Warriors roll past Batavia in first round

For a team that's been struggling for most of the season, Waubonsie Valley looked the part of a team hitting its peak at the right time.

The Warriors defeated Batavia 4-1 in the opening round of the Waubonsie Valley Invite on Tuesday in Aurora, dominating the action and only surrendering a goal in the final minute of the blowout.

But Warriors' coach Angelo DiBernardo was not exactly pleased with his team's performance.

"Score-wise we played well," DiBernardo said. "But we played with no composure, no possession of the ball, and we just sort of kicked the ball around and that's not what we teach the kids."

The Warriors (4-10-3) goals came when they were composed and were the result of smart plays with the ball and not just kicking and running.

Sophomore Nik Patel kicked a ball from the corner to Greg Danielwicz, who put it past the keeper to give Waubonsie an early 1-0 lead. Patel's assist came as a result of Batavia's inability to clear the ball out on a corner kick that came seconds earlier from Patel.

Instead of jumping into the action right after the corner kick, Patel waited near the corner, and the ball came back to him before he made the pass to Danielwicz.

"That's been a long-time play of mine actually," Patel said. "I just wanted to hold there and wait for the ball if it came out to me."

Patel showed why DiBernardo trusts him to take virtually all of the team's free kicks in the offensive half just five minutes after his assist.

Patel scored the team's second goal on a free kick from 20 yards out, bending the ball around Batavia's wall into the lower left hand corner of the net. Waubonsie's third goal of the first half came from freshman Ryan Dodson on a breakaway.

Patel's and Dodson's goals are the types of plays DiBernardo has been waiting on from his entire team for most of the season. Part of the reason he's been waiting is because of the team's youth and inexperience. The Warriors only started two seniors Tuesday.

"At times it looks like there is hope to improve and become consistent," DiBernardo said. "At other times it doesn't look so good."

Tuesday's game, despite the lopsided score and relative ease with which Waubonsie won the game, was an example of one of those times it's doesn't look so good to DiBernardo.

"We have lost some games this year where I was happy with our performance," DiBernardo said. "There is room for growth and the future is bright, but at the present we're struggling."

Patel took Tuesday's win as a sign of better things to come.

"We've realized what mistakes we've made," Patel said. "There's no better time to hit our stride than the Waubonsie Invite and the state playoffs."

jsahly@scn1.com Waubonsie Valley Invite