With the supersectional pitting Waubonsie Valley against St. Charles North coming later today, I still had a few tidbits rattling around from the Waubonsie Sectional, which wrapped up Thursday with the top-seeded Warriors soundly beating third-seeded Neuqua Valley.
First, I am continually amazed at just how good the Warriors are. Waubonsie (22-0-1) rolled through one of the state's toughest sectionals with little resistance, outscoring its opponents 21-2 in the process. The biggest upset was that the Warriors gave up two goals.
Bri Rodriguez also continues to amaze. Some of the footwork she displayed against Geneva and Neuqua was just sick. She drew the praises of Naperville Central coach Ed Watson, who stood behind the Geneva goal to watch Rodriguez score on a 30-yard free kick after an ankle-busting stop-and-go move drew a foul. Watson said he's seen players pull off some similar moves, but they did it in practice with cones as defenders. Rodriguez is doing it at full speed in games against actual defenders. It's why even when she gets marked, she remains dangerous.
Neuqua had a strong season despite being one of the youngest squads around. The Wildcats fielded 14 freshmen and sophomores, and had only four seniors. Look for this team to challenge Waubonsie for sectional supremacy next season.
Speaking of the Wildcats' seniors, the quartet couldn't have been more snakebitten. An injury suffered in gym class before the season kept Erin Coulson sidelined all year. Megan Steen played in only three games, and then Kendra Collins missed a chunk of games with a high ankle sprain, although she was able to return for the playoffs. On senior night in April, only Ashley Marrapode was able to play. It was sad to see Marrapode go down with an injury in the sectional final against Waubonsie, forcing her to watch her final high school game from the bench.
Speaking of sad, one of the saddest moments I've had to watch in a while came at the end of the Central-Neuqua semifinal Tuesday. In the closing seconds, Redhawks senior Nikki Franzese drew a yellow card. She walked to the sidelines sobbing as her high school career ended. I didn't see what the official saw, but I can't imagine it was worthy of stopping the clock to card her. Franzese had been all heart and guts all night, repeatedly hitting the ground in a physical game. At one point it looked like she might have separated her shoulder, but she kept playing. Her effort was noted in the pressbox throughout the game. She made mistakes, no doubt. But short of seeing a red-card violation, the official should have swallowed his whistle. Franzese deserved better.
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