Warriors score late to claim SCC win over Marmion

By Curt Herron

Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke was hoping to have a match were his squad truly demonstrated what type of character that it possessed.

He got his wish on Monday against Marmion and in the process saw his Warriors also claim the early advantage in the Suburban Christian Conference.

In a match that clearly showed why the two squads are among the favorites in the Class 2A Hampshire Sectional, Wheaton Academy repeatedly rose to the occasion.

But just as it seemed that an impressive Marmion comeback might force overtime, the Warriors were able to answer the bell one final time.

With 1:02 left in regulation, Brandon VanderVeen headed in a short shot following a long free kick from Tim Daniels to cap the Warriors' wild 5-4 SCC match in Aurora.

"I was happy to see how we responded," Brooke said. "And a coach is always proud of his guys anytime that you score in the final minutes. And any time that you put five goals up it's hard to complain.

"We have a ton of respect for Marmion and knew that they weren't going to go away. They're a well-coached team and they play a very good schedule which prepares them for intense moments like this.

"We were looking for an answer as to what type of team we're going to be and I think tonight is step in the right direction. We gave up some goals on fantastic finishing by Marmion but we responded."

Part of the successful formula for Wheaton Academy (8-2-1, 4-0) was its ability to quickly respond to whatever challenge that Marmion (6-5-1, 1-1) threw at it.

That was evident early on when the Cadets scored just 3:11 into the match but the Warriors got the equalizer about four minutes later.

And after Marmion closed to within 3-2 early in the second half, Wheaton Academy needed just 44 seconds to regain a two-goal advantage with 27:50 remaining.

But after the hosts struck for two quick scores in less than three minutes to pull even at 4-4 with 17:42 left, it wasn't clear if the Warriors had another big play left in them.

That question was answered with just over a minute remaining when Daniels served up a perfect free kick and VanderVeen proved to be at the right place at the right time to give the Warriors their fifth straight win.

"It was a phenomenal serve and I saw the ball come right to me so I just needed a little touch on it and I got it," VanderVeen said. "It was a battle and we both worked hard and we got the score at the end.

"I don't know if this sends a message but it puts it out there that we're for real. People know that we're going to work hard and we'll put our best out there. This also shows that we're not going to give up.

"At first we were down but then fought back and got up on them. I'm not going to lie since it was discouraging when they tied it at 4-4 but we pushed through it as a team and we got the result that we wanted."

Marmion got things started with 36:49 left in the opening half when Max Rosenfelder sent in a free kick and Sam Duffield played it off his chest to put in a short attempt.

But just 4:02 later, the Warriors found the net when Alex Varga made a flip throw that keeper Evan Lefelstein couldn't secure and the ball hit the crossbar and went in.

The Warriors nearly increased their advantage a short time later when Zerubbable Daniel sent in a line drive that was deflected away.

About four minutes after the midpoint of the opening half, Daniels got off a pass to VanderVeen, who was stopped on a short shot attempt.

Wheaton Academy scored a big goal with just 2:16 left in the first half as William West connected from close range following a throw-in by Quinn Gorski.

Warriors keeper Philip Oster stopped Mike Frasca on a header with 1:20 left before the break to assure his team of being up midway through the match.

That 2-1 lead didn't last for long, however, as Devin Moore got free after taking a free kick from Daniels and put in a short shot just 3:51 into the second half.

"We knew that it would be a tough game," Moore said. "It's our first year in the SCC so we wanted to make a statement. They came out strong like we thought they would so we had to match it and top it.

"Each team seemed to respond after every goal so that made things more interesting and high-pressured and intense throughout. Sam Duffield was unbelievable in the air and they took full advantage of him.

"I think this win shows all of the effort that we put in and how much heart we have. We don't have the most-skilled guys but we work harder than anyone else and games like this show that we don't give up."

Marmion closed the gap to 3-2 with 28:34 remaining when Rosenfelder hit an indirect free kick from just beyond the top of the box, following an initial touch by Mike Maley.

But just as they had done earlier, the Warriors responded quickly when Daniels scored on a long grounder with 27:50 left, following a pass from Daniel.

Wheaton Academy attempted to add to its 4-2 advantage over the next few minutes but Daniel and Daniels sent attempts wide of the net and VanderVeen had a try over the net.

The hosts began their comeback efforts a short time later as Rosenfelder served up a corner that Duffield got a header on but the shot was cleared by Frank Della Torre.

However, the Rosenfelder to Duffield combination would connect on two subsequent set pieces to suddenly force a 4-4 tie with 17:42 remaining in the match.

Marmion closed to with 4-3 when Duffield headed in a short attempt following another corner from Rosenfelder, with 20:39 left to play.

After Rosenfelder was stopped on a free kick and a line drive, he served up a long free kick to Duffield, who headed in another goal from close range.

Down the stretch the Cadets had a couple of good chances which were turned away before the Warriors capitalized on their lone good threat in the late going.

"We need games where we're in intense moments against a quality opponent," Brooke said. "It's good for us in conference and in 2A and two of our goals are to play to the best of our abilities in those areas."

Man of the match: Tim Daniels

In a match that features nine goals, any one score seems to be just as significant as all of the others.

But when a squad has the advantage, lets it slip away and then regains it with a goal with just over a minute to play, then that score is obviously critical.

Brandon VanderVeen put in a short shot with 1:02 left to cap Wheaton Academy's thrilling 5-4 Suburban Christian Conference victory over Marmion on Monday.

Setting up the winning score was Warrior junior Tim Daniels, who served up a perfect long-range free kick to give him his second assist on the evening.

Daniels provided a free kick on Devin Moore's score with 36:09 remaining to put his team up 3-1 and scored a goal with 27:50 left to make it a 4-2 game.

Warriors starters vs. Cadets

Warriors Schedule