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WHEATON – Ashlyn Adams hasn’t taken long to acclimate herself to the varsity level.
Scoring two goals – the first of her varsity soccer career – could be just the beginning of a blossoming career.
“It feels really amazing,” said Adams, a Wheaton Warrenville South freshman freshman forward, following the Tigers’ 5-1 victory over Burlington Central on Tuesday. “I couldn’t do it without my team, so thanks to them. It was kind of a perfect time to happen and very grateful [for it].”
“I’m feeling great here. A lot of the seniors and upperclassmen have made me very comfortable,” Adams continued. “They’re very welcoming team and I love it here. The play and stuff is really fun. It’s a good level [of play] here so hopefully we can [further] up it soon.”
Eight freshmen are listed and available for WW South varsity. Freshman defender Ella Byrnes also added a goal for the Tigers, who enjoyed a four-goal flurry in the second half to put away the Rockets (0-4-1).
WW South (1-1-1) took the 1-0 halftime lead after an own goal by Burlington, but Adams and Byrnes cashed in on their chances midway through the second half to get the Tigers rolling. Lauren Barnett’s goal made it 4-0 before Rockets midfielder Ava Elders broke the shutout. Adams put the exclamation point on her evening with an arching shot on a free kick opportunity.
“I’ve been playing with a couple of these girls since kindergarten [Adams and Brooke Ittersagen], so I’ve been really close with them,” Byrnes said.
“Everyone is really supportive, so I feel like [the team] supporting us [as freshmen] really helps me feel like a part of the team,” Byrnes continued. “Feeling part of the team is really big part of fitting in; playing to the level.”
The youth can start building a strong basis for Tigers coach Guy Callipari.
“…We’ve got a lot of great potential,” Callipari said. “Obviously, you can see on the park some of them are playing together so that certainly gives them some continuity and ideas of what they’re doing. They know each other. It’ll make a nice nucleus going forward.”
“It’s always most difficult that they’re 14 playing against 17 year olds,” Callipari continued. “They are holding their own. That’s the thing, they don’t share too much in common outside of the game…but when it comes to soccer, they can play on the same page so they’re starting to find their way. It’s really early in the campaign; they’re excited just to be in a high school uniform and you got to weather that so they can get to a point and play with a lot more confidence.”
The Rockets, meanwhile, started playing with a more complete lineup with spring break out of the way.
“We’re moving forward. A little slow but that’s OK,” Rockets coach Jess Arneson said. “This is actually the first time we had our full team. We’ve got time to figure it out. That’s why we have these games so that we can do this.”
“It’s hard to get through sometimes when the score looks like it does,” Arneson continued. “There were two set plays we talked about we shouldn’t be letting them score on set plays and there was our one own goal, so trying to look at it as a 2-1. Overall, not bad. We’re competing [against] teams [that are] bigger than us.”