Waubonsie Valley kicks it past Wheaton N.
Ultimately, Rachel Bostick had the best answer when asked how she and her girls soccer teammates were able to play with so much chemistry in their first game of the season on Monday.
"We're Waubonsie Valley," Bostick said.
The Warriors' 2-0 win over host Wheaton North was fairly defined by Waubonsie Valley's possession game from start to finish, as the defending Class AA state champions earned a 9-0 edge in shots put directly on net, and a 13-4 edge in shots overall.
"They just kept knocking the ball around, and when we gained possession we couldn't string that third and fourth pass together," said Falcons coach Tim McEvilly.
"They do such a quality job of maintaining possession and attacking, and if you hesitate, and don't know defensively when you should step in or not, you struggle."
Nine months after scoring a hat trick in the Warriors' state title win over Fremd, Vanessa DiBernardo scored once in each half against the Falcons (1-1).
The Warriors (1-0) came out with an attack in high gear, and the sophomore scored first when teammate Bri Rodriguez slid a corner kick pass out to her in the game's 19th minute.
DiBernardo hit a hard shot from 18 yards out on the left side that caromed in off the far post. Her second goal came in combination with Bostick in the second half, on a give-and-go that set up a score from 16 yards out and perfectly illustrated the nifty possession game the Warriors had working.
"That's our goal, and we've been working really hard at that in practice," DiBernardo said. "Our goal is to pass it, and keep it under control. Move it, and switch the ball as much as possible."
That, of course, is every team's goal heading into the season, but at various points the Warriors seemed to be in mid-season form.
"We wanted this, and we knew we had to have chemistry to play well," Bostick said. "That was our goal the past two weeks, was to make sure we jelled together."
Wheaton North was able to reach its attacking third and fire on a few more shots in the second half, but the Falcons struggled throughout to match the Warriors' crisp play.
"I think some of our kids were a little excited and nervous to be playing against the number one team in the country," McEvilly said. "When we had the opportunity to do the simple things, we couldn't do the simple things."
"They're definitely a good team, and we put away our chances when we needed to," Bostick said. "We were just the better team on the field tonight, but they're a very good team."