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Sports

Waubonsie Knocked Off By Lyons Again

Lyons 1, Waubonsie Valley 0. Warriors fall for second time to Lyons in the Naperville Invitational semifinals.

Though the result was the same the second time around, girls soccer team is still happy with the progress it’s made since the start of the season.

The Warriors fell to Lyons, 1-0, in the Invitational semifinals Friday, the same fate they suffered to the Lions in the season opener on March 17. But in that time, despite being 7-5 against a rugged schedule, coach Julie Bergstrom likes what she’s seen so far.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Warriors; including Thursday’s 1-0 overtime win over defending tournament champion New Trier in the quarterfinals.

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“You basically hope that the team is better tomorrow than it is today, and I think we’ve done that,” Bergstrom said. “I think if you watch us from the first game of the season until now, we’ve gotten better. I think the kids are in there scratching and clawing, but I think they’re working hard. I don’t feel like we’ve gone backwards.”

As has been the case in all five losses this season, the difference was one goal. And as has happened often this season, it was a well placed shot that senior goalkeeper Jordan Myers just couldn’t do anything about.

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With 33:53 left in the match, after not getting a single shot off at all in the first half, Lyons sophomore Ari Kowalski followed through with a left-footed shot from 30 yards out that proved to be the difference.

In fact, that was one of only three shots on goal for Lyons all night as the Waubonsie defense and Myers put together yet another solid effort.

“I think we dominated, especially in the first half,” Myers said. “They just got that one lucky goal. They hit a really good shot.”

The problem for Waubonsie is a recurring theme, a lack of offensive production. Bergstrom feels that it’s coming, but playing against a schedule that is filled with potential state tournament teams, the defense has had to do a lot of the heavy lifting thus far.

“Every loss has been by one,” Bergstrom said. “You can’t ask your defense to keep holding teams off. You’ve got to put something away. You have to put a goal in the back of the net to take some pressure off. You can’t miss those opportunities. It changes the dynamic of the game. We’ve had our chances.”

The Warriors have only been a part of one true blowout thus far, a 7-0 win over East Aurora last week. The rest of the season has been a grind, and with six freshmen and six sophomores in the mix, it has forced the team to grow up quickly.

“It is tough constantly playing the hard teams, but I feel like it really does help us,” Myers said. “Once we get to the state tournament, we’ll be ready for it, because those are the kinds of teams we’ll play.”

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