Girls soccer: Naperville Central beats Waubonsie Valley in second OT

Naperville Central senior Ryan Dudycha created some scoring chances for her team during Thursday's DuPage Valley Conference girls soccer game at Waubonsie Valley, but the Warriors constantly thwarted her efforts.

"I kept spinning the girl off me and playing crosses, but I couldn't find any teammates, only a bunch of Waubonsie Valley players there," Dudycha said. "I told myself that the next time I get an opportunity like that I'm going to take it."

She didn't get that chance until a little more than a minute into the second overtime, but her decision-making and execution were perfect. Her left-footed boot just curled into the net to lift the Redhawks to a 1-0 double-overtime victory.

"It was overtime and I had an opportunity so I took it," she said. "I felt like we outshot them and had more opportunities, and even felt like we had momentum, but we couldn't finish our chances. I was just happy I got another opportunity to help us win the game."

Naperville Central (5-2-3, 2-0-1) created more than its fair share of scoring chances, utilizing crisp, low passing to constantly test Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Sarah Young.

"Box to box we do a lot of nice things," Redhawks coach Ed Watson said. "We've been playing very well in that way, but we've had games where we have zero at the end and you can't win that way. We were fortunate this time that we were able to keep playing after 80 (minutes) and we got a great shot."

That shot almost wasn't a possibility.

Waubonsie Valley (6-3-0, 2-2-0) narrowly won the game in regulation when Sarah Griffith sent a rising liner of a shot toward Naperville Central goalkeeper Kinzly Dressler with just 55 seconds left in regulation.

Dressler punched it out and kept the game scoreless.

"Kinzly didn't have the same amount of work as their keeper, but she had to be sharp when the time came," Watson said. "She had a great save at the end of regulation there, and when a goalie is cold and hasn't been tested very often, they don't always make that save. Our kids played well today. I was really proud of them."

The Redhawks kept Griffith and Paige Filipek scoreless, which isn't easy to do. The tandem has combined for 15 goals already.

"Griffith is a phenomenal player, but I don't think she was 100 percent so they kind of used her as they could," Watson said. "She's a difference-maker, and you saw that when she was on the field and obviously Filipek is trouble anywhere on the field."

Kathleen Conforti and Kayla Rowan had two of the better scoring chances for the Redhawks in regulation, while Griffith and Filipek tested Dressler in the first overtime.