Warriors have new life with regional win

Waubonsie Valley's Ryan Soloman (left) celebrates after getting the ball past Batavia goalie Adam Spencer (right) for the Warriors' first goal.
(Heather Eidson/Beacon News)

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AURORA -- After struggling through the regular season under .500, Waubonsie Valley's boys soccer team pointed toward the clean slate of the postseason.

The Warriors got the second season off to a strong start as they knocked off No. 8 seed Batavia 2-1 in the Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Regional semifinals. The ninth-seeded Warriors advance to face top-seeded Naperville Central, a 5-0 winner over Plainfield South Tuesday, in the regional title game at home Saturday at 11 a.m.

"At this time, we're going to enjoy the win today, take a day off," Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo said. "I think the kids deserve it. Then, on Thursday we'll get back and get ready for Naperville Central. They are a good team, but both teams have to play. We'll see what happens Saturday. Obviously, we're going to try to win."

As has been customary for the Warriors (8-10-1 overall) all season, they had to come back to secure the win. Batavia (11-8-3) jumped out quickly in the first half, when Michael Faraone punched in a Robert Forslund cross to open a 1-0 lead.

"I think we became nonchalant after the goal, because it was early, and we weren't really playing to the field conditions because it is mucky and we laid two bad balls in the middle there and they picked them up and put them in the goal," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. "They capitalized on those."

And it did not take long for the Warriors to turn the tide. With 28:03 left in the half, Waubonsie freshman Ryan Soloman knocked a loose ball past Batavia keeper Adam Spencer to tie the game at 1-1.

And less than two minutes later, Waubonsie junior Ryan Dodson scored what proved to be the game-winner with a fabulous individual effort 20 yards from the net.

"I took the guy one-on-one and I had the shot, so I took it far post," Dodson said. "It was a line drive, so it was probably one of my better efforts of the year. That switched the momentum to our side. We kept it for most of the game."

In the second half, Waubonsie had more offensive chances, yet neither team could dent the net. Then in the final 14 minutes, the flow of the match was halted by a barrage of yellow cards and physical play that made things difficult for Batavia to overcome.

"That was the worst officiating crew I've ever seen do any of my games in 10 years, and that's saying a lot because that is a lot of games," Gianfrancesco said. "That had an effect on the game. Could we have scored? I don't know. But they definitely controlled the momentum of the game. That was key in this game and that hurt."

The Warriors were able to rise above the choppy finish to the game to advance to the regional title game Saturday against a heavily-favored Redhawks team. But this is the chance the Warriors pointed to all season.

"It will be a tough game," Dodson said. "We'll have to play the best game we've played all season to beat them. But if we get that win, it would be great. We'd be flying high if we won that game."