Tigers can't hold off Warriors in sectional championship match

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By Curt Herron

After seeing his team grab a 1-0 halftime lead over Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari had every reason to be thrilled.

One good reason for that was the Warriors had allowed only nine goals in their 24 matches prior to Friday's Class 3A Naperville Central Sectional final.

But the veteran Tigers coach also realized that it was hard to keep a talented team like Waubonsie down for 40 minutes, let alone 80 minutes.

While WW South showed similar defensive prowess this year, yielding 17 goals in 24 matches, it couldn't keep the Warriors off the scoreboard forever.

Waubonsie scored a goal just 3:40 after the break to get a much-needed boost and then collected another score with 11:37 remaining in the match.

Meanwhile, the Tigers were stymied in their attempts to find the net again and Waubonsie went on to claim a 2-1 win at Naperville's Memorial Stadium.

WW South (18-4-3) saw its five-match win streak halted as it fell short of capturing its first sectional championship since 2003.

The sixth-seeded Tigers had beaten third-seed Downers Grove South and second-seed Neuqua Valley before falling to top-seed Waubonsie.

The Warriors (20-1-4), who have won four straight and are 10-0-1 in their last 11 outings, won their third sectional title in four years.

Waubonsie, the 2007 and 2008 state champions, move on to Tuesday's Benedictine University Super-Sectional, where it meets Lyons Township.

The Lions (18-4-1) edged Oak Park-River Forest 1-0 in double overtime to win Lyons Township Sectional title, which also happened Friday.

Bridget Shrigley scored WW South's goal with 1:37 left in the first half but Megan Green tied things with 36:20 left in the match.

Then as play was winding down, Shannon Donelson followed up on a rebound of her own missed shot to put the Warriors ahead for good.

Click to hear coach Guy Callipari interview

The Tigers went on the attack from the outset, forcing keeper Allison Fox to make a pair of saves during the initial dozen minutes of the match.

Green followed with Waubonsie's first good threat a short while later and Rachele Armand was stopped on a header not long after the half's midpoint.

A back-and-forth exchange of attempts saw Tigers Lexi Peterson and Dana Miller stopped while Warrior Vanessa DiBernardo also put a shot on goal.

Less than a minute before it grabbed the lead, WW South threatened with a liner from Mary Heaton before Liz Ciesielski forced a corner kick.

The Tigers' score was set up on a corner from Ciesielski, which was sent in front of the net, allowing Shrigley to connect from close range.

Click to hear Bridget Shrigley interview

Waubonsie's fortunes began to turn right after it converted on both squads' initial scoring opportunity of the final 40 minutes of play.

With 36:20 remaining, DiBernardo sent a pass to Green, who lined a shot that bounced off the post and went in the net to tie things.

The Tigers had three shots on goal in the next five minutes but Fox stopped a header from Katherine Fowee and a pair of short shots from Peterson.

Fox stopped Shrigley on a long free kick with just under 25 minutes remaining and then Waubonsie kept up the pressure until taking the lead.

The Warriors responded with a series of three shots on goal during a span of 4:30 with just over 18 minutes remaining in the match.

Green nearly connected again following a pass from DiBernardo, but South keeper Kelsey Graham deflected away the close-range attempt.

After Warrior Chelsea Stoeckigt was stopped on a line drive, Armand followed up on a wide shot try with a grounder to the Tiger keeper.

That set the stage for the winning score, which began when Donelson saw an initial try hit a defender before she put in the short rebound.

WW South attempted to get the equalizer a short time later on a header from Haley Charlton and then a shot off a deflection by Miller.

But both tries were thwarted and the Warriors kept the Tigers from getting any other serious shots off during the final seven minutes.

While the majority of the starters in Friday's match will return next year for the Tigers, the squad loses seven seniors to graduation.

That group consists of Rachel Adomshick, Heidi Ansiel, Kara Bimschleger, Jill Langlas, Nicole LaPetina, Ciesielski and Shrigley.

Click to hear Liz Ciesielski interview

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