Warriors rally to defeat Tigers for sectional championship

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By Curt Herron

Waubonsie Valley's players found themselves in an unfamiliar situation at halftime of Friday's Class 3A Naperville Central Sectional championship.

The Warriors allowed a goal to Wheaton Warrenville South's Bridget Shrigley with just 1:37 left in the opening half and trailed 1-0 at the break.

That was a big deal considering that Waubonsie had only allowed nine goals in its 24 previous matches and had blanked its last six opponents.

But showing the type of resiliency that helped the program win state titles in 2007 and 2008, the Warriors responded to the challenge.

Megan Green tied things up just 3:40 after halftime and Shannon Donelson put the Warriors ahead for good with 11:37 remaining in the match.

Then Waubonsie held off the Tigers' final attempts to extend the match as it wrapped up a satisfying 2-1 win at Naperville's Memorial Stadium.

It marks the program's third sectional championship in four years. Last season, the Warriors lost in the sectional finals to Naperville North.

Their latest victory advances the Warriors (20-1-4) to Tuesday's 7 p.m. Benedictine University Super-Sectional against Lyons Township.

LT (18-4-1) edged Oak Park-River Forest 1-0 in two overtimes to capture its own sectional championship and earn the right to move along.

Waubonsie rallied to claim a 2-1 win over the Lions when the two squads met on March 18 in LT's opener and the Warriors' second match.

The Warriors take a four-match win streak into the super-sectional and are now 10-0-1 in their last 11 outings following Friday's win.

WW South (18-4-3) saw its five-match win streak halted as it was thwarted in its attempt to claim its first sectional title since 2003.

Waubonsie's fortunes began to turn right after it converted on both squads' initial scoring opportunity of the final 40 minutes of play.

With 36:20 remaining, Vanessa DiBernardo sent a pass to Green, who lined a shot that bounced off the post and went in the net to tie things.

Click to hear Megan Green interview

Coach Guy Callipari's Tigers followed that score with a brief flurry of activity, getting off three shots on goal in the next five minutes.

But Warrior keeper Allison Fox stopped a header from Katherine Fowee and then a a pair of short shot attempts from Lexi Peterson.

Fox stopped Shrigley on a long free kick with just under 25 minutes remaining and then Waubonsie kept up the pressure until taking the lead.

The Warriors responded with a series of three shots on goal during a span of 4:30 with just over 18 minutes remaining in the match.

Green nearly connected again following a pass from DiBernardo, but South keeper Kelsey Graham deflected away the close-range attempt.

After Chelsea Stoeckigt was stopped on a line drive, Rachele Armand followed up on a wide shot try with a grounder to the Tiger keeper.

That set the stage for the winning score, which began when Donelson saw an initial try hit a defender before she put in the short rebound.

Click to hear Shannon Donelson interview

WW South attempted to get the equalizer a short time later on a header from Haley Charlton and a shot off a deflection by Dana Miller.

But both tries were thwarted and the Warriors kept the Tigers from getting any other serious shots off during the final seven minutes.

The Tigers went on the attack from the outset, forcing Fox to make a pair of saves during the initial dozen minutes of the match.

Green followed with Waubonsie's first good threat a short while later and Armand was stopped on a header not long after the half's midpoint.

A back-and-forth exchange of attempts saw Peterson and Miller stopped while DiBernardo was wide on one shot and put the other on goal.

Less than a minute before it grabbed the lead, WW South threatened with a liner from Mary Heaton before Liz Ciesielski forced a corner kick.

The Tigers' score was set up on a corner from Ciesielski, which was sent in front of the net, allowing Shrigley to connect from close range.

With that, WW South, which had blanked its last three opponents and only allowed 17 goals in its previous 24 matches, led 1-0 at the break.

While pleased with how his squad defended in the first half, Callipari realized shutting down Waubonsie for 80 minutes would be difficult.

Click to hear coach Guy Callipari interview

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