NV tops WV on true buzzer-beater
Freshman Pochyly scored before clock zeroes out for 3-2 win
By Chris Walker
AURORA – Coaches preach to their players the need to play for the full 80 minutes.
That seldom happens, but if any of those coaches are looking for an example to share with their team of the importance of just that, all they need to do is continue reading to learn more about one of the most amazing finishes to a high school soccer game one will encounter. They can then share it as a motivational anecdote with their team, and it is sure to make an impact.
On Tuesday night at Waubonsie Valley, the Warriors were in a festive mood and celebrated their 10 seniors in their DuPage Valley Conference finale against district rival Neuqua Valley. Heck, even the weather was accommodating, with abnormally warm temperatures allowing the majority of those packed in the stands to enjoy the game under the lights in shorts and short-sleeve shirts.
The back-and-forth battle was going so well that the teams looked like they were ready and willing to play extra minutes and go into overtime. That was until a pair of freshmen decided that playing the role of party poopers would be more fun.
At least it was for the Neuqua Valley.
Freshman John Pochyly kept his poise when an opportunity came his way at the eleventh hour. He reared back and deposited the game-winning goal as the timer turned to zeroes for a 3-2 victory.
“In that situation I knew I didn’t have a lot of time so I had to be quick,” Pohcyly said. “I’ve never had anything happen like this before.”
Neuqua Valley senior Sean Osoba had a scoring chance in the final minute, but his shot was redirected by the Waubonsie Valley defense. Still, it gave the Wildcats one final chance as they quickly took a corner kick with 15 seconds left.
After being batted away by Waubonsie Valley sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Grimaldo, the ball ended up at senior David Kuhn’s feet. He dribbled and drove toward the goal before crossing it in back post where freshmen Jack Georgi and Osoba leaped at it along with Grimaldo. Georgi got a slight touch on the ball, but it bounded out where the opportunistic Pochyly awaited and then quickly reacted.
“I really couldn’t see there,” Georgi said. “I just kind of went up for it, and it ended up going to John (Pochyly).”
Pochyly, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, pounced on the ball, turned forward and shot after the Warriors whiffed in a final attempt to clear it. Seizing the opportunity, Pochyly buried his chance and Waubonsie Valley’s hopes for its festive Senior Night to end with the team’s fourth victory.
“It’s just unfortunate for us, but fortunate for them that they got that last second, literally last second, goal,” Warriors coach Jose Garcia said. “Who knows if it was actually in time, because I heard the clock. They (officials) didn’t think so, but that’s what soccer is. You never know what is going to happen.”
While he knew the waning seconds were ticking away, Pochyly wasn't watching the clock. He realized that everyone was still playing so he continued to play as well.
“I truly had no clue about the time,” he said. “I thought I hit it before the time ended so I thought I had some time, but I really had no clue. I was just waiting for (the officials) to let me know.”
While not as bad as scoring the potential walk-off run at the plate only to stand and wait nervously to see if you’re actually safe or not via instant replay in a baseball game, Pochyly had wait for the officials to signal that the goal was a good one so the celebration was briefly interrupted before continuing again.
“We had to wait a little bit there,” he said. “I’m glad it didn’t take too long.”
The Senior Night experience has been entertaining in recent years at Waubonsie Valley, but the Warriors are used to coming out on top. Last year, Mitch Mueller scored with a little more than four minutes left in OT to lift the Warriors to a 3-2 win over Wheaton Warrenville South. Two years ago, Raul Roman scored the lone goal in a defensive battle to beat Wheaton North. On Tuesday, it didn’t go the Warriors way.
“It’s tough to lose on Senior Night, especially since it’s been a rebuilding year with 13 seniors last year graduating and us trying to figure things out,” Warriors senior Ryan Sanchez said. “We don’t have a lot of seniors who start normally so we’re a young team, but we compete. I think we’re going to be strong in the next couple of years, but first we want to finish strong.”
Sanchez was noticeably absent from the action, wearing jeans and standing on the sideline because of a red card in his previous game. He was set to sit out Saturday’s finale in the Warstand Invitational and be fully ready for this one, but the game was canceled due to weather so he had to miss his Senior Night.
“Saturday was supposed to be my missed game,” he said. “It’s too bad but better now than our next game.”
