Warriors shake off tough loss

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Waubonsie Valley's boys soccer team may have suffered another excruciating loss Thursday to St. Charles East, but the Warriors were happy with the effort.

The Warriors fell 2-1 in Upstate Eight Conference play but had several chances in the final minutes to tie the game.

"We're pleased with the way we played," Waubonsie coach Angelo DiBernardo said. "I think we played hard today from beginning to end. We created our chances, which I think were better and more than theirs."

St. Charles East (8-5-6, 2-1-3 UEC) pushed the lead to 2-0 with 7:24 left in the second half when Kyle Ortman controlled a corner kick that was bouncing around the goal box and headed it past Waubonsie goalkeeper Sean Elvert to take control of the game.

"We were disappointed that we gave up that second goal, but we knew that we had to pressure real fast to try to tie it up because there was only a few minutes left," Waubonsie forward Ryan Dodson said. "It put a little more urgency on us to score quickly."

Sure enough, 2:09 later the Warriors (5-10-1, 3-5-1) cut the lead in half when Oliver Mayer converted a brilliant pass from Dodson. Dodson was being pulled down when he fired a cross on the ground to Mayer, who punched it past Scott Dettro to get Waubonsie back in the game.

"We work in practice all the time on crosses on the ground hard," Dodson said. "I took the guy down the line and saw Oliver making a run near post. I just tried to send it. I got hit when I sent it, so I didn't see the goal go in, but I heard the crowd."

While those goals determined the outcome, the Saints' first goal set the tone. Off a free kick, the Saints' Bobby Shone scored on a header with 5:30 left in the first half. But he and three of his teammates appeared to be offside at the time of the goal.

"Apparently the referee said that the one lad that had the header (Shone) was the only one onside," St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said. "I didn't see him. I saw the three that were way offside. He timed it just right. If it went against us, I would have probably been upset."

And DiBernardo and the Warriors did feel that Shone was offside, but the coach was philosophical about the play.

"Questionable first goal -- as far as we were concerned he was offside," DiBernardo said. "But what are you going to do? Those are the breaks."

DiBernardo is hoping his team will continue to play hard and improve, as it did Thursday, with the postseason looming soon.

"What do you tell them? Keep plugging away and once we get to the playoffs, it's a whole new season," DiBernardo said. "That's what we're striving for, to get better for the postseason." Boys Soccer: St. Charles East 2, Waubonsie Valley 1