Wheaton North secures win over Glenbard East
Once Wheaton North scored Tuesday night, it had to be feeling pretty good.
By the time the Falcons put a second goal in the net, they had to figure their girls soccer victory was safe.
When you've only given up 15 goals in 21 games, you tend to believe in your defense.
The Falcons secured a 2-0 Senior Night victory against Glenbard East in Wheaton.
"If we can the ball in the back of the net against anybody, we can win anytime we step on the field," Falcons coach Tim McEvilly said.
The Falcons' problem this season has been scoring. They have just 22 goals, nearly half of them from junior Kate Wiegman, who scored both goals Tuesday. Usually a defender, she's been playing more midfield lately.
"She always plays really strong and really well," Falcons senior Paige Fowler said. "She's our leading goal scorer and she usually plays defense. So it's not unexpected from her to get 2 goals."
"We've moved her up the last few games," McEvilly added. "We haven't been scoring goals. She's the one who's created the most scoring opportunities."
Wiegman scored her first goal in the 25th minute when the Rams (8-8-3, 2-4-1 DuPage Valley Conference) failed to clear a Tiffany Traxinger corner kick.
"They're great in the air, and that's one of the areas that we've been trying to improve on," Rams coach Kent Overbey said. "They got a piece of a corner in the air and we just lost track of our marks, and she was just standing there to put it in. They stuck with it and we didn't finish the play, and it cost us."
The second goal came in the 51st minute off a 20-yard blast.
"If she can turn her hips and face the goal, she can hit the ball as hard as anybody in the state," McEvilly said. "She doesn't surprise us at all when she puts the ball in the back of the net whether it's on the restart or she's hitting the ball. She's very dangerous in the air off corner kicks also. She had a couple of opportunities tonight off corner kicks."
The Falcons held a 12-5 edge in shots on the night, with the Rams getting 3 of their shots in the final two minutes. Goalkeeper Shannon Malahy was up to the task, making 2 late saves to preserve the shutout.
"I thought we played well for about 70 out of 80 minutes and the second half we gave up a weak goal," Overbey said. "But they definitely controlled the possession of the game, but we felt that we had some chances at the end. We're young, but we've got to put those chances away."
The Falcons (10-11, 4-3) finished in fourth place in the DVC, one spot ahead of the Rams.