Neuqua Valley's Nardulli
provides great care in life, soccer
By Matt Le Cren
Katelyn Nardulli has such a passion for soccer that she wouldn’t think of showing up late to practice.
But the Neuqua Valley junior makes an exception for someone whose well-being takes precedence over her soccer responsibilities.
Nardulli’s younger sister, Lauren, was born with spina bifida and has endured multiple major surgeries and requires a feeding tube in part to receive medications. The eighth-grader has brought a lot of joy to Nardulli.
“When my parents were out of town I would text (Neuqua coach Joe) Moreau and ask him if I could come to practice late because I’d have to get her off the bus and help my grandma move her around and give her medicine,” Nardulli said. “Being around her and seeing the struggles she goes through; she’s really taught me a lot about perseverance and just a lot about life.
“It’s very inspiring to me on the soccer field, because I see what she can do and it makes me want to work harder for myself.”
Lauren has had a difficult life but has excelled in school. She will be a freshman at Neuqua in the fall.
“She does really well,” Nardulli said. “She loves school and being in the plays and chorus.
“Lauren is awesome at math, and she loves doing puzzles.”
Because of her disability, life has been more of puzzle for Lauren than it is for most people. Nardulli marvels at what her sister has had to overcome.
“When she was a baby, she had a lot of surgeries, and she had major hip surgery a few years ago and surgery on her spine,” Nardulli said. “She has a feeding tube.
“She’s been eating more, but when she was born it was really hard for her to learn how to eat. Babies just naturally know how to do that, but she didn’t. She had to go to speech therapy to learn how to do that.”
Lauren is currently in the hospital with an infection, but Nardulli said she is on the mend and hoping to return home soon. The two have a close bond that inspires those who know the family.
“Katelyn is a wonderful kid,” Moreau said. “She helps out with the special needs kids.
“Her sister is a neat kid, too. She’s pretty funny. She’s a smart-ass, and I like that.
“Their parents are very supportive of everything the kids do, and that’s awesome.”
Nardulli said she and her sister are opposites in many ways. Nardulli loves reading, English and history, while Lauren gravitates to math and science.
While Lauren’s mobility is limited, Nardulli likes to be active, nowhere more so than on the soccer field, where she is one of the top holding midfielders in the area, one with hard-to-describe talents.
“Katelyn is a very calm presence on the field,” Moreau said. “She’s not fancy, but then she will do something that makes you say, ‘Well, that was impressive.’
“She’s very patient. She’s not flashy, then all of a sudden, she’ll do something flashy.
“She is a great presence on the field. To look at her, she doesn’t seem athletic but then all of a sudden, she’ll do something athletic.”
The Xavier-bound Nardulli, who had two goals and three assists as a sophomore, has been a starter since her freshman year. She credits her success to playing several different positions over the years.
“When I was younger and had just started playing, I was a forward,” Nardulli said. “I really loved scoring all the goals.
“I played a lot of different sports, but I just had a knack for soccer. I don’t know why. No one in my family ever played it before.
“I got really into it. I’m really competitive, and I wanted to get better.”
Nardulli did that by taking advantage of extra training sessions offered by her club, Team Chicago, whose coaches had her play center back for two seasons, which sharpened her defensive skills.
“I got a really good base of foot skills, which is what I like to focus on,” Nardulli said. “I think foot skills are the best thing to have, because I’m not the fastest player.
“Like (senior teammate) Piper (Biziorek) is super fast and other people like (senior) Paige Munar are really big and strong. That’s not really my game, so I like to focus more on the technical part of the game and have bursts of speed.
“I love passing the ball, setting my teammates up for something good.”
The thoughtful and analytical Moreau never has difficulty identifying a player’s strength and weaknesses, but Nardulli has a quality that almost defies description.
“It’s hard to explain Katelyn as a player, because she has great vision,” Moreau said. “As a soccer player, if you have great vision, great things will happen.
“She is a defensive mid that can play an attacking mid as well, so she’s a quality player who just is very patient, very technical.
“She has a very smooth game. Katelyn is like listening to smooth jazz, kind of cool.”
Nardulli is a player a soccer connoisseur appreciates. She loves the nuances of the game, of seeing a play develop before it happens, and of course, being the one who makes it happen.
“I like playing the playmaker role,” Nardulli said. “That is definitely my strength.
“I’m better at picking out the passes ahead of time. I like looking up and seeing the run before it’s made or seeing what a defender is going to do - if they step up, can I play it in behind?
“It’s a thinking game, so you’ve got to make quick decisions when you’re on the ball. I think that’s my strength. I make quick decisions on where to go with the ball and don’t panic if I’m under pressure.”
