Waubonsie Valley back on top

Last year Vanessa DiBernardo and her Waubonsie Valley teammates did not win the state title, and they really didn't like much how that felt.

Saturday night at a rainy North Central College Class 3A state final, the Warriors buried last year's feeling with a 3-0 defeat of Sandburg that gave DiBernardo and the school three state titles in four years.

Waubonsie Valley (23-1-4), which avenged its lone loss this spring by defeating the Eagles in the championship game, took a 1-0 lead in the first half when Jessica Price headed home a perfectly placed corner kick off the foot of DiBernardo.

Hannah Klancic added a pair of unassisted goals in the second half to seal the title. Sandburg (23-3-2), meanwhile, just couldn't keep up with the Warriors in the second half, especially with star Allie Osoba relegated to limited duty after injuring her knee in the first half.

"It was a great way to end it," said DiBernardo, who will head off to the University of Illinois a three-time state champion. "After last year you know the feeling (of losing) and you don't want to feel it again."

Asked if she'll dwell on coming up short last year at all, she replied, "Nope. Three is good enough for me."

For a while it looked as if Sandburg would put up quite a roadblock in the Warriors' bid to three-peat. The Eagles seemed to control the play for the first 20 minutes or so and finished with a slight edge of 4-3 in shots on goal in the first half.

But Price's header gave Waubonsie a 1-0 lead at the 34:06 mark and that, combined with Osoba's injury, seemed to give the Warriors a boost the rest of the way.

"It was good to get it going. Vanessa found my head perfectly," said Price, a junior midfielder. "I was thinking, I'm putting this in, that's all."

Now Price and the fellow returners will try and do what DiBernardo did, that is win three titles in four years.

"I've got a couple of these now," Price said while clutching her championship medal. "Three - that is the goal now."

While the Warriors' strong defense was working on completing its second shutout of the weekend and 20th this season, Klancic made sure the Eagles could not get themselves back into the contest.

With 9:33 remaining the Waubonsie junior fought off defender Sara Krusenoski and scored with a shot that hit the bottom of the crossbar and found its way into the back of the Eagles goal for a 2-0 lead. She then added another late score following a free kick by DiBernardo and a scramble in front of the Sandburg net.

"We knew we had to hold them, but we wanted another goal or two and obviously we got them," said Klancic, who credits coach Julie Bergstrom with preparing the team well. "This says a lot about Waubonsie itself and Julie, she's definitely an amazing coach. She doesn't say much, but when she does she knows exactly what to say to get us pumped up."