Wheaton Academy ready for the big time

Playing against Class 3A opponents is nothing new for Wheaton Academy. The Warriors have been doing that for years.

Playing them in the postseason will be a whole new experience. The Warriors are now a Class 3A squad.

Wheaton Academy (16-4-1) opens against Hoffman Estates in the Conant regional on Tuesday.

"The sectional, and even the regional, is really packed," Warriors senior Ty Seager said. "We start with Hoffman Estates, who is a quality team and honestly we have to come out and play our game. We've definitely stressed that this week - to play hard and focus on that first game."

Seager, the captain of last year's Daily Herald DuPage All-Area team, is putting the finishing touches on a brilliant tenure.

He scored his 100th goal as a Warrior on Sept. 13 against Batavia.

"It was an honor to get that number," he said. "It's crazy. It's my last year and I had to come out and give everything I had after an amazing year last year. I want to leave on a high note. It's been amazing to play for such a program. It's allowed me to reach my full potential."

After a brief rough stretch that included three consecutive losses to Libertyville, Riverside-Brookfield and St. Charles East, the Warriors finished with seven straight victories. Coincidentally, if the seeds hold, the Warriors would play a rematch against the Saints for the Conant regional title.

Special season:

Regardless of how Glenbard North fares in the postseason, this year will go down as one of the best for the Panthers.

Glenbard North (11-4-1, 5-3-0) finished tied for third place in the DuPage Valley Conference.

Highlights include wins over Naperville Central and Naperville North.

"We've got four losses all by one goal and two were in overtime against quality teams," Panthers coach Gregg Koeller said. "We have a lot of confidence. The guys have worked very hard and even the games that they've fallen behind they've scrapped their way back. They know they can play with anybody and it's huge going into every game knowing it's going to be close and knowing you can compete."

Gio Duenas, Danny Koeller and Jacob Scheufer have solidified the midfield, while the team has several other scoring options, including Danny Ramirez, as well as a proven stopper in goalkeeper Nathan Chalus.

Prior to the season, Gregg Koeller spoke highly of the talent on the roster and they've lived up to the potential.

"We had a successful summer league, but you take that with a grain of salt," he said. "Winning against Naperville Central was big because we had never beaten them in my tenure here and then against Naperville North when we were both at the top of the conference in overtime was another huge game. When you can beat quality programs like those, you're doing a lot of things right."

Tenacious defense:

An amazing regular season has St. Francis geared for its best postseason run since it won a sectional in Class 2A in 2011.

The Spartans (12-1-4) are winning primarily because of a defense that's rarely been scored upon.

They've only allowed two goals in a game once this year, and that came in their only loss of the season, 2-1 against Mt. Carmel on Sept. 10.

They've only allowed five goals all season while collecting 13 shutouts.

If they beat Montini on Tuesday in the Class 2A St. Francis regional semis, they'll likely take on Sycamore, winners of the Northern Illinois Big 12 East conference, in the championship on Saturday.

"We're not looking past anybody," Spartans second-year coach Kevin Ward said. "If we can stay disciplined and continue to defend, we're in good shape. I don't think there has been a lot of teams that have done what we're doing. I'm seeing a lot of 3-2 and 4-3 games, what have you, and with our system defense has been our objective."

With tri-captain Jonathan Burke in goal and leading a strong and deep group of defenders, including senior Timmy Pisarski, the Spartans should be a tough out.

"Our defense has kind of been the backbone of who we are," Ward said. "We've got a nice group with 10 seniors so we're loaded on that end, but we also have a nice mix of young kids."

Part of that back line is young with freshman Nicholas Gulli and sophomores Jacob Power and Ethan Grosman playing valuable minutes.

Thanking the big rival:

Naperville North won the DuPage Valley Conference outright last Tuesday after its cross-town rival Naperville Central, which has struggled for the most part this fall, upset Lake Park.

The Huskies still took care of business in their season finale, beating Waubonsie Valley 5-1 Thursday to finish 7-1 in the DuPage Valley Conference.

What made the DVC different this season was the addition of the Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley, all of which left the Upstate Eight Valley.

Looking ahead:

As a fan it's hard not to think about a potential Naperville North vs. Hinsdale Central game in this year's Class 3A Lewis University supersectional. The teams are lined up for that to happen again, but both will need to survive regionals and sectionals.

Wes Bergevin set a school record for all-time shutouts after the Red Devils won during a shootout when the teams met in last season's supersectionals. The Red Devils then went on to beat Normal for the program's first state title since Gerald Ford was president.

Under the radar:

Timothy Christian won its fourth consecutive Class 1A regional title last weekend behind two goals apiece from Mitch Evenhouse and Jimmy Allen.

The Trojans, who only have four seniors on the roster, continue their run toward state on Tuesday in the Lisle sectional.

Miscellaneous:

Willowbrook (10-6-0) had gotten off to a great start this fall, winning nine in a row, but the Warriors will take a five-game losing streak into the Class 3A Lake Park regional semifinals on Wednesday. It won't be easy breaking that streak, especially against a Lancers (11-2-3) team that has won five straight and will enjoy the comfy environs of home. Lake Park has lost only one game in regulation this fall and that came in a season-opening, 2-0 defeat to Addison Trail on Aug. 25.

Don't let the records of the Valley teams fool you. Only Neuqua Valley (9-8-1) has a winning record, but don't be surprised if one of them wins a regional title. The Wildcats will play Waubonsie Valley (4-11-1) in a Class 3A Waubonsie Valley regional semifinal on Tuesday, while Metea Valley (9-10-1) takes on Oswego on Wednesday in Bolingbrook.

"One day we're focused and then the next, not so much," wildcats coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said about his team's inconsistency. "It's been that way the whole season. Hopefully we can eliminate the mistakes long enough to keep getting Ws."

Since Sept. 10, Benet is an impressive 12-1-1. The Redwings finished on a high note, edging conference rival St. Viator 3-2 in double overtime. Senior Daniel Morefield scored twice in the first half but saved his best goal for last, netting the game-winner with a minute left in the second overtime.