In a time when everyone is under pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nardulli is thankful that she has one less thing to worry about. She committed to Xavier early, making her decision during the fall of her sophomore year.
“I’m an older junior, so when we went to showcases the (college) coaches thought I was already a freshman in high school, and I was in eighth grade,” Nardulli said. “I started going to all these camps and a lot of coaches were talking to me. This was before all the new recruiting rules (which bar coaches from contacting players until after their sophomore year).
“It was a big stressor, what to decide. There were a couple schools I was kind of on the edge on, and once I got started with Xavier, I felt good about it.”
Xavier is a program on the rise. The Musketeers went 17-4-2 in 2019, winning the Big East championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The roster includes defender Allie Anderson, a freshman from Wheaton Warrenville South who also played for Team Chicago.
“I’m excited that I decided to commit there,” Nardulli said. “It’s a great school, and it looks like they are going to be very successful.
“It really was a blessing that I did decide to (commit) early, because I know a lot of people are panicked right now. It’s all up the air.”
With one more year of high school left, Nardulli seems to have her future mapped out, and not just on the soccer field. Thanks to Lauren, she has a vocation picked out.
“I want to be a pediatric nurse when I’m older, because I know how to do all that stuff,” Nardulli said. “Lauren’s taught me some good lessons that they teach you in college that I’ll already know, so I guess I have an advantage there.”
Lauren, too, has plans to build a life, literally.
“She wants to be an architect,” Nardulli said. “She loves building Legos.
“Our whole house is filled with all these Legos that she’s built, from landmarks to Star Wars. She’s really excited about (being an architect), and I’m looking forward to see her try to pursue that.”
As much as Lauren is lucky to have such a supportive big sister, Katelyn also considers herself fortunate to be close to an inspirational younger sister.
“She’s very mature from all the things she’s been through,” Nardulli said. “She knows what she wants to do and doesn’t like to dilly-dally on things.
“She’s taught me a lot. I’ve learned lessons from her just about life in general, like being flexible if things don’t go your way and persevering when things knock you down.
“I’m really thankful to have her in my life. I feel like I have a little extra maturity than some of my other friends when they’re in situations that need decision-making.
“She’s an awesome person, and I wouldn’t ask for another sister.”
provides great care in life, soccer
By Matt Le Cren
Katelyn Nardulli has such a passion for soccer that she wouldn’t think of showing up late to practice.
But the Neuqua Valley junior makes an exception for someone whose well-being takes precedence over her soccer responsibilities.
Nardulli’s younger sister, Lauren, was born with spina bifida and has endured multiple major surgeries and requires a feeding tube in part to receive medications. The eighth-grader has brought a lot of joy to Nardulli.
“When my parents were out of town I would text (Neuqua coach Joe) Moreau and ask him if I could come to practice late because I’d have to get her off the bus and help my grandma move her around and give her medicine,” Nardulli said. “Being around her and seeing the struggles she goes through; she’s really taught me a lot about perseverance and just a lot about life.
“It’s very inspiring to me on the soccer field, because I see what she can do and it makes me want to work harder for myself.”
Lauren has had a difficult life but has excelled in school. She will be a freshman at Neuqua in the fall.
“She does really well,” Nardulli said. “She loves school and being in the plays and chorus.
“Lauren is awesome at math, and she loves doing puzzles.”
Because of her disability, life has been more of puzzle for Lauren than it is for most people. Nardulli marvels at what her sister has had to overcome.
“When she was a baby, she had a lot of surgeries, and she had major hip surgery a few years ago and surgery on her spine,” Nardulli said. “She has a feeding tube.
“She’s been eating more, but when she was born it was really hard for her to learn how to eat. Babies just naturally know how to do that, but she didn’t. She had to go to speech therapy to learn how to do that.”
Lauren is currently in the hospital with an infection, but Nardulli said she is on the mend and hoping to return home soon. The two have a close bond that inspires those who know the family.
“Katelyn is a wonderful kid,” Moreau said. “She helps out with the special needs kids.
“Her sister is a neat kid, too. She’s pretty funny. She’s a smart-ass, and I like that.
“Their parents are very supportive of everything the kids do, and that’s awesome.”
Nardulli said she and her sister are opposites in many ways. Nardulli loves reading, English and history, while Lauren gravitates to math and science.
While Lauren’s mobility is limited, Nardulli likes to be active, nowhere more so than on the soccer field, where she is one of the top holding midfielders in the area, one with hard-to-describe talents.
