Warriors dominate but settle for scoreless tie with S. Elgin

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By Seth Hancock

Waubonsie Valley kept knocking on the door but the South Elgin defense kept on denying.

That coupled with a stifling Warriors’ defense that kept the Storm’s offense at bay led to a 0-0 tie in Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division soccer action on Saturday afternoon at Waubonsie Valley.

Waubonsie Valley (4-5-2; 1-1-1 UEC Valley) forwards Gytis Savukynas and Sam Bell consistently pressured the South Elgin (5-4-4; 1-1-3) net, but the Storm defense along with goalkeeper Jarod Schieler (4 saves) was able to thwart every chance.

“We created our chances, but we didn’t put them away,” said Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo. “That’s a credit to South Elgin’s defense. They kept swarming to the ball whenever we were close to their goal.”

The first scoring chance for the Warriors came 14 minutes into the match as Nicholas Karkazis had a header shot on goal.

The Warriors best first-half chance came with 12:25 left on the clock when Savukynas took a shot on goal which Schieler made a save on, but the ball did scoot past his hands leaving an open net with several Waubonsie Valley players nearby. However, Storm defender Quinn Uveges was able to squash the threat by clearing the ball.

Spencer Scott, Bret Hildebrandt and Alberto Bustamante along with Uveges were consistent at clearing Waubonsie Valley’s best opportunities.

“I think we played really good,” Scott said. “We kept it tight in the back and closed the holes so they couldn’t get any good looks at the net. I think we’re playing pretty good. We just need to create more scoring chances.”

Schieler added about his defense, “They’re really picking me up. They did a really good job closing the gaps.”

The Waubonsie Valley attack intensified in the second half as the Warriors kept on creating quality scoring opportunities.

Bell took a corner kick 8 minutes into the half which Jack Cordes got a header on, but the ball clinked off the crossbar. Cordes had another opportunity about four minutes later after receiving a throw in from Timmy Miller, but his point blank shot was right at Schieler.

“I don’t have a problem with the effort in the second half,” DiBernardo said. “The first half, the effort wasn’t as good. We played hard, but at times we didn’t have the right execution of plays. We were rushing our decision making.”

Frankie Saiz had a header skim just over the crossbar off a nice cross from Benjamin Zoet, and Waubonsie Valley had shots on goal from Saiz and Savukynas in the second half.

“If you look at Waubonsie Valley, they’ve got a lot of scoring threats,” said South Elgin coach John Uveges. “Waubonsie does a really nice job with an explosive offense. You look at a 0-0 game against them, our kids can play.”

The Storm did not pose as great a threat to Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Tim Eckert, but South Elgin did have several opportunities.

“I don’t remember them ever having any really good scoring chances and my goalie having to make too many saves,” DiBernardo said. “From a defensive standpoint, we played a really solid game. We didn’t give them much.”

Danny Fry nearly found the top right corner of the net with 15 minutes left in the first half, but his shot missed wide by inches.

The Storm’s best scoring opportunity came with 5.2 seconds left in the first half. Hildebrandt took a free kick near midfield which found the head of Scott near the left post, but the ball sailed just wide of the net.

“That’s our Achilles heel right now, not getting our shots off,” Uveges said. “I know that we’ve got a really good offensive team that can move the ball forward, but we’re not creating good shots.”
South Elgin was coming off a tough 2-1 loss against UEC Valley leader East Aurora and a 1-1 tie against a strong Metea Valley squad.

“I don’t think we’re playing at our potential yet,” Schieler said. “Once we start clicking, we’ll be a tough team to beat. We’ll start getting some wins.”