PLAINFIELD – In the topsy-turvy world of prep soccer, especially tournament soccer, it’s good to have a plan.

Of course, then you need to go out and execute it.

Wednesday night at Plainfield South stadium, Waubonsie Valley did that. It impressed their coach.

The Warriors (6-1-3) posted a 6-1 victory over Plainfield South at the Plainfield Classic tournament to improve to 2-0-1 and lock up the Pool B semifinal berth.

“What stood out for me tonight,” said Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia, “is that the things we’ve talked about have come to fruition.

“We talk about tactics, and today the kids went out and did a great job. They’re playing very confident. Now it’s a matter of can we play confident but not cocky.”

Senior Gabriele Pizzo scored twice for the Warriors. He said it was a positive for his team that they were able to build a comfortable cushion early.

“Playing with a big lead,” said Pizzo, “it gives you kind of a relief, I guess. You can slow everything down. It's way better than a close game.”

The senior earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for a splendid performance.

“For me tonight (our success) came through the middle,” he added. “We had a lot of one-touch passes playing the ball through.”

Classmate Ricardo Uriostegui, who tallied the first goal of the night for Waubonsie Valley, said the strong showing of his team Wednesday means that more of the same is upcoming the rest of the year.

“It feels good,” he said of the triumph. “This team is special, and I think that we can win this tournament.

“We’re showing people that (despite) last year not being our best year, this season is different.”

Plainfield South coach Joshua Finn took pluses out of the match. He realizes there is work to be done.

The Cougars sit at 1-6-0 on the year and finished the tourney 1-2-0.

“There were plenty of times that we had good build-up,” said Finn. “Our guys had confidence and a lot of individual players stepped up and challenged themselves to be better.

“The … glimmers are there. We’re giving ourselves opportunities, it just has to be for the whole game and not spurts.”

Uriostegui opened the scoring in the sixth minute.

He took advantage of a Plainfield South defensive miscue to send a booming shot to the back of the net from 13 yards.

“We were pressing them (Plainfield South) and compacting them into the corner,” said Uriostegui. 

“When they played the ball, I stole it and just shot it, and it went in.”

Then a minute later Pizzo added to the lead. He settled a pass from senior teammate Lachlan Ladd and from the dead center of the field, sent one over the goal line from 15 yards to make it 2-0.

The Warriors continued to threaten and Pizzo almost scored again in the 27th minute, but a spectacular defensive play from Plainfield South’s Tyler Bayles knocked the attempt out of harm’s way.

Plainfield South struck back with a couple of quality opportunities, but the scoreboard still showed status quo after their five-minute flurry.

First junior forward Xavier Martinez put a shot on goal in the 29th minute, but Waubonsie Valley keeper Sebastian Herrera stepped up with a brilliant save.

A few ticks of the clock later, Martinez tried again but another save went onto the stat sheet for Herrera.

Waubonsie Valley answered for a 3-0 halftime lead.

In the 34th minute, senior Everett Day intercepted a Plainfield South clearance attempt and turned and scored from 14 yards.

The Warriors kept right on going after intermission. Pizzo completed his brace after he took possession of a bouncing ball in Cougars territory, drove to the net and finished from 14 yards in the the 42nd minute.

Two minutes late, Waubonsie Valley increased the lead to 5-0.

Evan Wojtowich made a nifty cross through traffic toward the frame that Ladd booted home from three yards.

With the clock showing 30:00 remaining, each team made a change in goal.

Ian DeBrouckere came on as keeper for Waubonsie Valley, and Leonardo Esparza took over for Plainfield South.

Both replacement keepers had to make a save in their first minute of duty.

Esparza played a spectacular match the rest of the way. He made five quality saves for the Cougars and allowed only one goal, which came on a penalty.

“I feel like all of my hard work has finally come alive,” said Esparza. “I just prayed for God to guide me tonight.

“I know I haven’t had a lot of minutes, so I had to calm down and take a breath. If I made a mistake, I talked to myself to just get better on every single play.”

The keeper said that his pre-game ritual helps him get prepared.

“After school,” said Esparza, “I go home, and one of the big things in my daily life is my faith. I read my Bible before the games, just hand my game to the Lord and ask Him to guide me in the games, whatever His will is going to be. I just trust Him at all times.”

Esparza thought his team played well despite the final count.

“We never gave up,” he added. “Even though we scored just one goal, we played as a family.

“This is my senior season, so it’s my most important season. I just want to continue to play the way I play, play confidently, and trust that God is going to guide me the rest of the way.”

Waubonsie Valley got their final goal in the 71st minute. After a foul in the box, Diego Rodriquez hammered the penalty home.

Plainfield South spoiled the shutout in the 79th minute. Mauro Munoz tallied for the Cougars from 19 yards on an assist from Ethan Lio.

Coach Garcia said that earning the big early lead let him give significant playing time to his reserves.

“We have a very senior heavy crew,” said Garcia, “so to get everyone some PT tonight was a positive.”

Waubonsie Valley faces a rematch in its 9:45 a.m. semifinal at Plainfield Central. The Warriors will meet Oswego East, who they beat 2-1 in a nonconference match Sept. 4. The title game against the Plainfield North/East Aurora winner follows at 1:15 p.m.

Cougars head man Finn said that after the game, he reminded his players of all of the growth they’ve achieved so far.

“We talked about the positives,” Finn said, “and just told them that they have to keep challenging themselves. 

“They have such a high standard, and I have such a high standard for them. They have to remind themselves how good they are as players, how good they are as a team, and take the chemistry they have and translate that to out in the field.”

Plainfield South concludes the tournament with a consolation match vs. Lockport at 3 p.m. at Plainfield Central.

Starting lineups

Waubonsie Valley
GK: Sebastian Herrera
D: Amiel Nichanim
D: Cade Valek
D: Evan Wojtowich
MF: Jack Winn
MF: Cole Ondrejcak
MF: Tristan Mehra
MF: Gabriele Pizzo
MF: Lachlan Ladd
MF: Ricardo Uriostegui
F: Erick Maravillo

Plainfield South
GK: Aldo Tamayo
D: Jaimeson Powers
D: Tyler Bayles
D: Tony Flores
D: Luke Dietel
MF: Javier Pardo
MF; Max Wroblewski
MF: Grady Joy
MF: Ethan Lio
F: Xavier Martinez
F: Mauro Munoz

Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Gabriele Pizzo, sr., MF, Waubonsie Valley

Scoring summary

First half
WV: Uriostegui (unassisted), 6'
WV: Pizzo (Ladd), 7'
WV: Day (unassisted), 34'

Second half
WV: Pizzo (unassisted), 42'
WV: Ladd (Wojtowich), 44'
WV: Rodriguez (penalty), 71'
PS: Munoz (Lio), 79'