Kristen Dodson’s goal propels Waubonsie Valley to supersectional victory

With Tori Harbison as one of a few Edwardsville players seemingly attached to Kristen Dodson’s back, it was hard to believe the Waubonsie Valley senior could carry another load.

But the Auburn University-bound standout found a way to put the Warriors’ season on her back and pull off a 1-0 victory Tuesday in the Class 3A Normal Supersectional.

“They were tight on my back the whole match, so I knew I needed to either play a touch faster or make a quick spin move,” Dodson said. “Either way, I knew I had support from the midfield.”

Dodson poked home an 11-yarder from the left side with 13:47 left in the second half for Waubonsie Valley (22-1-3). The Warriors advance to Friday’s 7 p.m. 3A state semifinal at North Central College against New Trier, a 1-0 winner over Barrington.

“It was another of those situations where I just knew if I could get the ball to her, she’d put it away,” said Mackenzie Fuller, who has a team-high 12 assists.

“It was a great ball from ‘Mac’ and I just had to get ahead of my defender enough to get a tap on it,” Dodson said.

“I’ve had a few (slow rollers) like that, as long as it goes in, we’re happy. They’re a tough team and they gave us a run for our money, but we just wanted to continue to pressure them and keep going hard to the ball.”

Dodson’s 11th winning goal of the year and 24th of her career extended Waubonsie Valley’s winning streak to 18 games and have gone 25 games since suffering a loss.

The Warriors ended a 19-match win streak for Edwardsville (23-2), which came up one win shy of a supersectional victory for the second time in school history. The Tigers reached the Elite Eight in 2004 to go with Sweet 16 exits back in 2005 and 2007.

It was the 13th shutout win for Waubonsie Valley’s defense.

“We had to make some switches, but we all trust each other and stay in communication with (goalkeeper) Emma (Rigby),” junior defender Maddie Pokora said.

“I’m really proud of the entire group because they really came together to demonstrate the true meaning of team effort,” said Waubonsie Valley coach Julie Bergstrom, whose Warriors hope to add to a trio of state championship trophies (2010, 2008 and 2007).