Warriors roll to surprising 7-0 win over Storm

By Curt Herron

Angelo DiBernardo found himself in a rather unusual position following his team's match on Tuesday.

The veteran Waubonsie Valley coach had a difficult time remembering who scored when against South Elgin in Aurora.

But that was quite understandable since the Warriors lit up the scoreboard in their Upstate Eight Conference match with the Storm.

Waubonsie scored five times in the first half and added two more scores in the second half to roll to a 7-0 victory on senior night.

The Warriors (11-6-2, 7-2) can wrap up a second place finish in the UEC with a victory at Elgin on Thursday.

Scoring has been at a premium this season for Waubonsie, which has scored one goal or less a dozen times.

It only had six multiple-goal matches going into Tuesday and had scored more than twice in four-goal wins over Streamwood and East Aurora.

Seven different players found the net for the Warriors, who were coming off of a disappointing 4-2 loss to Oswego on Saturday.

Goal scorers were Jason O'Brien, Tyler Yanisch, senior Nik Patel, Sam Bell, senior Oliver Mayer, Alex Brindlee and Eduardo Vargas.

While their defense had an unusual letdown in the last match, it was back to usual as keeper Sean Elvert claimed his eighth shutout.

Hear Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo interview

O'Brien got things going in the opening minutes when he connected on a header following a corner kick from Patel.

Yanisch made it a 2-0 score before added another goal to give the Warriors the early advantage against the Storm.

South Elgin had only allowed more than three goals once this season, and that came in an 8-0 defeat against Neuqua Valley.

The Storm (11-4-3, 4-3-2) have gone 0-2-2 in their last four matches and been outscored 11-1 while being shut out three times.

Waubonsie wasn't done in the initial half, however, collecting two scores in the final seven minutes to take a 5-0 lead.

Bell scored with 6:14 remaining in the opening half, following a throw in from Brindlee, who finished with three assists.

Warrior scoring leader Mayer got into the act with 4:04 left when he put in a loose ball after another Brindlee throw in.

Hear Waubonsie Valley's Jason O'Brien interview

Enjoying a comfortable halftime advantage, the Warriors focused on maintaining the lead during the final 40 minutes.

The early barrage of goals also allowed DiBernardo to sit many of his regulars for most the second half.

Elvert faced few Storm chances, thanks to defenders Amar Pandya and Jack Dickens, who are seniors, and Corey Lettieri and O'Brien.

Bret Hildebrandt, Matt Shipon and Anthony Giammanco all had shot opportunities turned away during the final half of play.

The Warriors added another score with 20:35 remaining when Brindlee connected following a pass from Ernesto Iraheta.

Waubonsie closed out the scoring with 10:38 to go when Eduardo Vargas found the net, off of a pass from Brindlee.

Other Warrior seniors who were recognized on Tuesday were Jesus Cruz, Brent Ito, Johnny Akl, Drew Russell and Reuel Erastus.

Following its largest margin of victory of the season, Waubonsie hopes to carry the momentum of this match into postseason play.

Hear Waubonsie Valley's Jack Dickens interview

Warriors Schedule

Storm Schedule