Waubonsie's win sets up a regional title match with Neuqua

By Gary Larsen

As a No. 8 sectional seed, Waubonsie Valley figured to have its hands full against No. 9 Plainfield Central, and those seedings proved out to be pretty accurate.

“The game was a fairly even game,” Waubonsie coach Angelo DiBernardo said, after his side won 2-1 in Aurora.

The Warriors (14-6-2) got a goal in each half from Oliver Mayer and Andrew Russell, respectively, to set up a third battle this year with No. 1 Neuqua Valley on Saturday, with a regional title on the line.

“It’s going to take everything we’ve got,” Waubonsie senior Nik Patel said. “We’ve seen (Neuqua) play and we know they’re a good team. Hard work will have to win the game for us.”

“We played them twice and the effort was good, but perhaps not good enough,” DiBernardo said. “They should know by experience that in order for us to get a win against Neuqua, we’re going to have to play the best game of the year.”

“But we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

A scoreless first half lingered in Tuesday’s game, until Mayer streaked up the gut on the dribble, negotiating a few defenders along the way before getting in behind and beating Plainfield’s keeper from 12 yards out.

“Reuel (Erastus) headed it to me and I took a touch forward,” Mayer said. “I had one guy ahead of me and I knew if I got past him, I was in.”

The Warriors second goal came on a quick decision from Patel. After Yvan Foonde drew a foul 22 yards out, Patel quick-hit the restart to his right to Russell, who sent it back left in the box to Mayer.

“Anything near hitting range, it’s usually me or Oliver, whichever is closer to the ball,” Patel said. “You don’t need to wait for the whistle and I saw Drew wide open on an outlet and they were out of position.”

“I just got it to Drew, knowing he’d make a play.”

Not everything plays out like you draw it up, however. While Mayer was in position to attack the goal once he received the ball from Russell, things didn’t quite go as planned.

“I meant to go to goal, and I miss-hit it,” Mayer said. “It went right to Drew.”

Mayer’s hit popped over towards Plainfield keeper Geovanni DeLira off his line. Russell pressured the keeper, the ball was loose, and the senior cleaned it up into net to give Waubonsie a 2-0 lead.

Plainfield’s Kevin Smith cut the lead in half with a goal in the 73rd minute, during a span of play that saw Waubonsie take their foot off the pedal somewhat.

“I was happy with the first half more than the second half,” DiBernardo said. “I wish we would not have stepped back as much as we did.”

“We got the second goal but we stepped back and they got a number of corners. We defended them well but that always gives the opposition life. But I thought as a team, defensively, we played well.”

DiBernardo applauded the play of defender Jason O’Brien, “and I thought Oliver played a solid game,” he said. “He defended when he had to and attacked when he had to. Those two guys really stood out.”

Waubonsie started this season with a handful of lifelong soccer players and a larger group of good athletes who lacked extensive experience in the game. That team posted its 14th win playing a top-shelf schedule on Tuesday, and it has come a long way since the season’s start.

“Half the team was working hard and half was just happy to be on the varsity team,” Patel said. “It’s a whole different story now. Everybody wants to play, and prove their worth on the field.

It’s all coaching. Coach has a set routine that we work on every day, and as you can see our main goal is to carry it into games. Throughout the season, we saw more and more of what we do in practice showing up in games.”

The Warriors lost 1-0 and 4-1 to the Wildcats in their previous two meetings. Neuqua’s team-wide skill level and ability to possess is unsurpassed, leaving the Warriors with a clear goal on Saturday.

“We’ll have to battle them every tackle, every fifty-fifty,” Mayer said. “They have so many players that are so good on the ball. We’ll have to play physical and try to make them uncomfortable.”

Waubonsie Valley starters vs. Plainfield Central