It's on: Waubonsie vs. Neuqua Part III
Warriors protect lead, will meet rival for title
The anticipated matchup between Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley will take place Saturday, but it certainly wasn't a sure thing.
In the nightcap of a Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Regional doubleheader, the host Warriors held on to defeat Plainfield Central 2-1. That game was expected to be close, but Neuqua Valley was not supposed to escape with such a slight victory (1-0) over West Chicago, which was seeded 18th in the Downers Grove South Sectional. After all, nationally-ranked Neuqua is the top-ranked team in the state and in the Sun-Times area poll.
(Donnell Collins/For the Beacon-News)
The Warriors, seeded eighth, and Plainfield Central, seeded ninth, were evenly-matched mirror images of each other through most of the first half. Both sides played hard, competed for the ball and pushed the action. But neither team could penetrate their opponents defense near the goal.
That changed quickly late in the first half. Midfielder Oliver Mayer controlled the ball near midfield and executed a burst of speed toward the goal. He somehow cut through the Wildcat defense and launched a shot from 15 yards out to give Waubonsie a 1-0 lead 5:46 before the intermission.
"That was a great individual effort on his part," Warrior coach Angelo DiBernardo said of Mayer, who leads his team in scoring.
"That was bad defense on our part, but it didn't take him long to get through there," said Plainfield Central coach Kevin Fitzgerald, who was surprised by the speed the Warriors exhibited.
While the Warriors had a slight territory advantage in the first half, Plainfield Central came out with more energy in the second. The Wildcats got their first decent chance with a battle in front of the goal seven minutes into the second half, then had a pair of shots go just wide minutes later.
Waubonsie (13-6-2) didn't have a lot of opportunities in the second half, but a little ingenuity got the Warriors what would turn out to be the winning goal. After a foul just outside the penalty area, Nikhil Patel quickly restarted play before the Wildcats were ready. He got the ball to Mayer, whose shot was deflected but went to teammate Andrew Russell. The senior defender headed the ball into the right corner of the goal with 13:22 left in the game.
Central, which finished 15-5-2, wouldn't go away. Midfielder Logan Spidle had his fourth quality scoring chance of the game, and with 2:39 remaining Jon Iniguez made a cross from a sharp angle which grazed the crossbar before going over the net. Jon Rosenbaum redirected a pass with his head 30 seconds later, just wide. From that point the Warriors got control and ran out the clock, making a winner out of goalkeeper Sean Elvert.
"I thought we sat back a bit in the second half, giving them (the Wildcats) a number of corners and long throw-ins, and giving them life when maybe we shouldn't have. I was happy with the way the defense played," said DiBernardo, who praised the play of midfielder Jason O'Brien.
The Warriors hope that the third time will be the charm against rival Neuqua in the regional final.
"We know that to get a win against Neuqua, we'll have to play the best game of the year," DiBernardo said. "It's on our home field, so anything can happen. On paper, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
Boys Soccer: Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Regional
