WV's Yahir Rodriguez is
right player at right moment
58th-minute goal keys Warriors' 2-1 victory over Neuqua Valley
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NAPERVILLE — Availability is always easy to assume as something that is natural or expected.
Waubonsie Valley sophomore Yahir Rodriguez is always ready to make an impression when his coach Jose Garcia, calls on him.
“Sometimes I have a lot of energy,” Rodriguez said. “Today I definitely had that energy.”
Summoned into a tie game midway through the second half, Rodriguez had the natural presence of mind and alert touch that changed the game.
Rodriguez took a ball from Aaron Griffith and smashed home a ball from about 16 yards near post in the 58th minute that propelled the Warriors’ 2-1 victory over rival Neuqua Valley in DuPage Valley Conference play Tuesday afternoon.
“It was an amazing pass from Aaron,” Rodriguez said. “After I hit it I saw that it was going pretty slowly, but I saw that the keeper wasn’t able to get there.”
Rodriguez earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his excellent play.
The backdrop had everything and amplified the intensity of the moment and the sharp play from each side. Neuqua Valley (1-3-0, 0-2-0) celebrated its four seniors at the game.
Players like Rodriguez were not in a sentimental mood.
“Neuqua is a school I don’t like losing against, so coming in here, I told everybody I didn’t want to lose,” he said. “It feels great to get that win.”
Wins have been elusive for both teams. Waubonsie Valley (2-5-1, 1-1-1) was equally incentivized to change its fortunes.
Keeper Bryan Grimaldo was stellar for the Warriors. He repeatedly thwarted the Wildcats from the late equalizer. His style is aggressive and active.
He was not going to stand back and let Neuqua Valley dictate the outcome of the game.
“I have been playing keeper since my freshman year, and I have always been taught to control the final six,” Grimaldo said.
“I want to come out and attack the soccer ball. I had to step up and lead my team.”
Neuqua Valley forward John Pochyly, a big and rangy striker with a strong leg, created some dangerous chances over the final 20 minutes.
Pochyly scored the first half equalizer. He maintained a forceful presence, creating some dangerous opportunities on the perimeter of the final third.
Grimaldo registered seven saves. The most valuable came in the closing moments, a quick and instinctive save off a header by midfielder Jack Georgi.
“I had to come out, and that save was the game-changer,” Grimaldo said. “I wanted to see if he was going to it, and then I saw that he was so close to me, I had to come out and isolate as much space as possible so he couldn’t come out and score.
“That’s what I did. I just came out and tried to block it.”
Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said his team was slightly off-rhythm during the second half.
“I thought especially in the first half, we created a few opportunities,” Gonzalez said. “They created a lot more in the second half.
“We got outplayed in the second half, and that’s what happens when you have spring break. The heart was there, the kids really wanted it, but it shows when you take a week off from training.”
Grimaldo also made a crucial suggestion to his coach about playing into the wind at the start of the game.
“I knew in the second half, we were going to come out and attack and that is exactly what we did,” Grimaldo said.
Midfielder Diego Carillo is the Warriors’ most explosive offensive threat, a quick and dynamic player in space who created repeated pressure against the Neuqua Valley back.
Carillo set the stage for Waubonsie Valley’s fast start. His through-ball to a streaking Alan Sanchez resulted in the opening goal in the 15th minute.
“Diego saw me on the run, and he played the through ball to my left foot,” Sanchez said. “That’s normally my weak foot, but I said I was going to take it and the ball went in.”
Sanchez atoned for an early misplayed shot on a short volley.
“I choked it and put it over the net, and I told myself if I get another opportunity I have to score in that situation,” he said.
Pochyly answered in the 19th minute. He blasted a deep ball from about 46 yards that handcuffed Grimaldo.
“I give him props for a great shot,” Grimaldo said. “Sometimes they take a shot, and they get lucky. He was a bit lucky with the wind.
“The wind pushed it up and caught me off guard and went over me.”