Perhaps Neuqua Valley senior David Kuhn provided an idea of things to come when he scored late in the first half.
Kuhn blasted a shot at Waubonsie Valley senior goalkeeper Rohan Hindia who got the rare start. Hindia was able to deny Kuhn, batting Kuhn’s attempt downward, but Kuhn was able to gain possession of the carom and sent in the rebound for a 1-0 lead with just 1:05 left before halftime.
Waubonsie Valley (3-12-1, 0-4) drew even when junior Noah Glorioso lofted a shot just inside the left post with 27:20 still left to play in the game.
“I saw Milan (Erastus-Obilo) had the ball on the wing, and I just made a run down the line,” Glorioso said. “I knew I could outrun them. Once I saw the goalie start to come out I just placed it in the corner.”
The Warriors took their only lead of the game just a few minutes later when Glorioso was able to find Jorge Gallegos with 23:48 on the clock.
“They only had two guys on the back post, and we had three,” Glorioso said. “So I just lofted it there, and Jorge was able to get on it.”
A satisfying ending appeared to be once again within Waubonsie Valley’s grasp on Senior Night, but the Wildcats had other plans as Jack Bella netted the equalizer with 15:36 remaining.
The teams exchanged a handful of opportunities over the final 15 minutes while the game got a bit chippy. Both teams saw a player receive a yellow card.
Glorioso did his part to create some dangerous chances. He blasted a shot off goalkeeper Bryson Ramsey’s hands with 14 minutes left. Then he was inexplicably was able to dribble and find an opening before firing a shot at Ramsey with 1:32 left, only to see the senior keeper turn it away.
Erastus-Obilo also ran down a loose ball down the sideline before sending a cross but none of his teammates could catch up to it. It was a great opportunity to snag the go-ahead goal -- Ramsey had come out a bit leaving the weak side of the net exposed.
“We had a few crosses come in, and no one was on the backside. Or they were just a little overplayed, because it was a little slippery out there,” Glorioso said. “Obviously we’re doing a lot better now than we were earlier in the season. We’re peaking at the right time so that we’re strong going into regionals now.”
Neuqua Valley (7-7-2, 1-3-0) nearly took the lead with 5:22 left when senior midfielder Jose Navarro seemed to casually send in a long boot. But it ended up clanking off of the crossbar. Seconds later and Pochyly sent in a header just a bit too high.
“I’m happy we got the win,” Kuhn said. “I was proud of how hard the guys fought tonight and especially these (freshmen) here for digging deep there at the end. The rain over the weekend was rough so we weren’t able to practice on Friday and our game got canceled on Saturday.
"The fields weren’t really in condition to practice on so this was just like coming back and still we were slipping and sliding all over the place. So it wasn’t optimal conditions.”
While the game certainly had an unforgettable finish and some bragging rights at stake, it didn’t figure in the conference race. Neither team treated it that way, although the Warriors paid tribute with the seniors receiving starts and solid playing time and the Wildcats trying to mix guys in and out so that they’re sharp for the postseason.
“I know it was their seniors starting, but no one wants to lose this game, so it was a hard-fought game like we expected,” Gonzalez said. “I thought we could’ve done more in the first half. In the second half we put our subs in a predicament we didn’t want to put them in, but it was good to see them actually fight. After we gave up that second goal we kind of woke up.”
The Wildcats seemed to lack an attack in the first half, but they finally showed in the final 40 minutes.
“We talked about attacking the outsides and creating that space,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a very narrow field so trying to create that space was something we needed to do, and we weren’t doing it right away. We finally opened it up.”
The team's last playoff tune-up didn’t go perfectly for the Wildcats, but it resulted in a victory.
“This was like our last practice,” Gonzalez said. “It was our last rehearsal. And we’ll have some practices but nothing like this. So we’re definitely going to get at it, and now we have some sort of momentum and at least can go in with a high.”
The Warriors haven’t had much success this fall, but they’ve shown they can battle teams at times. They showed it again in this one and will look to do it again Saturday.
“I think our seniors played extremely well, and I’m glad they came out and played as hard as they could,” Garcia said. “In the end it’s all about them tonight and how they felt at the end. I was very proud of them.”
Seeing his team fight back from an early deficit, take a lead (albeit briefly) and then fight until the end to take the lead gives Garcia hope for the potential of being a surprise team in the playoffs.
