Girls soccer: May 2008 Archives

The worst-case scenario came to bear for Waubonsie Valley midfielder Bri Rodriguez. An MRI this afternoon revealed a torn ACL in her left knee.

She is expected to have surgery in mid to late June after giving the swelling some time to go down. If the surgery and rehabilitation go well, Rodriguez, who finished the season with 13 goals and 25 assists, should be able to return for her senior season.

Regardless of the results of an MRI later today, Bri Rodriguez has already decided she can't play in tonight's championship game.

Rodriguez missed her first varsity game due to injury in Waubonsie Valley's 1-0 victory over Normal West. She'll get an MRI at 3 p.m., but she said her left knee is too damaged for her to play effectively even if her ACL isn't torn.

This is no knock on either Downers Grove South or Belleville Althoff, but the Saturday matchup most people want to see is the second of the Class AA state semifinals.

That game pits Waubonsie Valley, the nation's No. 3 team, against Normal West, the nation's No. 7 team.

It's a rematch of last season's state quarterfinals. Waubonsie earned a 2-0 victory on its way to its first state title in any team sport. But a shot at title No. 2 got a lot tougher Friday night.

Waubonsie Valley enters this weekend's Class AA state finals riding a 55-game unbeaten streak. So where does that put the Warriors' on the IHSA's list of unbeaten streaks?

Well, it took some time to research to make sure the IHSA had its facts straight. And guess what? The record book is a bit misleading.

This weekend's Class AA girls soccer state finals promise lots of entertainment for the fans. Among the interesting items are four teams making their first 2A appearance; two nationally ranked teams on course for a semifinal showdown; a 400-game winning coach - Barry Jacobson of Downers Grove South - seeking his first state title; and a defending state champion - Waubonsie Valley - looking to become the first team with back-to-back unbeaten seasons since New Trier in 2004 and 2005.

Here's a look at the four quarterfinal matchups, which begin at 11 a.m. Friday at North Central College:

To ask St. Charles North, it was clear that Waubonsie Valley sophomore was offside before she scored the winning goal in overtime to end Monday's Class AA girls soccer supersectional at Benedictine University.

DiBernardo got in behind the North Stars defense after Bri Rodriguez chipped a high pass into the penalty area. She then popped the ball into the net for the golden goal that sent the defending state champion Warriors back to the Elite Eight.

So what did the two players involved -- DiBernardo and Rodriguez -- think happened?

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.

Julie Bergstrom kept mum when asked who she'd rather face: Neuqua Valley or Naperville Central.

She shook her head, careful not to give any hint of her feelings on the subject. Her Waubonsie Valley team was coming off a 4-1 sectional semifinal win over Geneva, and the Redhawks-Wildcats game was about to begin.

She hesitated, then said, "Well, one's our rival and the other is ...." Her voice trailed off for fear she was already saying too much.

But, come on, what coach has ever given an honest answer to that kind of question? The only thing Bergstrom really wanted was to see the Central-Neuqua game last roughly three hours, require four overtimes and a lengthy shootout, and feature both teams beating on each other from start to finish.

Well, the game was physical, but the Wildcats won 2-0 in regulation, setting up a sectional final loaded with storylines:

It was on her mind even before being asked about what this weekend means to her.

Naperville Central senior Casey Short was fresh from scoring the only goal in the Redhawks' 1-0 victory over rival Naperville North in a regional final at Memorial Stadium. At roughly the same time in Charleston, preliminaries were being run at the IHSA state girls track and field meet.

Due to a DuPage Valley Conference rule, Short was unable to defend her state titles in the 400- and 800-meter runs. Instead, Short led Central to a regional crown and a date with Neuqua Valley in the Waubonsie Valley Sectional semifinals Tuesday night.

"I do miss track a little, but I love soccer," said Short, who will play soccer at Florida State in the fall. "I've had a lot of fun this season and I'm happy with my decision. I'm even happier that we won."

So even as Ashley Verplank of Bloomington took Short's title in the 800 and Genesis Johnson of Rock Island did the same in the 400, the Redhawks and Short look forward to continuing their soccer season.

As much fun as it might have been to see Short try for those titles, I'm glad I've had the chance to watch her on the soccer field for a final season. I'm sure there are more than a few soccer fans who feel the same way.

It's been a while since the Naperville Central and Naperville North girls soccer teams faced each other this season. But even if they'd met in the past week, the previous game would have little to no bearing on Friday's matchup in the Naperville Central Regional final.

That's because -- as has been said many times, and again by North coach Brent Terada on Wednesday night -- you can throw the records out when these rivals meet.

Just for fun, I'll take a look back anyway. Central (19-5) won the earlier meeting 1-0 against the Huskies (7-7-4) at North. Casey Short scored in the 10th minute for the game's only offense. Goalie Hannah Oppenheimer needed five saves -- all in the second half -- for the shutout.

Redhawks coach Ed Watson was critical of his team's play that night after Short's goal, feeling his team sat back too much. Expect the Redhawks to continue applying pressure if they're able to grab another early lead.

The Huskies are a defense-first team, so they'll have to take advantage of whatever offensive opportunities present themselves. After scoring four goals against West Aurora on Wednesday, North's confidence got a boost.

If the Huskies are looking for even more revenge, they can harken back to 2006 when the Redhawks downed them 3-1 in the regional final, which also happened at Central's Memorial Stadium.

But no matter what, just remember you can throw the records out. Now where have I heard that before?

Neuqua Valley and Benet both won their playoff openers Tuesday night, now Naperville Central, Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley will try to follow suit Wednesday.

Of the remaining matchups, the one that looks the most intriguing is the Huskies' match against DuPage Valley Conference rival West Aurora. The teams meet at 7 p.m. in the Naperville Central Regional semifinals, their second matchup of the season.

The Huskies dumped the Blackhawks 4-1 back on April 23, continuing their dominance in the series. North holds an 11-0 all-time mark against them.

But North isn't entering the playoffs on a hot streak, having finished the season 0-1-3 after a win over Geneva on April 29. Losing Jessica Kodiak to a broken collarbone also doesn't help.

Still, the Huskies should have enough to make it a clean sweep for the Naperville-area teams. That is, if Central gets past IMSA and Waubonsie can survive Plainfield North.

It was an unfortunate situation that nobody ever wants to see that thrust Naperville Central freshman Krissy Many into the spotlight as the Redhawks goalie -- an injury to senior Hannah Oppenheimer.
But the plucky Many has risen to the occasion, providing the Redhawks with a reliable presence between the pipes. On Wednesday, she made 11 saves in Central's 1-0 overtime loss at Wheaton Warrenville South. It was the first goal Many allowed since Oppenheimer's injury last week.
Not bad for a first-year varsity player who had never played the position before filling in for Oppenheimer during the Naperville Invitational. In her five starts, Many has faced some pretty stiff competition -- Waubonsie Valley, St. Charles East, New Trier and WW South, among them -- and allowed only four goals.
"It was a lot of hard work and a lot of training," said Many, who played as a defender prior to moving to goalie. "It's nerve wracking getting out there, but I have a lot of fun. There's a lot of pressure put on me for my first season, but everybody is helping me deal with it, everybody is backing me up."

Naperville Central girls soccer earned its 400th varsity victory with a 4-0 win over Glenbard East on Tuesday.

Casey Short, Hillary Scott, Kelly Blumberg and Jackie Renn each scored and keeper Krissy Many made one save to earn the shutout for the Redhawks (6-0-0 DVC).

Join us in offering our congratulations to coach Ed Watson and the entire Central girls soccer program.