The regular season of boys soccer has hit the final week as Waubonsie Valley and Naperville Central reach the finale of the conference portion. The Redhawks are fresh off a 9-0 win over Plainfield South, while the Warriors hope to pick up one more DVC win before the postseason. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Throw in time for the Redhawks and once the ball lands Eli Jarrell eyes the net but Sebastian Herrera denies that opportunity with a save.
Lachlan Ladd opens the scoring for the Warriors
Going the other way, Lachlan Ladd finds the bouncing ball and uses his left foot to find the right corner for the game’s first goal for the Warriors.
Let’s flip to the Central side. After a couple of passes, Matias Jacobs sneaks his shot through the legs of Herrera for the equalizer. A great shot by Jacobs evens the game at one.
With over three minutes left in the first half Ladd displays the corner kick and out of the pile Gabe Pizzo taps it in to give Waubonsie Valley a 2-1 lead at intermission.
Redhawks start a second-half shootout
In the second half the Redhawks keep the pressure on with Nate Laird using his right leg to get his kick just through the gap and we are tied once again 2-2.
The Hawks are back for more as Jarrel’s strike is defended but there’s a sliding Gavin Brown who goes top shelf for a 3-2 Central lead.
Here come the Warriors and Amiel Nichani who runs by the defense and strikes the left corner, and this game is locked up at 3 as we go back and forth.
Now it’s time for the goalies to step up. Central keeper Connor Waite nearly loses the ball but maintains it to stop the threat to keep the score tied.
Can the Redhawks find the net with a free kick? Herrra says not this time and we go into overtime tied at 3-3.
It’s golden goal rules in OT, so the first team to score wins. Waubonsie has that first opportunity, but Nichani’s header is stopped by Waite.
Eli Jarrell wins it in overtime for Naperville Central
Back comes Central and it’s Jarrell open who strikes the right corner and wins the game for the Redhawks. Naperville Central takes down Waubonsie Valley 4-3 in overtime to move to 3-2 in the conference. Both teams will begin the postseason next week with a potential rematch in the regional final. The Redhawks enter the Naperville North sectional as the three seed while the Warriors will be the six seed.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
