Girls soccer: Devera, Warziniak team up to power Round Lake
Dana Devera and Alexandria Warziniak are already quite a 1-2 scoring tandem for Round Lake's girls soccer team this spring.
Devera set a school mark with 4 goals, while Warziniak had 3 goals of her own and assisted on 2 others as the Panthers handled visiting Wheeling 8-1 in a nonconference matchup Monday.
Karla Gomez also scored for Round Lake (1-1).
Devera, a freshman forward, has 5 goals in two matches for the Panthers.
"I just really want to help my team," Devera said. 'We just want to have success for the season, and have a lot more fun. I've been playing soccer for a while and I want to bring some life for this team."
Devera and Warziniak played together in the high school off-season, and their connection is apparent.
"Alex helps me a lot, and I don't feel that I would have that many goals without her," Devera said. "She's the playmaker of the team and she does a lot."
Round Lake picked up its first victory of the season after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Highland Park last week. Panthers coach Josue Jimenez liked the approach just as much as the outcome.
"Honestly, I think I liked the hustle out there," Jimenez said. "A lot of the goals we scored were because of the hustle. It's our second game and we have a lot of improvements to make. I thought we settled the ball a lot better and we were a lot more composed."
Devera scored the first 2 goals on Monday, in the fourth and ninth minutes. Warziniak, a sophomore, added the third goal off an assist from Eleana Flores in the 24th minute.
Gomez scored in the 39th minute for a 4-0 advantage.
Wheeling got a goal back before the half from senior Emma Fister and trailed 4-1 at the break.
Round Lake added 4 more goals in the second half as Devera and Warziniak each found the back of the net twice. Warziniak assisted on Devera's goals, while Michelle Paz and Jasmine Cruz picked up the other assists.
Wheeling was playing its first game of the season. Because it was being during spring break, the Wildcats were without five starters.
"In the little bit when it was close, I thought we could still play (with Round Lake)," Wheeling coach Dwayne Cruz said. "We were trying some kids that are young and trying to get them going. We'll see how the season works out."