Warriors stop Naperville Central

Naperville Central was consistently dangerous through roughly the first 15 minutes of its game against Waubonsie Valley on Wednesday.

But the Warriors used lightning in a bottle in scoring goals in the 14th, 15th and 19th minutes to build a lead they wouldn't relinquish in an eventual 3-1 girls soccer win over the Redhawks at North Central College in Naperville.

"I thought we had the better of play up until they scored that first goal," said Redhawks coach Ed Watson. "You're not going to stop them from having their attack. They're a very talented team."

"We have a lot of different weapons," added Waubonsie junior Bri Rodriguez.

Rodriguez set up the game's first goal with a corner kick that Rachel Bostick stepped onto and headed into net from 10 yards out.

"That felt really good," Bostick said. "Those are my favorite. The coaches kid around that I have a magnet head. … Bri sends it right to me, every time. We have a good connection."

Less than a minute later, Vanessa DiBernardo popped a ball up from 16 yards out that floated and fell inside the far post, and Blake dribbled up on the right side five minutes later and scored from 20 yards out.

The Redhawks' Casey Short tied the game in the 77th minute with a perfectly placed shot from 30 yards out. Down 3-0 at halftime, Naperville Central (2-2) fought hard throughout the second half.

"We took a step in the right direction, because after we went down 3-0, we did a lot of things that are going to help us down the stretch," Watson said.

On Monday, Waubonsie Valley (2-0) played its possession game exceptionally well throughout a 2-0 win over Wheaton North. The Redhawks closed down space well throughout Wednesday's game and played hard, physical soccer to good effect in slowing the Warriors' attack.

"Teams know we like to keep the ball on the ground, and we're more of a skill team than physical team," Rodriguez said. "We know teams will try to take us off our game, and we'll just keep trying to not let it affect us."

Short nearly scored her squad's first goal in the 66th minute, but her shot from 20 yards out skipped just wide of the far post.

"They're a very good team, and Casey Short is a very good player," Bostick said. "They put up a fight in the second half, but I was proud of the outcome."

-- Gary Larsen

Baseball

Willowbrook 6, Glenbard South 5:ŒThe Warriors improved to 2-0 with their nine-inning nonconference win in Villa Park.

Glenbard South (0-1) struck for 2 runs in the top of the ninth on a two-out single by Joe Ramirez. The Warriors answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning, a rally capped by a two-out, 2-run game-winning single by Andy Wilhoit, who went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI.

Brian Morgan notched the win in relief of starter Nick Cuzzone. Joe Biagini went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI for the Raiders.

Softball

Driscoll 10, Timothy Christian 1:ŒLeadoff hitter Gina Savatski went 3 for 3 and scored 4 runs, while Tarah McShane was 3 for 4 with a double and 4 RBI for Driscoll (2-0).

Winning pitcher Nicole Gange finished with a 4-hitter. She struck out six and walked one en route to improving to 2-0.

Elk Grove 6, Fenton 2:ŒHolding a 3-2 lead, Elk Grove broke open the game with a 3-run sixth inning in the opening game for both teams.

Stephanie Maday earned the victory with a 2-hitter and 10 strikeouts.

Amber Schwarzinger took the loss.

Hinsdale Central 7, Glenbard East 7:ŒGlenbard East rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game before it was called because of darkness.

Paige Gerstner went 2 for 4 and scored twice, while Nikki Fairbairn was 2 for 2 with an RBI for the Rams.

Hinsdale Central's Traci Freitag went 3 for 3 with a double, stolen base and 3 runs.