Warriors put on clinic vs. Geneva

AURORA -- The Warrior Express rolls on.

Playing with workmanlike efficiency, Waubonsie Valley remained unbeaten in the second round of the round-robin Naperville Invitational soccer tournament.

The Warriors got two early goals, then put on a clinic of precision passing and ball control to defeat Geneva 3-0 Saturday at Waubonsie.

The Warriors, defending state champions and currently top-ranked in the latest Sun-Times poll, started off slowly in the first 10 minutes, then dominated possession the rest of the way in improving to 7-0-1 on the season and 2-0 in the tournament.

Waubonsie Valley is now unbeaten in 39 straight games, including a pair of ties.

"I think they played together like a band almost, a bunch of instruments working together," said Waubonsie Valley coach Julie Bergstrom. "When they play in rhythm, it's a fun little concert."

The Vikings (3-5) were on even terms with the Warriors in the early going, even thought they couldn't get any serious scoring threats. Then Vanessa DiBernardo got into the action.

The talented sophomore midfielder boomed a shot just over the goal. Then, just over a minute later with 26:00 left in the first half, she made another shot that caromed off the top of the goal and into the net to give Waubonsie Valley a 1-0 lead.

By this point, the Warriors were into the match and were putting serious pressure on the strong Geneva defense of Alexa Loebel, Elise Farrelly, Stephanie Davison, and Alexandria Waldie.

The onslaught paid off at the 20:47 mark of the first half when Rachel Bostick and DiBernardo took shots that Geneva could not control. Jessica Blake, one of only three seniors on the Warrior squad, gathered the loose ball, made moves around a couple Viking defenders and scored from point blank range to put her team up 2-0.

"I was disappointed in the way we played in the first half," said Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook. "Not because of the results on the scoreboard, but we resorted to just kicking the ball away and only defending. The second half, we were playing better soccer. When you play a team like this, you may not get many opportunities but I feel like we progressed through the game."

With a comfortable lead, the Warriors put on a show of ball-handling, passing and setting up scoring opportunities.

DiBernardo had several good chances in the second half but could not connect. Then, just when the two-goal margin seemed certain, Bretton Newcomb banged a hard shot off Viking goalkeeper Madison Vanata. Catherine McClellan was there for the rebound and put it in the left corner for the final tally with only eight seconds remaining.

The final round of pool play takes place Thursday, with Waubonsie Valley taking on New Trier and Geneva battling Hinsdale Central. Girls Soccer: Naperville Invitational