Hornets fall to talented Warriors in Lemont Cup opener
By Matt Le Cren
Waubonsie Valley plays soccer at a speed and skill level that Hinsdale South hopes to emulate one day.
The dawn of that day is still over the horizon, as evidenced by Friday's opening round match of the Lemont Cup.
That's where the Warriors, who won state titles in 2007 and 2008, captured a 6-2 victory over the Hornets.
"You know when you're coming out against [Waubonsie] that they're a really good team," Hinsdale South coach Pat Wolf said.
"You just hope that your game rises up. It's going to be a tough game but you've got to play."
Waubonsie (13-1-3), which will face Sandburg in Saturday morning's semifinals, struck for four goals in the first 14 minutes of the game.
The first goal came a minute in when star midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo took a pass in her own end from Shannon Donelson and raced 60 yards up the field on a breakaway.
Megan Green followed at the 28:47 mark with the first of her two goals, a nine-yard shot off a DiBernardo dish.
Three minutes later, the Warriors made it 3-0 as DiBernardo scored again on another breakaway following a Donelson pass.
DiBernardo then assisted Green to go up 4-0 with 21:12 remaining in the first half.
"I know that [DiBernardo and Green] will do anything to get the ball and they're obviously great soccer players," said Donelson, a sophomore midfielder who finished with three assists.
"We all moved the ball around well and it was a good practice switching the field."
But the Hornets (5-12) didn't give up and got on the scoreboard with 3:26 left in the half.
Meagan DeSalvo tapped an indirect free kick to Meagan McPherson, who ripped a 19-yard shot from the left wing off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
McPherson was playing in only her fourth game since returning from a stress fracture in her leg.
"Being gone for a like a month and then coming back I'm like, 'I'm kind of down on the goals and assists, I need to contribute more ,'" said McPherson.
"So it felt good. It's a good sign that we're able to score against these teams."
Rachele Armand and Karla DiJohn scored for Waubonsie in the second half while Jessy Mutters found the back of the net for the Hornets off a feed from Brittney Noble.
"I was talking to a couple of the girls about mentally just being able to deal with [giving up early goals]," Wolf said.
"But I thought at the beginning of the game, even after they scored right away, we were possessing the ball a little bit, making some passes. It wasn't like it was always in our end."
Hinsdale South edged host Addison Trail 3-2 on penalty kicks in West Suburban Conference Gold Division action Thursday night.
Jackie Belmonte and Noble scored in regulation for the Hornets, with DeSalvo and Avci recording assists.
But the big star for South was freshman goalie Vanessa Niestrom, who made two saves in the eight-round shootout.
She saved the Blazers' first attempt and, after Avci converted to give the Hornets the lead, the last kick.
"I was thinking about how I was going to save them and come off the line," Niestrom said.
"I did all I could to save the first one. That set the tone for the rest of them. It felt pretty good."
Niestrom also made several big saves against Waubonsie, drawing praise from her teammates.
"It shows so much that Vanessa is competing against this team as a freshman," McPherson said. "She's doing awesome."
"For a freshman, she makes some plays," said Wolf, who is working with Niestrom about being more aggressive coming off her line. "She's got that energy."
The Hornets face Downers Grove North in Saturday's consolation bracket. The Trojans beat South 4-2 on April 22.
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