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WW South puts the recent past behind with a win over Wheaton Academy By Gary Larsen
Putting the brakes on a three-game skid, the visiting Tigers (17-4-2) got that win on Friday, 4-1 over Wheaton Academy. Lopsided losses to Bartlett, Naperville Central, and West Aurora in the last week are now in the Tigers’ rearview mirror. “That was tough but our team just got back together, and we solved some of the problems,” Tigers senior Ricky Munguia said. “The chemistry is back again.” “They’ve had a really good year and they just had a tough week,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said of his side. “I didn’t think the wheels came off. We’ve been a little beat up but we’ve continued to work hard. They continued to play spirited. They know they can play the game, and it’s also been a matter of getting numbers back in the lineup.” The return of a healthy Alden Marton and Matt Krieger helped in securing Friday’s win, and a pair of goals apiece from Munguia and Drew Bellmer helped the offense break out of its recent doldrums. During the three-game losing streak, the Tigers were outscored by an 11 to 2 margin. “That’s unacceptable, but every season you go through phases,” Bellmer said. “And it was good to see us go through that and be able to come out here today and put together a good game against a good opponent.” Callipari was happy to see his boys put multiple goals on the scoreboard on Friday. “We’ve been sitting two of our top four goal scorers in George (Doran) and Alden (Marton),” Callipari said. “Ricky and Drew have been quiet as of late. We needed them to step up and tonight they both shined.” Tigers goalkeeper Derek Babb made a few point-blank saves early on against Wheaton Academy (14-4-2), plus a diving save of a Tim Daniels free kick in the 7th minute. WW South took a 1-0 lead two minutes later, when Bellmer ran onto a ball sent perfectly across the goalmouth to the far post by Alex Brazeau. The Warriors tied the score on a Daniels goal before halftime. The Tigers went up 2-1 in the 47th minute, when Tigers defender Nathan Fuster got every bit of a restart boot, 75 yards away from the Warrriors’ goal. The ball took its sweet time coming down near the 18, where a number of players converged on it. “In the confusion I just kicked it in,” Munguia said. “There was a crowd around the ball and I just took a chance.” Fuster’s bomb surprised even his teammates. “We’ve always known he had a far kick,” Bellmer said. “But that one turned some heads. And Nate just brings great energy to the team. Whenever we’ve been down, he brings the energy. He keeps everybody’s heads up. He keeps us going.” The Tigers went up 3-1 in the 61st minute on Munguia’s second score off of another long restart. “Alec Brazeau gave me a long ball, and the goalie was coming out. I got to it first and just chipped it over,” Munguia said. If Callipari has a recurring nightmare, you can bet it involves watching his team play a direct style of soccer. But that’s just what it needed to do on Friday. “After halftime we went to a 4-3-3 and played a little more direct, given that the field conditions weren’t going to allow us to play through the midfield any longer,” Callipari said.
The games final goal came on a Bellmer shot from 20 yards out that tore through a wide-open seam in the Warriors’ defense and stretched the back netting. “Coach has been harping on me to hit something from further out,” Bellmer said. “I was getting a little picky, trying to get the best opportunity I could. So I just put my head down and tried to put it on frame.” “Before the West Aurora game we kept saying that we have to turn this around, and it was the same thing before this game. This was the last (regular season) game. There are no more before the playoffs so it was our last chance to show everybody that we’re back.” “We finished strong, played good defense, and I think we sent a message to other teams that we’re back.”
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2009 Schedule
WW South starters vs. Wheaton Academy
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Wheaton Warrenville South was just about aching for a win on Friday.
“(Wheaton Academy) stayed the course, but we decided to try to go from back to front. When they’re playing flat in the back and field conditions are what they are tonight, you have to play to win so that’s what we needed to do in order to try to win.”