Naperville Central clinches regional title

For 50 minutes No. 9-seeded Waubonsie Valley matched No. 1 Naperville Central step for step. The scrappy Warriors covered every inch of their mud-drenched home field to push the top ranked Redhawks to their limits.

"The field wasn't in the best condition, but both teams had to play through," said Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo. "I thought we outplayed them and really neutralized their strengths."

It wasn't until Naperville Central senior Jerry Maddi punched the second Redhawks goal into the net that the Warriors felt Naperville Central take control of the match.

The Redhawks went on to win 3-0 Saturday afternoon. Their victory set up a sectional semifinal match Tuesday at Naperville Central.

"Any time you beat a quality team on their own field, it's a good win," Naperville Central coach Jay Konrad said. "That goal really broke the ice."

"Scoring the second goal and the way it came was the real backbreaker," DiBernardo said. "Hats off to Central for taking advantage of a good chance. It's hard to get back in a game after that."

The Redhawks started the scoring in the second half after a defensive-minded game that certainly favored the Warriors. Junior defender Chris Prince lofted a shot into a yawning net to give Naperville Central the 1-0 lead. Minutes later, Maddi added the devastating second goal to put a chokehold on the contest.

"We did some nice things in the end that really helped us out a bit," Konrad said.

Senior Matt Dervin netted the final goal when he tucked a nifty shot under the crossbar, sealing the victory for the Redhawks.

"They're a great team," DiBernardo said. "We missed some early chances in the first half and at the beginning of the second half."

Despite being the sectional's No. 1 seed, Konrad said the higher ranking doesn't add pressure.

"If anything, we've got some things to prove," Konrad said. "We've been ranked most of the year, but we want to show that it starts with being regional champs."

The Warriors, despite the loss, have a lot of positives heading into next season.

"We don't have a lot of seniors, and we certainly didn't match up physically at times with Central," DiBernardo said. "But we were happy with how we played, and they did everything and more I could have asked from them in the first 50 minutes. We have a good core coming back next season, and the future is very bright."