“I try to instill the more positive things in them, because everyday you can be better,” he said. “I think that’s something they’ve caught on to and kind of grasped. If you make a mistake, try to correct it because if you dwell on it that gets you nowhere. How can I get better for next game? I think they’re listening and that’s why we’ve been getting after it recently.”
Soccer games can be filled with the best and worst emotions. Think of how the Warriors and especially their seniors would’ve felt if their season ended at the buzzer like it did in this game.
“We missed our own chances, and I think that’s something we have to work on going into the playoffs,” Garcia said. “The game of soccer is a matter of seconds and inches, like we saw tonight. Making those errors can cost us a playoff game so that’s something we’re going to talk about and try to fix in the next couple of days.”
The Warriors open up the postseason against Plainfield Central in a quarterfinal game on Saturday in Plainfield.
The Wildcats finish up the regular season with their home finale against that same Plainfield Central team on Wednesday before enjoying almost a full week off before opening the playoffs against familiar DVC foe, Naperville Central, at Naperville North on the evening of Oct. 16.
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Bryson Ramsey
D: Tyler Orlow
D: Mac Lehman
D: Anthony Safo
D: Brandon Szabo
MF: Jack Bella
MF: Tom Bludgen
MF: Ryan Matthews
MF: David Kuhn
MF: Jose Navarro
MF: John Pochyly
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Rohan Hindia
FP: Matthew Shannon
FP: Luis Cauzitl
FP: Grant Manecke
FP: Brandon Garduno
FP: Ben Morales
FP: Jony Ruiz
FP: Juan Gomez
FP: Noah Glorioso
FP: Adrien Mehra
FP: Ajay Buch
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: John Pochyly, fr., MF, Neuqua Valley
Scoring Summary
First half
Neuqua Valley - David Kuhn (unassisted), 1:05
Second half
Waubonsie Valley – Noah Glorioso (Milan Erastus-Obilo), 27:20
Waubonsie Valley – Jorge Gallegos (Noah Glorioso), 23:48
Neuqua Valley – Jack Bella, 15:36
Neuqua Valley – John Pochyly (Jack Georgi), 0:00
Freshman Pochyly scored before clock zeroes out for 3-2 win
By Chris Walker
AURORA – Coaches preach to their players the need to play for the full 80 minutes.
That seldom happens, but if any of those coaches are looking for an example to share with their team of the importance of just that, all they need to do is continue reading to learn more about one of the most amazing finishes to a high school soccer game one will encounter. They can then share it as a motivational anecdote with their team, and it is sure to make an impact.
On Tuesday night at Waubonsie Valley, the Warriors were in a festive mood and celebrated their 10 seniors in their DuPage Valley Conference finale against district rival Neuqua Valley. Heck, even the weather was accommodating, with abnormally warm temperatures allowing the majority of those packed in the stands to enjoy the game under the lights in shorts and short-sleeve shirts.
The back-and-forth battle was going so well that the teams looked like they were ready and willing to play extra minutes and go into overtime. That was until a pair of freshmen decided that playing the role of party poopers would be more fun.
At least it was for the Neuqua Valley.
Freshman John Pochyly kept his poise when an opportunity came his way at the eleventh hour. He reared back and deposited the game-winning goal as the timer turned to zeroes for a 3-2 victory.
“In that situation I knew I didn’t have a lot of time so I had to be quick,” Pohcyly said. “I’ve never had anything happen like this before.”
Neuqua Valley senior Sean Osoba had a scoring chance in the final minute, but his shot was redirected by the Waubonsie Valley defense. Still, it gave the Wildcats one final chance as they quickly took a corner kick with 15 seconds left.
After being batted away by Waubonsie Valley sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Grimaldo, the ball ended up at senior David Kuhn’s feet. He dribbled and drove toward the goal before crossing it in back post where freshmen Jack Georgi and Osoba leaped at it along with Grimaldo. Georgi got a slight touch on the ball, but it bounded out where the opportunistic Pochyly awaited and then quickly reacted.
“I really couldn’t see there,” Georgi said. “I just kind of went up for it, and it ended up going to John (Pochyly).”
