Boys soccer: Bolingbrook ends Waubonsie Valley's season

Needing a goal to break through in a tight playoff opener, Bolingbrook turned to one of its bread-and-butter plays on a corner kick.

"We call that our O.G. play," senior midfielder Aaron Palacios-Chaves said. "We've been working on it a lot in practice. We've been trying to capitalize on these set pieces because with our pressure up front we get a lot of chances for set pieces. It's been a long season of working on it and it's finally paying off."

Palacios-Chaves scored off the designed play for the only goal Tuesday night as the third-seeded host Raiders held on for a 1-0 win over 14th-seeded Waubonsie Valley in a Class 3A Bolingbrook regional semifinal.

Diego Guzman needed to make just one save for the shutout for Bolingbrook (11-5-4), which will take on defending state champion and fifth-seeded Naperville Central (10-5-7) - a 4-0 winner over Plainfield Central - in the regional championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Abrahm Tiburcio made 10 saves for Waubonsie Valley (6-11-4).

On the game-winning goal, Connor Capp took the corner kick and sent a cross toward the far post. Jesus Velasquez was there to head it back toward the middle of the box, where Palacios-Chaves crashed in and knocked it into the net on a volley.

"It was a good service right to the back post, we had a good back-post run, (Velasquez) headed it back in perfectly and I just bounced on it and it went in," Palacios-Chaves said. "When you score the first goal, it just felt like the floodgates opened and we were going to go at it and take the game."

Bolingbrook coach Nick Trotter was glad to see practice make perfect.

"We kind of knew it was going to be a set piece," Trotter said. "(Assistant coach Brian) Dasso has been working with the guys a lot on set pieces. We've been running that one all year and it was nice to see that one pay off.

"For this to be a 3-14 game, it's absurd. In our heads, it was going to be a one-goal type of match. So, we knew set pieces were crucial and keeping that zero was crucial."

Capp, Jared Ibarra and Carlos Gutierrez led the defense that made sure the Raiders would keep that zero, allowing Waubonsie Valley just one shot on goal.

"Communication is the key," Capp said. "We've got a back line that's been playing together for our whole lives. Last year, we had the same back line as sophomores. We're just solid back there and we have a lot of chemistry."

Guzman came up big the one time he was tested. Waubonsie Valley's Erick Maravillo sent a pass to Amiel Nichani, who got around a defender and in on the goal. Guzman charged out and knocked Nichani's shot wide with a kick save.

Tiburcio kept the Warriors in the game with a couple of big saves in the second half, including a stop on a clean look from 10 yards from Iggie Escamilla.

"We felt like we had all the chances and we knew we were in control of it," Palacios-Chaves said. "We talked about how it was on us. We just had to go get a goal and we had it. That's what we felt like."

Bolingbrook started the season 8-1-4 before losing four of its final six regular-season games and going just 1-3 in Southwest Suburban Blue play.

But Capp knew the Raiders would be ready to get back to themselves for the playoffs.

"We know our identity and we just had to remember who we are," Capp said. "We're 'The Brook.' That's all there is to it."

Naperville Central 4, Plainfield Central 0: Plainfield Central went toe-to-toe with defending state champion Naperville Central for nearly 60 minutes, but the Redhawks broke through for a quartet of second-half goals.

Michael DeFalco put in a rebound after Eli Jarrell's shot off the crossbar to put Naperville Central on top with 26:50 to go.

Jarrell scored twice and Ludovico Gallina added an insurance goal for Naperville Central.

Marshall DeGraff made three saves for Plainfield Central (15-5-2), which capped its winningest season since 2017.

The Wildcats' best scoring chances came on a pair of shots from Gordon Stanich that both sailed high, and a Abraham Contreras headed that was also high.

Draedyn Sanford had a shot on goal for Plainfield Central.