DiBernardo scores three to lead Warriors past Panthers

By Eddie Burns

It had been two weeks since Waubonsie Valley's soccer team had seen the field.

The time away did not appear to wear on the Warriors as they defeated Oswego by a 4-0 margin on Wednesday evening at Metea Valley.

The nonconference match was moved from Waubonsie because its field was unavailable because of the soggy conditions.

The Warriors (3-0-1) received a big boost from Vanessa DiBernardo, who scored three goals in the first half.

DiBernardo also scored three goals during Waubonsie's Class AA state championship victory during her freshman season in 2007.

"We really moved the ball around well and I benefited from some nice passing," said DiBernardo, who has six goals for the season and 62 for her career.

DiBernardo said the Warriors worked on a lot of areas of their game while they were off and they showed some improvement against the Panthers (1-4).

"We improved especially on defense organizing things and it showed," DiBernardo said.

"We worked hard and did a nice job of winning most of the 50/50 balls -- when you give a lot of effort good things go your way."

Waubonsie did a nice job of possessing the ball and it helped lead to DiBernardo's first goal in the 16th minute.

Jessica Price played the ball to DiBernardo, who gained possession, split two defenders and flipped a shot past Oswego goalie Katie Wagner.

In the 24th minute, the Panthers fouled Waubonsie's Rachele Armand in the penalty area, which resulted in a penalty shot. DiBernardo took the attempt, but Wagner made the save.

The Warriors continued to have the better of the play and that led to DiBernardo's second goal.

Colleen Gorkis put the goal in motion when she sent a pass to DiBernardo, who ripped a shot from just outside of the box past Wagner for a 2-0 lead in the 38th minute.

DiBernardo didn't have to wait long to make amends for her missed penalty kick because Oswego fouled her in the penalty area in the 39th minute, which led to another penalty kick.

This time DiBernardo converted.

"Missing that first penalty kick was bad," DiBernardo said. "I was fortunate to have a second chance and I made sure I didn't miss."

Oswego coach Jamie Bartkowiak said her team lost its focus for a brief moment near the end of the first half.

"We were caught hanging our heads and you can't do that against a good team like Waubonsie," Bartkowiak said.

DiBernardo said Waubonsie coach Julie Bergstrom preaches the importance of tacking on goals once the Warriors have the lead.

"If you can get yourself a decent lead in the first half, it allows everyone to play a bit more relaxed in the second half," DiBernardo said.

"Once you start stacking goals together you settle down more as a team and pass the ball around and we were able to do that tonight."

The Warriors added their fourth goal in the 55th minute when Shannon Donelson assisted Megan Green's goal.

Oswego had its share of moments in the second half with Cindi Chavez and Erin Apolzan each having shots hit the post.

"It's Waubonsie," Bartkowiak said, "you take DiBernardo off the field and you saw how we played in the second half.

If we didn't have those shots bounce off the crossbar, we play with Waubonsie. We just can't catch a lucky break right now."

Oswego will play its third game in three days when it travels to Oak Park-River Forest for a 5 p.m. match Thursday as part of the Pepsi Showdown.

The Huskies (2-1-1) opened the tournament with an overtime loss against unbeaten Deerfield.

"We continue to take everything one day at a time," Bartkowiak said. "This will be the third game in a row – we'll see what happens.

"We might see some tired legs. Those tired legs will end up next to us on the bench."