Girls soccer: Wheaton Academy opens strong, tops Deerfield

Updated: April 10, 2012 10:23PM

The floodgate opened and Deerfield couldn’t close it.

In only its fourth game of the year, in a Pepsi Showdown tournament opener on Tuesday, Wheaton Academy put six goals on the board before halftime of an eventual 7-2 win over Deerfield.

As the No. 16 seed of the tournament, Wheaton Academy next takes on top-seeded Metea Valley on Thursday.

“We came in just trying to do our best and see what we had,” said Wheaton Academy’s Notre Dame-bound senior mid, Crystal Thomas.

When it was over, what the home team Warriors had was four goals and an assist from Thomas, and two goals and two assists from her Wheaton College-bound teammate, Ally Witt. Abby Oleson also scored for the Warriors.

Wheaton Academy (3-1) scored two goals in a 30-second span, in the game’s 13th minute, and by the time Witt made it 3-0 at the 17-minute mark Deerfield was in for a long night against a host team that led 6-1 at halftime.

“We knew they had a strong defense and a strong keeper, so we just said ‘let’s be on the attack’,” Witt said. “We came out really hard and it’s exciting because that’s our standard now, to play well together.”

With the dynamic Thomas romping through the midfield and the big and physical Witt up top, Wheaton Academy has a pair of wily veterans in its attack. Thomas entered the season with 56 career goals and 46 assists, and has scored six goals through her side’s first four games.

Thomas located a ball in traffic at the post after a corner kick sent in by teammate Alli Manske for the game’s first goal, scored again 30 seconds later, and netted all four of her goals before halftime.

“She’s the real deal and she’s so nice, and sweet, and genuinely cares about everyone on this team,” Wheaton Academy coach Dave Underwood said. “She’s just a joy to have around.”

Thomas was pleased with the way her side competed, and especially with the way it attacked on Tuesday.

“It’s only our fourth game but chemistry is starting to be there now, and by the end of the season I think we’ll totally different than the way we looked in the beginning,” Thomas said. “That’s what we’re looking to do and

I’m really excited about our attacking potential this year.”

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