Waubonsie Valley survived playing into the gusting winds through the balance of the first half. Getting through it relatively unscathed was the key.
“That first half was a little challenging,” Grimaldo said. “We couldn’t hold the ball as much as wanted, so we had to adapt.”
Neuqua Valley midfielder Akul Dachepalli had a couple of decent looks in the final 10 minutes. In every scenario, Grimaldo or the Waubonsie Valley back was up to the challenge.
“After we got the lead, we wanted to do everything possible to maintain it,” Sanchez said. “We changed our formation and became more defensive to keep our head.
“We didn’t want to lose to Neuqua, so our best chance was to hold the backline and not concede any more goals.”
“We are just playing with a lot of energy, and looking to win every game the rest of our season and try to turn everything upside down,” Rodriguez said.
Arnoldo Gonzalez looks for a sharper level of play from his side.
“The season was kind of put together. These kids haven't been playing, and we are fairly young,” he said. “When you have a longer season, you usually have time to let them jell.
“We haven’t had that this year.”
Starters--
Waubonsie Valley--
GK: Bryan Grimaldo
D: Joseph Haddad
D: Callum Keller
D: Adrien Mehra
D: Kadin Feese
MF: Gean Riberio Scarpell
MF: Diego Carillo
MF: Alan Sanchez
MF: Zach Stanley
F: Aaron Griffith
F: Javi Gonzalez
Neuqua Valley--
GK: Joshua Drillenburg
D: Harshit Gupta
D: Sanath Dachepalli
D: Tyler Madsen
D: Christopher Kesler
MF: Jack Georgi
MF: Vishnu Dachepalli
MF: Ved Asur
MF: Akul Dachepalli
F: Garrett Lee
F: John Pochyly
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Yahir Rodriguez, sophomore., MF, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring
First half
Waubonsie Valley—Alan Sanchez (Diego Carillo), 15th minute
Neuqua Valley—John Pochyly (unassisted), 19th minute
Second half
Waubonsie Valley—Yahir Rodriguez (Aaron Griffith), 58th minute
right player at right moment
58th-minute goal keys Warriors' 2-1 victory over Neuqua Valley
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NAPERVILLE — Availability is always easy to assume as something that is natural or expected.
Waubonsie Valley sophomore Yahir Rodriguez is always ready to make an impression when his coach Jose Garcia, calls on him.
“Sometimes I have a lot of energy,” Rodriguez said. “Today I definitely had that energy.”
Summoned into a tie game midway through the second half, Rodriguez had the natural presence of mind and alert touch that changed the game.
Rodriguez took a ball from Aaron Griffith and smashed home a ball from about 16 yards near post in the 58th minute that propelled the Warriors’ 2-1 victory over rival Neuqua Valley in DuPage Valley Conference play Tuesday afternoon.
“It was an amazing pass from Aaron,” Rodriguez said. “After I hit it I saw that it was going pretty slowly, but I saw that the keeper wasn’t able to get there.”
Rodriguez earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his excellent play.
The backdrop had everything and amplified the intensity of the moment and the sharp play from each side. Neuqua Valley (1-3-0, 0-2-0) celebrated its four seniors at the game.
Players like Rodriguez were not in a sentimental mood.
“Neuqua is a school I don’t like losing against, so coming in here, I told everybody I didn’t want to lose,” he said. “It feels great to get that win.”
Wins have been elusive for both teams. Waubonsie Valley (2-5-1, 1-1-1) was equally incentivized to change its fortunes.
Keeper Bryan Grimaldo was stellar for the Warriors. He repeatedly thwarted the Wildcats from the late equalizer. His style is aggressive and active.
He was not going to stand back and let Neuqua Valley dictate the outcome of the game.
“I have been playing keeper since my freshman year, and I have always been taught to control the final six,” Grimaldo said.
“I want to come out and attack the soccer ball. I had to step up and lead my team.”
Neuqua Valley forward John Pochyly, a big and rangy striker with a strong leg, created some dangerous chances over the final 20 minutes.