Pochyly, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, pounced on the ball, turned forward and shot after the Warriors whiffed in a final attempt to clear it. Seizing the opportunity, Pochyly buried his chance and Waubonsie Valley’s hopes for its festive Senior Night to end with the team’s fourth victory.
“It’s just unfortunate for us, but fortunate for them that they got that last second, literally last second, goal,” Warriors coach Jose Garcia said. “Who knows if it was actually in time, because I heard the clock. They (officials) didn’t think so, but that’s what soccer is. You never know what is going to happen.”
While he knew the waning seconds were ticking away, Pochyly wasn't watching the clock. He realized that everyone was still playing so he continued to play as well.
“I truly had no clue about the time,” he said. “I thought I hit it before the time ended so I thought I had some time, but I really had no clue. I was just waiting for (the officials) to let me know.”
While not as bad as scoring the potential walk-off run at the plate only to stand and wait nervously to see if you’re actually safe or not via instant replay in a baseball game, Pochyly had wait for the officials to signal that the goal was a good one so the celebration was briefly interrupted before continuing again.
“We had to wait a little bit there,” he said. “I’m glad it didn’t take too long.”
The Senior Night experience has been entertaining in recent years at Waubonsie Valley, but the Warriors are used to coming out on top. Last year, Mitch Mueller scored with a little more than four minutes left in OT to lift the Warriors to a 3-2 win over Wheaton Warrenville South. Two years ago, Raul Roman scored the lone goal in a defensive battle to beat Wheaton North. On Tuesday, it didn’t go the Warriors way.
“It’s tough to lose on Senior Night, especially since it’s been a rebuilding year with 13 seniors last year graduating and us trying to figure things out,” Warriors senior Ryan Sanchez said. “We don’t have a lot of seniors who start normally so we’re a young team, but we compete. I think we’re going to be strong in the next couple of years, but first we want to finish strong.”
Sanchez was noticeably absent from the action, wearing jeans and standing on the sideline because of a red card in his previous game. He was set to sit out Saturday’s finale in the Warstand Invitational and be fully ready for this one, but the game was canceled due to weather so he had to miss his Senior Night.
“Saturday was supposed to be my missed game,” he said. “It’s too bad but better now than our next game.”
Perhaps Neuqua Valley senior David Kuhn provided an idea of things to come when he scored late in the first half.
Kuhn blasted a shot at Waubonsie Valley senior goalkeeper Rohan Hindia who got the rare start. Hindia was able to deny Kuhn, batting Kuhn’s attempt downward, but Kuhn was able to gain possession of the carom and sent in the rebound for a 1-0 lead with just 1:05 left before halftime.
Waubonsie Valley (3-12-1, 0-4) drew even when junior Noah Glorioso lofted a shot just inside the left post with 27:20 still left to play in the game.
“I saw Milan (Erastus-Obilo) had the ball on the wing, and I just made a run down the line,” Glorioso said. “I knew I could outrun them. Once I saw the goalie start to come out I just placed it in the corner.”
The Warriors took their only lead of the game just a few minutes later when Glorioso was able to find Jorge Gallegos with 23:48 on the clock.
“They only had two guys on the back post, and we had three,” Glorioso said. “So I just lofted it there, and Jorge was able to get on it.”
A satisfying ending appeared to be once again within Waubonsie Valley’s grasp on Senior Night, but the Wildcats had other plans as Jack Bella netted the equalizer with 15:36 remaining.
The teams exchanged a handful of opportunities over the final 15 minutes while the game got a bit chippy. Both teams saw a player receive a yellow card.
Glorioso did his part to create some dangerous chances. He blasted a shot off goalkeeper Bryson Ramsey’s hands with 14 minutes left. Then he was inexplicably was able to dribble and find an opening before firing a shot at Ramsey with 1:32 left, only to see the senior keeper turn it away.
Erastus-Obilo also ran down a loose ball down the sideline before sending a cross but none of his teammates could catch up to it. It was a great opportunity to snag the go-ahead goal -- Ramsey had come out a bit leaving the weak side of the net exposed.
“We had a few crosses come in, and no one was on the backside. Or they were just a little overplayed, because it was a little slippery out there,” Glorioso said. “Obviously we’re doing a lot better now than we were earlier in the season. We’re peaking at the right time so that we’re strong going into regionals now.”
