Emily Dickens of Waubonsie Valley, right, celebrates her first-half goal with teammate Maggie Roe first-half goal during the girls soccer Class 3A state third-place game against Lincoln-Way North at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Waubonsie Valley worked hard all season long it put itself in a position to win a girls soccer championship this weekend.
Those plans were thwarted in Friday's 1-0 loss to New Trier, in the Class 3A semifinals at North Central in Naperville.
While there was a great deal of disappointment in that loss, only the team's second of the season and first since the team's opener in mid-March, the Warriors put all of that behind them and dominated Saturday, disposing of Lincoln-Way North 5-1 to bring home a third-place trophy.
"It was tough after what happened yesterday, but I wanted to finish my high school career with this team because they're my family," senior Kristen Dodson said. "They've been great to me, so we went out and did what we've tried to do all season."
Waubonsie Valley (23-2-3) came out on the attack on Saturday, scoring four times in the first 20 minutes of the opening half to turn the match into a full-on rout.
Mackenzie Fuller opened the scoring and then tossed an assist to Emily Dickson to get things going for the Warriors.
"I just tried to do what I could," Fuller said. "We knew we'd get some chances. We just had to take advantage of them."
The Warriors didn't slow down from there.
"It was tough to come back after what happened last night, but we decided to come out and fight," Fuller said. "We all tried to forget about what happened before, especially the seniors. We knew this was our last time playing together, so we went out and tried to finish strong."
Lincoln-Way North (22-5-1) was without its normal goalkeeper, Bethany Dombkowski, but who knows how much of a difference she would've made as the Warriors were dominant on the attack from the start.
Emily Dickens put the Warriors ahead 3-0 thanks to a great feed from Fuller, and then Rachel Brots found the back of the net to off a pass from Maggie Roe at 20:13 to make it 4-0.
"Everyone does what's asked of them," Fuller said." It's been a great season."
Yet, one that just fell short of the ultimate goal.
"It's tough to walk out of here," Dodson said. "Yep, it is."
Kristen Dodson, left, of Waubonsie Valley, left, gets in front of Lexi Cesario of Lincoln-Way North during the Class 3A state third-place game at North Central College in Naperville on Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Kristen Dodson of Waubonsie Valley leaps for a header during the Class 3A state third-place game against Lincoln-Way North at North Central College in Naperville on Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Waubonsie Valley's Maggie Roe controls the ball in front of Lincoln-Way North's Ava Eggert during the Class 3A state third-place game at North Central College in Naperville on Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Rachael Brots, second from right, of Waubonsie Valley celebrates her first-half goal with teammates, from left, Mackenzie Fuller, Sarah Griffith and Kristen Dodson during the Class 3A state third-place game against Lincoln-Way North at North Central College in Naperville on Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
CiCi Gazder of Waubonsie Valley, left, watches as the ball gets past Lincoln-Way goalkeeper Bethany Dombkowski and Carly Marchal for a Warriors goalduring the girls soccer Class 3A state third-place game at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
CiCi Gazder of Waubonsie Valley, left, watches as the ball gets past Lincoln-Way goalkeeper Bethany Dombkowski and Carly Marchal for a Warriors goalduring the girls soccer Class 3A state third-place game at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
CiCi Gazder of Waubonsie Valley controls the ball during the girls soccer Class 3A state third-place game against Lincoln-Way North at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
CiCi Gazder of Waubonsie Valley gets in front of Carly Marchal of Lincol-Way North during the girls soccer Class 3A state third-place game at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Emily Dickens of Waubonsie Valley scores a first-half goal during the girls soccer Class 3A state third-place game against Lincoln-Way North at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Mackenzie Fuller, left, and Kristen Dodson of Waubonsie Valley hold the third-place girl's soccer trophy after their win over Lincoln-Way North at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Waubonsie Valley players pose with the third-place girl's soccer trophy after their win over Lincoln-Way North at North Central College in Naperville Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com