Naperville North and Waubonsie show good, bad in a 1-1 tie

By Darryl Mellema
Photos courtesy of Dennis Wiest

While both host Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley found plenty of things with which they could be pleased from Saturday’s high-powered nonconference tilt, the fact that the match ended 1-1 left everyone with a somewhat unfulfilled feeling afterward.

More than the score, of course, were the incidents which occurred on the field. But for this match, at least, the score reflected the mutual frustration with the events that transpired. The scoreboard reflected the 80-minute “cat’s game” the teams were unable to break.

“I think that when you have two teams that are more or less at the same level, you’re going to find that,” Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo said. “They’re going to have their moments and we’re going to have our moments.”

Dean Gastouniotis gave Naperville North (3-0-4) a good opening after a scoreless first half. The senior stole the ball from a Waubonsie Valley defender, moved one-on-one with Warriors goalie Sean Elvert and scored.

The way in which Gastouniotis took the ball from a defender was disconcerting for DiBernardo. That pattern repeated itself a handful of times in the match as Warriors players got caught in possession in their defensive third of play.

“Their goal was a mistake that we made,” DiBernardo said. “We didn’t play the ball fast enough. We hung onto the ball in an area where you don’t hang onto the ball. Our players know that and the kid who made that decision knows that he made a mistake, and hopefully he’ll learn from that. But in a tight game like this, that can be the difference between a ‘W’ or an ‘L.’”

The Warriors (5-3-2) rebounded quickly from Gastouniotis’ goal and began searching for the equalizer. Oliver Mayer was involved in many of those efforts and it was the senior midfielder who tied the score when his deflected shot found the back of the net 15 minutes into the half.

“You’ve just got to keep your head up and keep going,” Waubonsie Valley junior midfielder Jason O’Brien said. “Especially when it’s 1-0, you never know what might happen.”

Momentum moved between the teams. Naperville North likes to maintain some possession and move toward its solid forward line. That happened only sporadically on Saturday.

“It was kind of a messy game,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Nobody could really move the ball and both teams gave the ball away. I’m frustrated with the way our boys played today. The effort was there, but we couldn’t connect more than one pass. At times, even that was a challenge for us.”

The Huskies have four ties in seven matches and Konrad would like to see his team find the ability to turn ties into victories.

“We’re lucky to have the record we have right now,” Konrad said. “But of those four ties, at least two should be wins. If we would take care of the ball, and keep it, it would allow us to be dangerous. But we’ll work and get the ball, and then give it right away.”

DiBernardo liked the way his team battled against adversity at times in the match.

“I was happy that a couple of times, we had momentum and then we lost it and then we gained it again – and then we lost it and regained it again,” DiBernardo said. “For me, that’s positive, when you play somebody who is at your level.”

Men of the Match

By Darryl Mellema

Waubonsie Valley’s Oliver Mayer
It’s easy to take the player who scored his team’s goal and automatically dub him his team’s best in the game. And that’s not always fair to the other players on the pitch.

But Saturday, Mayer was heavily involved in the Warriors offensive efforts, and the goal was more a reward for his overall effort as it was him being in the right place at the right time.

“Oliver was our offense,” Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo said. “He was the one going to go, taking people on and trying to make things happen for us. He had a number of shots on goal.”
 
Naperville North’s Mike Wiest
There’s a lot to like about Wiest’s performances in most matches he plays. A big presence in goal, Wiest not only has the ability to stop shots well, his distribution after he makes a save is very strong.

In a stretch of Warriors dominance in the first half, Weist came up strong time and again to keep the match scoreless.

“He’s been strong all year,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “He takes a lot away. He comes off his line strong. He’s got good hands. On their goal, he was already diving the other way before it was deflected. His presence in the goal box means I never really worry. I’m always shocked when the other team scores.”