It’s a day sisters Alexa and Kendall Wilde hoped would happen and one that’s had their parents bracing.
Alexa, a senior and 20-goal scorer for No. 1 Neuqua Valley (23-0), will get her opportunity to avenge a quadruple-overtime loss that ended her and the Wildcats’ season two years ago.
Kendall and her teammates on defending Class 3A state champion Waubonsie Valley (15-5) will get their chance to redress a regular-season loss to their arch rival.
They’ll just have to do it against each other.
Alexa and the Wildcats take on Kendall and the No. 7 Warriors today in a Class 4A sectional semifinal at Waubonsie Valley.
“Around the house the tension has been elevating a little bit,” Alexa said. “Me and Kendall are always very supportive of each other, but we’ve kind of avoided talking about the game at home. We’ve just been trying to awkwardly talk about other things.”
Said Kendall: “It’s a hard thing because one of us is going to lose – and no one wants to lose. It will probably be the most intense game we’ve ever played because both of our teams’ seasons will be on the line.”
The sisters, who ended up at different high schools due to boundary changes in their school district in 2009, have split two games against each other over the past two seasons.
“I’ve been pumped about this game since the regional finals on Friday,” Alexa said. “I’ve been waiting for my second chance against Waubonsie Valley in the playoffs for a long time.”
That loss – a 2-1 defeat to the Warriors in the 2009 sectional semifinals – was three months before Kendall, now a sophomore, started at Waubonsie Valley. The Warriors lost 2-0 to the Wildcats this season on April 5.
“We’ve been looking forward to it,” Kendall said of the rematch. “Our team is really, really excited for this game. We’re ready. We’re pumped.”
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