Neuqua Valley passes finishing school,
takes out Naperville Central
By Matt LeCren
NAPERVILLE – A year ago, Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau searched in vain to find players who could score goals on a consistent basis.
He doesn’t have that problem this season.
The Wildcats’ roster is loaded with talented weapons who are just starting to fire in rhythm.
The most noteworthy of those could be senior forward Ryan Gareis, who played for the Wildcats as a freshman before taking the last two years off to play club soccer.
Gareis, a South Carolina recruit, broke into the scoring column Saturday, and the goal turned out to be the game-winner as Neuqua Valley rocked visiting Naperville Central 4-0 in a DuPage Valley Conference match.
In all, four different players scored for the Wildcats (4-2-2, 3-0-0), who now have won four straight and scored 11 goals in the process.
“We had two really good days of practice this week, and we talked before the game about carrying what we had done the last two days into today, and I think we did,” Moreau said. “I thought we played as close to 80 minutes today as we have all year.”
The Wildcats got the party started at the 30:40 mark of the first half when Gareis volleyed home a free kick from defender Nicole Mondi. It was the first goal of the season for Gareis, who had been held without a point in Neuqua’s first seven games.
“It was really awesome,” Gareis said. “It was the first goal of the game, so it really got our momentum up.
“I remember thinking, ‘I want this goal so bad.’ So it came down to who wanted it more, and I was happy that I was able to finish it.”
The Purdue-bound Mondi launched the free kick from 45 yards out and sent it across the penalty area to the far post, where Gareis timed her run perfectly.
“It was 15 yards from the halfway line,” Mondi said. “It was driven across the goal, and Ryan was perfectly timed back post and hit it in. It was a really good touch.”
Moreau was happy to see Gareis, one of the fastest players in the area, break her scoring drought.
“I think that will take a little pressure off her,” Moreau said. “I think she played a little bit more relaxed today, too.”
Indeed, Gareis felt the pressure of high expectations returning to a team that posted the first losing record of Moreau’s illustrious coaching career in 2016. Then the Wildcats went winless in their first four games against a tough schedule this spring before jelling.
“Stepping in I had to become a leader because I was a senior, but also (I had) to get back into the rhythm of high school,” Gareis said. “But now that we have momentum it is much better.”
The Wildcats are unquestionably a much better team with Gareis in the lineup. She brings speed, skill and unselfishness to a team with seven Division I recruits and several other college prospects.
“It’s awesome to have her back,” Mondi said. “She is so determined and hard-working and does everything she can to get the ball in, which is really good because she doesn’t really care if she is scoring the goal.
“Just the fact that she is getting the assist is more important to her. It’s working really well for us, and she’s doing so good out there. She’s a fun person to be around, too.”
Gareis has fun creating havoc with her speed, which she did repeatedly with runs down the wings against Naperville Central.
She created Neuqua’s third goal that way, dashing around the left end and sending a sharp cross into the crease, where the ball deflected behind Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler. Neuqua freshman Julia Rushing beat a defender to the ball and punched it in with 16:47 to go in the second half.
“My speed is something that I value a lot,” Gareis said. “That’s why I love playing on the outside because I like to make the runs.
“That’s something I plan to emulate in every one of the games.”
If the Wildcats can match the way they played Saturday, they will be tough to beat. They constantly had the Redhawks (5-5-2, 2-2-0) on their heels and also got goals from Alyssa Bombacino and Alison Dovalovsky. Illinois recruit Haley Singer added an assist.
“(The key has been) encouraging each other because we did have a rough start with our first couple games,” Gareis said. “But we didn’t let that bring us down.
“Our coaches have been very hard on us, which has made us stronger as players and a people. I think we’ve finally clicked now as a team and that’s helping us get the results.”
Naperville Central, in contrast, has been struggling to score consistently and has yet to win back-to-back games this season.
The Redhawks edged Waubonsie Valley 1-0 on Thursday to give coach Ed Watson has 400th career win, but the Redhawks failed to put a shot on frame against the Wildcats despite having several chances to do so. Most of their 12 shots went wide.
“(The Wildcats) have more attacking players than we do,” Watson said. “It’s that simple.
“We just don’t have enough girls on this team that can figure out how to play off one another.”
Watson said the Redhawks have plenty of midfielders, but not enough strikers. Marquette recruit Meredith McGuire and fellow senior Meridith Hannan have combined to score seven goals, but they haven’t had much help. Outside of an 8-0 rout over Glenbard North, the rest of the team has tallied just two goals.
“We definitely looked to play a little bit more of a defensive game,” Hannan said. “We do have Meredith McGuire up-top. She’s been scoring a couple goals for us.
“We have our chances but we definitely look to compact the back and look to play (forward) as we can.”
But the results weren’t there against the Wildcats, who kept the pressure off goalie Yanel Ortiz, who went the distance to record her team’s third shutout.
“We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had,” Watson said. “When the game was still 1-0 we had two opportunities that should have been finished, and we didn’t get the job done.
“You can’t keep putting pressure on your defense over and over again and not score. We didn’t do a good job defensively in the second half, but it’s also because we’re trying to push forward trying to get one or two.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Kinzly Dressler
D Sarah Avery
D Caroline Giannone
D Caitlin Reice
M Francesca Canlas
M Maggie Hillman
M Abigail Hillman
M Madison Redeker
F Meredith McGuire
F Caroline Reedy
F Meridith Hannan
Neuqua Valley
GK Yanel Ortiz
D Jenna Lafferty
D Kailey Serna
D Nicole Mondi
M Veda Tappin
M Alyssa Bombacino
M Erin Sweda
M Danielle Hopkins
F Haley Singer
F Ryan Gareis
F Allie Fullriede
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ryan Gareis, sr., F, Neuqua Valley
takes out Naperville Central
By Matt LeCren
NAPERVILLE – A year ago, Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau searched in vain to find players who could score goals on a consistent basis.
