Warriors win fourth straight vs. New Trier on Romano goal

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By Matt Le Cren

There are those who feel Waubonsie Valley is no longer a team to be reckoned with, at least this season.

But underestimate the Warriors at your own peril.

Waubonsie Valley is starting to get things together after inconsistent offense led to a 3-4 start. The Warriors (7-4) won their fourth straight game Thursday, upsetting favored New Trier 1-0 in double overtime at the Naperville Invitational quarterfinals.

The win advanced Waubonsie into Friday’s semifinals against Lyons (13-2-1), which defeated Naperville Central 2-0. Neuqua Valley (15-0) faces Geneva (8-3-4) in the other semifinal.

“I think we all heard the (doubters) a lot and I think at the beginning of the season we weren’t as confident just from everyone doubting us,” said sophomore midfielder Jenna Romano. “We kind of had to step it up to prove a point. I think we’re getting it now.”

Romano got the game’s only goal against New Trier when she rifled a wicked 30-yard shot in between diving Trevians goalie Laura Mortarana and the left post with 2:07 left in the second extra session.

Mortarana had kept New Trier (12-2-3) in the contest dominated by the Warriors by making 10 saves, including two great stops of hard shots by Megan Green, and the Trevians looked to be out of trouble after clearing the ball out of the penalty area after a flurry in front of the net. But Romano intercepted the ball and quickly unleashed her game-ending shot.

“I think after a while I was just getting really angry,” Romano said. “They played a lot of boot ball, so I was always ready for them to clear it out. When they did I just got in front of the girl and took a touch and got myself set up.”

Romano’s shot touched off a celebration by the Warriors, who outshot the Trevians 22-8 and are starting to show signs of jelling offensively.

“Oh, my gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about a goal,” said Waubonsie senior defender Mary Wright, a big statement considering the Warriors have won three state championships in the past four seasons. “(Romano) is doing good controlling the middle and keeping us hyped up. She’s doing great this year and I’m sure she’ll get another score sometime soon.”

Scoring has been something the Warriors have struggled with at times as they learn to play without graduated star Vanessa DiBernardo as well as integrate several freshmen into the team. The squad is slowly finding its identity offensively and it showed against New Trier as the Warriors outshot the Trevians 22-8.

“That’s what we’ve been working on most – possessing the ball, working to get our shots off and to score,” Romano said. “That goalie was really good, but at halftime we were saying that we had been dominating this entire game. We would feel horrible if they were to get a fluke goal, just because we’ve been working so hard the entire game, so we needed one (goal) really bad.”

Scoring goals on Waubonsie might be a fluke considering the way the Warriors have been playing defense. Even in their four losses, all of which were by one goal, the Warriors played their typical brand of stingy defense, and this match was no exception as the trio of Wright, Kerri Skotnicki and Michelle Filipek held New Trier to eight shots and goalie Jordan Myers made five saves to record her fourth shutout.

“They always are (playing great),” Romano said. “I think they are one of the biggest parts of our team. They keep us strong. All three of them are always talking to us, keeping us confident and giving us positive thoughts. They really help us.”

The back line has given up eight goals overall and only unbeaten Neuqua Valley has managed to score twice on them.

“Kerri and I have been playing together but Michelle is a new aspect and she’s been doing great,” Wright said. “She’s working really hard and she keeps control of the ball. We want to work together as a unit and talk a lot. That’s a big thing.”

The Warriors utilized that strategy in this match and Wright liked what she saw and heard.

“In practice we’ve been talking about keeping the ball and talking a lot and communicating and I think this game we just communicated a lot and we just kept control,” she said. “We started to get hyped up. We tried to keep the hype up and keep our intensity high. We weren’t going to let down. We really wanted this game.”

Wright made clear that the naysayers will not keep the Warriors from making another deep playoff run.

“We’re fine with people overlooking us because every game we’re just ready to play,” Wright said. “With people who think we can’t make it, we’re ready to beat those odds and just keep playing hard.

“We’re improving every time. Every game we just improve on something new. (Offensively) we’re getting more confident with playing with each other and moving the ball around.”