Pochyly scored the first half equalizer. He maintained a forceful presence, creating some dangerous opportunities on the perimeter of the final third.
Grimaldo registered seven saves. The most valuable came in the closing moments, a quick and instinctive save off a header by midfielder Jack Georgi.
“I had to come out, and that save was the game-changer,” Grimaldo said. “I wanted to see if he was going to it, and then I saw that he was so close to me, I had to come out and isolate as much space as possible so he couldn’t come out and score.
“That’s what I did. I just came out and tried to block it.”
Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said his team was slightly off-rhythm during the second half.
“I thought especially in the first half, we created a few opportunities,” Gonzalez said. “They created a lot more in the second half.
“We got outplayed in the second half, and that’s what happens when you have spring break. The heart was there, the kids really wanted it, but it shows when you take a week off from training.”
Grimaldo also made a crucial suggestion to his coach about playing into the wind at the start of the game.
“I knew in the second half, we were going to come out and attack and that is exactly what we did,” Grimaldo said.
Midfielder Diego Carillo is the Warriors’ most explosive offensive threat, a quick and dynamic player in space who created repeated pressure against the Neuqua Valley back.
Carillo set the stage for Waubonsie Valley’s fast start. His through-ball to a streaking Alan Sanchez resulted in the opening goal in the 15th minute.
“Diego saw me on the run, and he played the through ball to my left foot,” Sanchez said. “That’s normally my weak foot, but I said I was going to take it and the ball went in.”
Sanchez atoned for an early misplayed shot on a short volley.
“I choked it and put it over the net, and I told myself if I get another opportunity I have to score in that situation,” he said.
Pochyly answered in the 19th minute. He blasted a deep ball from about 46 yards that handcuffed Grimaldo.
“I give him props for a great shot,” Grimaldo said. “Sometimes they take a shot, and they get lucky. He was a bit lucky with the wind.
“The wind pushed it up and caught me off guard and went over me.”
Waubonsie Valley survived playing into the gusting winds through the balance of the first half. Getting through it relatively unscathed was the key.
“That first half was a little challenging,” Grimaldo said. “We couldn’t hold the ball as much as wanted, so we had to adapt.”
Neuqua Valley midfielder Akul Dachepalli had a couple of decent looks in the final 10 minutes. In every scenario, Grimaldo or the Waubonsie Valley back was up to the challenge.
“After we got the lead, we wanted to do everything possible to maintain it,” Sanchez said. “We changed our formation and became more defensive to keep our head.
“We didn’t want to lose to Neuqua, so our best chance was to hold the backline and not concede any more goals.”
“We are just playing with a lot of energy, and looking to win every game the rest of our season and try to turn everything upside down,” Rodriguez said.
Arnoldo Gonzalez looks for a sharper level of play from his side.
“The season was kind of put together. These kids haven't been playing, and we are fairly young,” he said. “When you have a longer season, you usually have time to let them jell.
“We haven’t had that this year.”
Starters--
Waubonsie Valley--
GK: Bryan Grimaldo
D: Joseph Haddad
D: Callum Keller
D: Adrien Mehra
D: Kadin Feese
MF: Gean Riberio Scarpell
MF: Diego Carillo
MF: Alan Sanchez
MF: Zach Stanley
F: Aaron Griffith
F: Javi Gonzalez
Neuqua Valley--
GK: Joshua Drillenburg
D: Harshit Gupta
D: Sanath Dachepalli
D: Tyler Madsen
D: Christopher Kesler
MF: Jack Georgi
MF: Vishnu Dachepalli
MF: Ved Asur
MF: Akul Dachepalli
F: Garrett Lee
F: John Pochyly
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Yahir Rodriguez, sophomore., MF, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring
First half
Waubonsie Valley—Alan Sanchez (Diego Carillo), 15th minute
Neuqua Valley—John Pochyly (unassisted), 19th minute
Second half
Waubonsie Valley—Yahir Rodriguez (Aaron Griffith), 58th minute