Wheaton North's defense solid, attack building

By Gary Larsen

Since Bryce Cann took over the head coaching job at Wheaton North five years ago, Falcons’ opponents have been able to rely on one immutable fact.

Wheaton North defends hard.

“That’s one of the things we harp on a lot – that old adage that defense wins championships is true,” Cann said. “There will always be games when it doesn’t matter how many opportunities you get, some days you’re not going to score.”

In five games of Lake Park’s Lancer Classic tournament to start the year, the Falcons took on Conant, Streamwood, Buffalo Grove, Crystal Lake South, and the host Lancers.

The Falcons tied eventual tournament champion Crystal Lake South 0-0 and tied both Lake Park and Streamwood 1-1. They went 0-2-3 in the tournament.

“We only gave up three goals in the tournament,” Cann said. “We only scored two but when you’re not giving them up you at least keep yourself in the game.

We work hard to have the attitude and effort not to allow teams to put ball in net on us. We just have to work on getting that last touch in the final third, and we’ve got plenty to work on before we get ready for DVC play next week.”

North’s defense-first mentality will continue as its attack works to find dangerous space with more and more regularity as the season moves forward.

“We just need to make better runs, and different runs,” said Falcons senior Josh Bennett. “The attack is slowly building. We’ve had a few chances that we haven’t put in the back of the net.”

“But the midfield is winning fifty-fifties and that’s what we need. There’s talent on this team and our defense has been stepping up big.”

The Falcons’ tie with Lake Park could have stood as a rerun of the game the two programs annually play against one another.

“It’s always physical and for whatever reason it always has an added intensity out on the field, even when it’s an early-season game on a Saturday afternoon,” Cann said. “This game is usually decided by a goal.”

Falcons goalkeeper Nick Barry made a save you don’t see every day early in the contest when a Falcons defender ripped a clearing shot off a Lake Park player. The ball ricocheted straight back towards the goal, and Barry made a tremendous diving snare to save a goal.

Barry cut off a serve from the corner soon thereafter, as the Lancers earned a series of corner kicks and restarts just outside the penalty area through the game’s first 10 minutes. Barry tipped another Lancers’ offering over the crossbar in the 11th minute.

Lake Park’s early hard play in the its attacking third resulted in a goal in the 14th minute. The Lancers’ Dewey Admire sent a free kick toward the goalmouth and Nick Ricciardi was there to put a head shot past Barry, who was hurt on the play and had to leave the contest.

Matt Bauer replaced Barry in net for Wheaton North, which needed to acclimate to the Lancers’ level of hard play.

“It was physical,” Bennett said. “The refs weren’t calling things and we had to step it up.”

Wheaton North answered Lake Park’s goal less than a minute later. Pat Langan launched a free kick bomb from 40 yards out that fell from the sky and floated under the crossbar to tie the game.

The Falcons enjoyed better attacking pressure for the next ten minutes. Jordan Richert hit a good chance just wide of net in the 34th minute after a corner kick, and the Falcons hit another shot wide just before the halftime buzzer.

“I’m happy with the fight and the way the guys responded,” Cann said. “We went down a goal and then picked it up a notch and got it back. We had stretches when we were controlling things and so did Lake Park.”

The second half saw both teams occasionally finding space to send a shot on frame, but neither Bauer nor Lupou allowed anything past them.

The Falcons open DVC play by hosting Glenbard North on Thursday, and they’ll continue to rely on defenders like Kyle Rezabek, Kyle Conrad, Elvin Ahmeti, and Bobby Edwards to lock down the back line.

“They’ve been doing a good job of keeping things simple and keeping their assignments organized,” Cann said. “Our entire back line has been really solid. They’ve done a real good job of limiting opportunities.”

Bennett and Langan have also stood out through six games.

“Josh Bennett has been playing really well for us,” Cann said. “He has seen a lot of time in the first two weeks. We need to do a little better to help him with some runs, and giving him some better opportunities. And Pat Langan in the midfield has also done a real solid job keeping us organized.”

2009 Schedule

Wheaton North starters vs. Lake Park