By Bobby Narang
Wheaton Warrenville South High School girls soccer coach Guy Callipari is enjoying another banner season.
The WWS Tigers have one of the top teams in the State, including leading the DeKane Conference for most of the season. The Tigers (12-1-4, 3-0-2) have not lost a conference game this season, but they suffered through ties to St. Charles East and Wheaton North this season. The Tigers were awarded the No. 2 seed in the St. Charles East Sectional.
The Tigers’ backline is one of the factors behind the success, helping the team win five straight games until enduring a tie in a tie in a non-conference game in Iowa Saturday.
Wheaton Warrenville South star junior midfielder Kelsey Clousing sparked the team to an impressive 9-0 victory at Lake Park May 7, scoring a pair goals and an assist, Lucy Jethani, Mae Haas, Lucy Adams, Emma Gronlund, and Ashley Alman all contributed one goal each in the DuKane Conference victory.
Callipari said junior defender Anna Ittersagen is a key factor behind the Tigers strong season. She moved from forward to defender to help the depleted backline.
“Anna was a forward last year, moved her to the back,” Callipari said. “Her sister Brooke was an all-conference player last year and a quality player in the back for us. Anna sees everything in front of her, reads and anticipates really well. She is able to get us in transition and has the instincts of a front runner and can be technical in the middle.
“That really helps us in the back, especially since we had to replace five of the six from last year. It’s really helped. We didn’t play with Chloe Trinkl today, the glue in the backline. She took a knock against Glenbard West, so holding her off a little bit. We have a lot of season still left.”
Ittersagen said she’s enjoying her new spot on the field.
“It’s different,” Ittersagen said. “Being in the back and being able to see everything in front of me and communicating with everyone and seeing the difference is nice. Since our loss to Naperville Central, we have picked it up and playing harder in the second half and finally putting those shots in and working well in the middle and getting our passing going.”
Callipari has been coaching for several decades, noting the 2026 Tigers have a talented team with good chemistry.
“I think the ability from number one player to 16th player is really close,” Callipari said. “You can see players come in and manage the role well enough that we aren’t taking our foot off the gas and continue to apply the pressure and work on things to become a better team so we can play some of the top teams in the State. They also push each other and work hard for each other and play for the team and program, so that makes them fun to watch.”