later. Horvath scored on a header to make it 3-0, while the Chargers' Lopez kicked one in from just in front of the net with less than a minute left.

"I think that we've proved that St. Joseph soccer is back," said Niemiec, whose team suffered just its first ESCC loss. " We've been a sleeping giant, but this is a great group of guys."

"We kind of let up in the first half," Castaldi said. "We pulled through in the second half with a lot of heart, and the halftime speech we got helped a lot."