“Katelyn is a very calm presence on the field,” Moreau said. “She’s not fancy, but then she will do something that makes you say, ‘Well, that was impressive.’
“She’s very patient. She’s not flashy, then all of a sudden, she’ll do something flashy.
“She is a great presence on the field. To look at her, she doesn’t seem athletic but then all of a sudden, she’ll do something athletic.”
The Xavier-bound Nardulli, who had two goals and three assists as a sophomore, has been a starter since her freshman year. She credits her success to playing several different positions over the years.
“When I was younger and had just started playing, I was a forward,” Nardulli said. “I really loved scoring all the goals.
“I played a lot of different sports, but I just had a knack for soccer. I don’t know why. No one in my family ever played it before.
“I got really into it. I’m really competitive, and I wanted to get better.”
Nardulli did that by taking advantage of extra training sessions offered by her club, Team Chicago, whose coaches had her play center back for two seasons, which sharpened her defensive skills.
“I got a really good base of foot skills, which is what I like to focus on,” Nardulli said. “I think foot skills are the best thing to have, because I’m not the fastest player.
“Like (senior teammate) Piper (Biziorek) is super fast and other people like (senior) Paige Munar are really big and strong. That’s not really my game, so I like to focus more on the technical part of the game and have bursts of speed.
“I love passing the ball, setting my teammates up for something good.”
The thoughtful and analytical Moreau never has difficulty identifying a player’s strength and weaknesses, but Nardulli has a quality that almost defies description.
“It’s hard to explain Katelyn as a player, because she has great vision,” Moreau said. “As a soccer player, if you have great vision, great things will happen.
“She is a defensive mid that can play an attacking mid as well, so she’s a quality player who just is very patient, very technical.
“She has a very smooth game. Katelyn is like listening to smooth jazz, kind of cool.”
Nardulli is a player a soccer connoisseur appreciates. She loves the nuances of the game, of seeing a play develop before it happens, and of course, being the one who makes it happen.
“I like playing the playmaker role,” Nardulli said. “That is definitely my strength.
“I’m better at picking out the passes ahead of time. I like looking up and seeing the run before it’s made or seeing what a defender is going to do - if they step up, can I play it in behind?
“It’s a thinking game, so you’ve got to make quick decisions when you’re on the ball. I think that’s my strength. I make quick decisions on where to go with the ball and don’t panic if I’m under pressure.”
In a time when everyone is under pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nardulli is thankful that she has one less thing to worry about. She committed to Xavier early, making her decision during the fall of her sophomore year.
“I’m an older junior, so when we went to showcases the (college) coaches thought I was already a freshman in high school, and I was in eighth grade,” Nardulli said. “I started going to all these camps and a lot of coaches were talking to me. This was before all the new recruiting rules (which bar coaches from contacting players until after their sophomore year).
“It was a big stressor, what to decide. There were a couple schools I was kind of on the edge on, and once I got started with Xavier, I felt good about it.”
Xavier is a program on the rise. The Musketeers went 17-4-2 in 2019, winning the Big East championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The roster includes defender Allie Anderson, a freshman from Wheaton Warrenville South who also played for Team Chicago.
“I’m excited that I decided to commit there,” Nardulli said. “It’s a great school, and it looks like they are going to be very successful.
“It really was a blessing that I did decide to (commit) early, because I know a lot of people are panicked right now. It’s all up the air.”
With one more year of high school left, Nardulli seems to have her future mapped out, and not just on the soccer field. Thanks to Lauren, she has a vocation picked out.
“I want to be a pediatric nurse when I’m older, because I know how to do all that stuff,” Nardulli said. “Lauren’s taught me some good lessons that they teach you in college that I’ll already know, so I guess I have an advantage there.”
Lauren, too, has plans to build a life, literally.
“She wants to be an architect,” Nardulli said. “She loves building Legos.
“Our whole house is filled with all these Legos that she’s built, from landmarks to Star Wars. She’s really excited about (being an architect), and I’m looking forward to see her try to pursue that.”
As much as Lauren is lucky to have such a supportive big sister, Katelyn also considers herself fortunate to be close to an inspirational younger sister.
“She’s very mature from all the things she’s been through,” Nardulli said. “She knows what she wants to do and doesn’t like to dilly-dally on things.
“She’s taught me a lot. I’ve learned lessons from her just about life in general, like being flexible if things don’t go your way and persevering when things knock you down.
“I’m really thankful to have her in my life. I feel like I have a little extra maturity than some of my other friends when they’re in situations that need decision-making.
“She’s an awesome person, and I wouldn’t ask for another sister.”