Waubonsie gets winner in 4th OT

It's an old adage that's tattered around the edges, but when it applies, it applies:

Big-time players make big plays in big games, and Vanessa DiBernardo and Bri Rodriguez are big-time players.

In a game spread over two nights due to Tuesday's thunderstorms, Waubonsie Valley won 2-1 over Neuqua Valley in a Class 3A sectional semifinal in Bolingbrook.

DiBernardo scored both goals, and Rodriguez assisted on each of them. DiBernardo's game-winner came in the fourth overtime after she called for the ball 25 yards from the goal.

"She's always calling for it," Rodriguez said of DiBernardo. "Even when she's not open."

"She probably had 10 shots on goal from that far out. I knew eventually she was going to get one."

It was DiBernardo's 16th goal of the year and Rodriguez's 16th assist. It was also the third game-winning goal in overtime of a postseason game that DiBernardo has buried.

"I just kept shooting the ball, because you never know what can happen," DiBernardo said. "(Bri) is really good at reading where I am. The middle was open, and that's what we love."

On Tuesday Neuqua Valley (18-4-1) took a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute on a laser beam off the foot of Megan Oyster, which skipped once and tore inside the post from 30 yards out.

DiBernardo tied it in the 44th minute, running onto a through-ball from Rodriguez, and the game was interrupted by lightning with 12:24 left to play. The game resumed Wednesday and went scoreless to the 119th minute, when Rodriguez slid a ball back and DiBernardo hit a perfect left-footed shot to the upper left corner of the goal.

"I thought we had them on the ropes there in the last two overtimes," said Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau. "(DiBernardo) is a great player and she put it away, but I'm very proud of our girls. They left it all on the field."

Waubonsie Valley (18-3) plays Naperville North (18-2-3) in Friday's sectional final at 4 p.m. in Bolingbrook.