Wheaton Academy picks up another trophy
Even after Friday's disappointing loss, Wheaton Academy senior Kristen Wittmuss couldn't wait to get back on the soccer field one more time.
The Warriors forward, who will not play soccer in college, got that opportunity in Saturday's Class 2A third-place match with Peoria Notre Dame and made the most of it. She scored the only goal of the first half and added a "scrappy" goal in the second half as Wheaton Academy knocked off the Irish 5-0 to add a third-place trophy to last year's state championship trophy.
"I just went into the game knowing it's my last game at Wheaton Academy and that I love my team so much," said Wittmuss, who scored unassisted at the 23:41 mark of the first half to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead. "I played super hard and was able to finish my shots."
Looking to repeat as state champs, the Warriors (19-4-1) had allowed 3 first-half goals in Friday's 3-0 loss to St. Viator in Naperville. But rather than get down, Wheaton Academy responded with a great all-around effort Saturday to close out a second straight season with a victory.
"For me it was a good feeling to know we had another game," she said after receiving her IHSA medal on the North Central College field. "I'm just sad that it's our final match."
Scott Marksberry, who won a title last spring in his first season as Warriors coach, never doubted that his team would rebound from Friday's setback.
"Only six teams in the state get to end their season with a win and we're happy to end ours with a win," he said. "I was real proud of our girls."
One thing Marksberry told his squad before the game was that they were due for a scrappy, hard-fought goal or two rather than the pretty scores turned in regularly by the likes of Crystal Thomas, Alexa Sharkey and Ally Witt. Wittmuss' second goal of the day was just that, and it gave the Warriors some breathing room.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Wittmuss drove in deep left of the Irish goal and sent a shot off the left post. She then battled by goalkeeper Shannon Coughlon to block defender Katie Schuler's clearing attempt near the line and then kicked home her second goal of the game.
"Before the game we said we needed a scrappy goal," Marksberry said. "We've been getting a lot of pretty goals. Then we got that scrappy one from Kristen to make it 2-0. Later, of course, Crystal (Thomas) got us a pretty goal."
Coughlon did rob Caley Kopp and Thomas of goals with diving saves to temporarily keep the score 2-0, but Witt slammed home a loose ball for a 3-0 lead and Thomas made it 4-0 with her "pretty" tally midway through the second half.
Sydney Sharkey used her speed to chase down a ball and notch the game's final goal, while Warriors goalies Kristen Morency and Emily Mulder combined on the shutout but were seldom tested as Wheaton Academy held a 12-2 edge in shots on goal.
Notre Dame coach Jason Whalen expects his squad to learn from its state finals experience this weekend. The Irish, who were shut out just three times in the regular season, failed to score in two state finals games this weekend.
"Wheaton Academy is obviously a good team," he said. "Now that we're here (at state) we see what it takes. That third goal killed us. To Wheaton's credit, they smelled blood in the water and kept on attacking."