All Ty Seager wanted was one opportunity to atone for what he felt wasn’t his best night.
He got it, and didn’t miss.
Wheaton Academy’s junior forward converted a set piece off a free kick in a golden-goal overtime, sending the No. 8 Warriors past No. 5 Libertyville 2-1 on Thursday in West Chicago and into the semifinals of the PepsiCo Showdown.
“It wasn’t my best game; my team carried me through,” Seager said. “I knew I had to finish one opportunity and I knew that one was it.”
The sequence came just past the midway mark of the 10-minute extra period, Seager driving the winner just inside the left post.
“It was one of our good free kicks we use to try to avoid the wall,” Seager said of his 16th goal of the season. “It was pretty effective and [the turf] was a little dewey which helped it skip under the goalkeeper.”
Wheaton Academy (9-0) is back in the PepsiCo semis after taking fourth last year. The Warriors also placed fourth in Class 2A in 2013. Beating a program like Libertyville’s was another notch in the Warriors’ belt.
Wheaton Academy advances to play Morton on Saturday at Lyons.
“Libertyville is a brilliant side,” Warriors coach Jeff Brooke said. “For us to be able to compete with them, compete well and finish that last one off is huge.”
Libertyville (8-1) and its defensive pressure controlled the action almost from the outset. Cam Fragassi’s shot in the second minute after a Wheaton Academy turnover sailed wide left.
The Wildcats had far more chances throughout the first half, but couldn’t convert.
“I thought we had the better play, but we didn’t score,” Wildcats coach Andy Bitta said. “Their goalie [Drew Sezonov] was good. I thought he was the best we’ve seen all year.”
A fortuitous bounce helped Wheaton Academy break the scoreless tie in the 13th minute of the second half.
A rebound off the Libertyville goalkeeper came to Grant Rougas in the box, who banged the second chance inside the far post.
Libertyville’s frustrations were soothed some four minutes later when Fragassi’s 10-yard shot from the far right tucked into the center of the goal.
Gerard Eugene Touhey III had a chance for Libertyville with two minutes left in regulation, but Sezonov denied his free kick.
“They only had three shots on goal in the second half, Bitta said. “I thought we outplayed them, but that’s soccer. You can dominate on the field but you don’t dominate the scoreboard. That’s what counts.”