He doesn’t have that problem this season.
The Wildcats’ roster is loaded with talented weapons who are just starting to fire in rhythm.
The most noteworthy of those could be senior forward Ryan Gareis, who played for the Wildcats as a freshman before taking the last two years off to play club soccer.
Gareis, a South Carolina recruit, broke into the scoring column Saturday, and the goal turned out to be the game-winner as Neuqua Valley rocked visiting Naperville Central 4-0 in a DuPage Valley Conference match.
In all, four different players scored for the Wildcats (4-2-2, 3-0-0), who now have won four straight and scored 11 goals in the process.
“We had two really good days of practice this week, and we talked before the game about carrying what we had done the last two days into today, and I think we did,” Moreau said. “I thought we played as close to 80 minutes today as we have all year.”
The Wildcats got the party started at the 30:40 mark of the first half when Gareis volleyed home a free kick from defender Nicole Mondi. It was the first goal of the season for Gareis, who had been held without a point in Neuqua’s first seven games.
“It was really awesome,” Gareis said. “It was the first goal of the game, so it really got our momentum up.
“I remember thinking, ‘I want this goal so bad.’ So it came down to who wanted it more, and I was happy that I was able to finish it.”
The Purdue-bound Mondi launched the free kick from 45 yards out and sent it across the penalty area to the far post, where Gareis timed her run perfectly.
“It was 15 yards from the halfway line,” Mondi said. “It was driven across the goal, and Ryan was perfectly timed back post and hit it in. It was a really good touch.”
Moreau was happy to see Gareis, one of the fastest players in the area, break her scoring drought.
“I think that will take a little pressure off her,” Moreau said. “I think she played a little bit more relaxed today, too.”
Indeed, Gareis felt the pressure of high expectations returning to a team that posted the first losing record of Moreau’s illustrious coaching career in 2016. Then the Wildcats went winless in their first four games against a tough schedule this spring before jelling.
“Stepping in I had to become a leader because I was a senior, but also (I had) to get back into the rhythm of high school,” Gareis said. “But now that we have momentum it is much better.”
The Wildcats are unquestionably a much better team with Gareis in the lineup. She brings speed, skill and unselfishness to a team with seven Division I recruits and several other college prospects.
“It’s awesome to have her back,” Mondi said. “She is so determined and hard-working and does everything she can to get the ball in, which is really good because she doesn’t really care if she is scoring the goal.
“Just the fact that she is getting the assist is more important to her. It’s working really well for us, and she’s doing so good out there. She’s a fun person to be around, too.”
Gareis has fun creating havoc with her speed, which she did repeatedly with runs down the wings against Naperville Central.
She created Neuqua’s third goal that way, dashing around the left end and sending a sharp cross into the crease, where the ball deflected behind Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler. Neuqua freshman Julia Rushing beat a defender to the ball and punched it in with 16:47 to go in the second half.
“My speed is something that I value a lot,” Gareis said. “That’s why I love playing on the outside because I like to make the runs.
“That’s something I plan to emulate in every one of the games.”
If the Wildcats can match the way they played Saturday, they will be tough to beat. They constantly had the Redhawks (5-5-2, 2-2-0) on their heels and also got goals from Alyssa Bombacino and Alison Dovalovsky. Illinois recruit Haley Singer added an assist.
“(The key has been) encouraging each other because we did have a rough start with our first couple games,” Gareis said. “But we didn’t let that bring us down.
“Our coaches have been very hard on us, which has made us stronger as players and a people. I think we’ve finally clicked now as a team and that’s helping us get the results.”
Naperville Central, in contrast, has been struggling to score consistently and has yet to win back-to-back games this season.
The Redhawks edged Waubonsie Valley 1-0 on Thursday to give coach Ed Watson has 400th career win, but the Redhawks failed to put a shot on frame against the Wildcats despite having several chances to do so. Most of their 12 shots went wide.
“(The Wildcats) have more attacking players than we do,” Watson said. “It’s that simple.
“We just don’t have enough girls on this team that can figure out how to play off one another.”
Watson said the Redhawks have plenty of midfielders, but not enough strikers. Marquette recruit Meredith McGuire and fellow senior Meridith Hannan have combined to score seven goals, but they haven’t had much help. Outside of an 8-0 rout over Glenbard North, the rest of the team has tallied just two goals.
“We definitely looked to play a little bit more of a defensive game,” Hannan said. “We do have Meredith McGuire up-top. She’s been scoring a couple goals for us.
“We have our chances but we definitely look to compact the back and look to play (forward) as we can.”
But the results weren’t there against the Wildcats, who kept the pressure off goalie Yanel Ortiz, who went the distance to record her team’s third shutout.
“We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had,” Watson said. “When the game was still 1-0 we had two opportunities that should have been finished, and we didn’t get the job done.
“You can’t keep putting pressure on your defense over and over again and not score. We didn’t do a good job defensively in the second half, but it’s also because we’re trying to push forward trying to get one or two.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Kinzly Dressler
D Sarah Avery
D Caroline Giannone
D Caitlin Reice
M Francesca Canlas
M Maggie Hillman
M Abigail Hillman
M Madison Redeker
F Meredith McGuire
F Caroline Reedy
F Meridith Hannan
Neuqua Valley
GK Yanel Ortiz
D Jenna Lafferty
D Kailey Serna
D Nicole Mondi
M Veda Tappin
M Alyssa Bombacino
M Erin Sweda
M Danielle Hopkins
F Haley Singer
F Ryan Gareis
F Allie Fullriede
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ryan Gareis, sr., F, Neuqua Valley