Waubonsie gets win, and tiebreaker too
There was some good news and more good news for the Waubonsie Valley girls soccer team after Monday's 5-0 home victory over Bartlett.
The win pushed the Warriors to 6-0-1 in the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division and gives them a share of the league title with Neuqua Valley.
However, just winning would not put Waubonsie into the UEC title game against St. Charles North. The Warriors needed to beat the Hawks by 3 goals or more to win the goal differential tiebreaker. That can be checked off, and Waubonsie will face the North Stars either Tuesday or Wednesday.
"We were thinking about that third goal," said Warriors junior Paige Filipek. "We wanted to score as much as we could so we didn't have to think about it."
It was a big night for Filipek, who finished with 3 goals and 2 assists.
Filipek's and the game's first score came just more than four minutes into the contest. Filipek got off the shot as she fell and a Bartlett defender collided with her. An assist went to Sarah Griffith, who scored Waubonsie's second goal. From the game's opening moments until the end, Waubonsie (12-2-3) displayed efffective passing and ball movement, which led to complete control of the game.
"It's just about having chemistry, passing, moving around and playing our game," Filipek said.
The Warriors led 2-0 at halftime. Filipek opened the second-half scoring with 32:23 left in the game. She was at a sharp angle to the right of Bartlett goalie Nykia Wetterman. Sarah Laws fed her the ball and Filipek found the lower corner on the opposite side of the net. Just more than four minutes later, Filipek returned the favor and passed to Laws, who made a shot from about 30 yards out.
Filipek got the hat trick and the game's final goal with 13:29 remaining on a kick right in front of the Hawks' net. An assist went to Tori Christiansen.
"After a couple of losses, we were determined to win and get the conference championship," Griffith said.
Senior Emma Rigby was winning the goalkeeper for Waubonsie. She finished with 5 saves. Her most spectacular one occurred in the second half on a shot by Bartlett's Brenda Richwine. The 20-yard blast forced Rigby to dive to make the save.
The Hawks (10-9-1, 2-4-1) put good pressure on Rigby and the Warriors defense in the first half but couldn't put the ball into the back of the net.
"We are playing better offense than we did early in the season," said Bartlett coach Ben Beary. "We had some good opportunities against a good Waubonsie defense. It's just about finishing.
"We had big holes on defense and we need to communicate better defensively."