Wildcats roll to regional title

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AURORA -- Bret Hruby's goal just under 12 minutes into Friday's Class AA Waubonsie Valley Regional final was enough to ignite Neuqua Valley to a 3-0 win over the rival Warriors.

"It was a hard-fought game, and Waubonsie came out hard and fighting," Hruby said. "I played the ball and tricked the goalie."

The first-half score backed Waubonsie coach Angelo DiBernardo's assertion that the second goal hurt more than the first.

Waubonsie trailed just 1-0 despite being outshot on goal 7-0. The Wildcats finally capitalized again in the 41st minute on a Jaymie Bullard score.

Neuqua (19-1-4) then stretched the lead to 3-0 when Ian Krol found the net 20 minutes after Bullard's goal.

"I think the second goal took the sail off of us," DiBernardo said. "The first half we played them evenly. Then they turned it up a notch and we couldn't keep up with them."

Neuqua sophomore keeper Jack Turanchik made one save.

Waubonsie finished the season 5-11-5. For seniors like keeper Kit Carson (12 saves), the night was full of mixed emotions.

"We gave it a good effort," he said. "We talked about that before the game - how we had nothing to lose and it would be special to win this one. A lot of guys worked hard this year to get us this far. It was a team-wide effort."

Eighth-seeded Waubonsie beat Oswego East 5-0 earlier in the week to get to the regional final match against top-seeded Neuqua.

As expected, the Wildcats used crisp ball movement in the second half on Friday to take away any suspense remaining from the first half.

"This is a great game to watch," Wildcats coach Jim Johns said. "There's always a lot of passion and enthusiasm when these teams play."

Johns called the Hruby goal "a professional goal."

Johns also noted the intensity - and competitiveness - of the local soccer scene.

"To win a regional (title) is amazing," he said. "You're lucky to win a game in this area, with teams like Benet and Waubonsie."

For Carson, he'll remember this game for a long time and think of it whenever he looks back on his high school career.

Asked where he'd rank Friday's match among all the rest, he said, "It's definitely at the top."

Aside from Carson, Waubonsie will also lose versatile defender/midfielder Anthony DiJohn and defender Andrew Lieske to graduation. Against Neuqua, DiJohn made a fantastic sliding save when Carson left the net to counter an attack. The Wildcats failed to score on that possession.

Neuqua hosts Benet in the first of two sectional semifinal matches at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.