Waubonsie Valley values challenge of tournament
Waubonsie Valley is hopeful that playing in the annual Best of the West tournament in Naperville will pay dividends later on in the boys soccer season.
The competition should most certainly allow the Warriors to do so, but whether or not it proves rewarding for sure won't be known until October, especially after a tough loss.
Despite drawing even late in the first half, Waubonsie Valley was unable to muster any additional offense during a 2-1 loss to Sandburg in Naperville on Tuesday.
"This is a great tournament. It's well organized and the competition really shows who is on top and played well," Warriors coach Jose Garcia said. "It will definitely help us throughout the season, especially with the new conference. It will get us ready for the postseason."
Sandburg jumped on the Warriors a little more than midway through the first half as junior Frank Connelly scored to make it 1-0.
The Warriors (0-1-1) wouldn't let that disadvantage last, though, getting the equalizer from senior Leo Mendoza with 16:10 remaining in the first half.
"We're going to really rely on Leon because he's a big part of our team," Garcia said. "Hopefully, this keeps his confidence level up. I really think he's progressing to be something to be reckoned with this year."
Despite the programs not knowing each other extremely well, the competition was pretty solid for an early-season game with both squads showing their physical sides, going all out on 50/50 balls and more.
"We played them last year and I remembered some players who we highlighted," Garcia said. "I give them credit. They played well. They controlled the game and possessed well. It was tough for us to keep the pace with them because they were a fast team and physical."
Sandburg didn't waste any time in netting the game-winner, getting a goal from Michael Dahlgren just a few minutes into the second half. It proved to be the game-winning score.
The Warriors never countered. They couldn't create many scoring threats during the final minutes.
"Our effort was great," Garcia said. "That's something I was happy with it and we'll take that into practice this week."