Neuqua Valley (7-7-2, 1-3-0) nearly took the lead with 5:22 left when senior midfielder Jose Navarro seemed to casually send in a long boot. But it ended up clanking off of the crossbar. Seconds later and Pochyly sent in a header just a bit too high.
“I’m happy we got the win,” Kuhn said. “I was proud of how hard the guys fought tonight and especially these (freshmen) here for digging deep there at the end. The rain over the weekend was rough so we weren’t able to practice on Friday and our game got canceled on Saturday.
"The fields weren’t really in condition to practice on so this was just like coming back and still we were slipping and sliding all over the place. So it wasn’t optimal conditions.”
While the game certainly had an unforgettable finish and some bragging rights at stake, it didn’t figure in the conference race. Neither team treated it that way, although the Warriors paid tribute with the seniors receiving starts and solid playing time and the Wildcats trying to mix guys in and out so that they’re sharp for the postseason.
“I know it was their seniors starting, but no one wants to lose this game, so it was a hard-fought game like we expected,” Gonzalez said. “I thought we could’ve done more in the first half. In the second half we put our subs in a predicament we didn’t want to put them in, but it was good to see them actually fight. After we gave up that second goal we kind of woke up.”
The Wildcats seemed to lack an attack in the first half, but they finally showed in the final 40 minutes.
“We talked about attacking the outsides and creating that space,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a very narrow field so trying to create that space was something we needed to do, and we weren’t doing it right away. We finally opened it up.”
The team's last playoff tune-up didn’t go perfectly for the Wildcats, but it resulted in a victory.
“This was like our last practice,” Gonzalez said. “It was our last rehearsal. And we’ll have some practices but nothing like this. So we’re definitely going to get at it, and now we have some sort of momentum and at least can go in with a high.”
The Warriors haven’t had much success this fall, but they’ve shown they can battle teams at times. They showed it again in this one and will look to do it again Saturday.
“I think our seniors played extremely well, and I’m glad they came out and played as hard as they could,” Garcia said. “In the end it’s all about them tonight and how they felt at the end. I was very proud of them.”
Seeing his team fight back from an early deficit, take a lead (albeit briefly) and then fight until the end to take the lead gives Garcia hope for the potential of being a surprise team in the playoffs.
“I try to instill the more positive things in them, because everyday you can be better,” he said. “I think that’s something they’ve caught on to and kind of grasped. If you make a mistake, try to correct it because if you dwell on it that gets you nowhere. How can I get better for next game? I think they’re listening and that’s why we’ve been getting after it recently.”
Soccer games can be filled with the best and worst emotions. Think of how the Warriors and especially their seniors would’ve felt if their season ended at the buzzer like it did in this game.
“We missed our own chances, and I think that’s something we have to work on going into the playoffs,” Garcia said. “The game of soccer is a matter of seconds and inches, like we saw tonight. Making those errors can cost us a playoff game so that’s something we’re going to talk about and try to fix in the next couple of days.”
The Warriors open up the postseason against Plainfield Central in a quarterfinal game on Saturday in Plainfield.
The Wildcats finish up the regular season with their home finale against that same Plainfield Central team on Wednesday before enjoying almost a full week off before opening the playoffs against familiar DVC foe, Naperville Central, at Naperville North on the evening of Oct. 16.
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Bryson Ramsey
D: Tyler Orlow
D: Mac Lehman
D: Anthony Safo
D: Brandon Szabo
MF: Jack Bella
MF: Tom Bludgen
MF: Ryan Matthews
MF: David Kuhn
MF: Jose Navarro
MF: John Pochyly
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Rohan Hindia
FP: Matthew Shannon
FP: Luis Cauzitl
FP: Grant Manecke
FP: Brandon Garduno
FP: Ben Morales
FP: Jony Ruiz
FP: Juan Gomez
FP: Noah Glorioso
FP: Adrien Mehra
FP: Ajay Buch
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: John Pochyly, fr., MF, Neuqua Valley
Scoring Summary
First half
Neuqua Valley - David Kuhn (unassisted), 1:05
Second half
Waubonsie Valley – Noah Glorioso (Milan Erastus-Obilo), 27:20
Waubonsie Valley – Jorge Gallegos (Noah Glorioso), 23:48
Neuqua Valley – Jack Bella, 15:36
Neuqua Valley – John Pochyly (Jack Georgi), 0:00