Toersloev’s missile
shoots down Naperville C.
Free kick lifts Neuqua V. to victory in defensive struggle
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – It was a game even a soccer purist would have had trouble enjoying.
Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley are both state-ranked teams, but you wouldn’t know it based on their performance, at least on the offensive end, in Saturday’s match at Memorial Stadium.
Even the respective coaches, well-known for their sarcastic humor, found it hard to say anything positive.
But one thing everyone agreed on was that Anna Toersloev provided the silver lining to an otherwise cloudy game.
Toersloev scored on a perfectly placed 29-yard free kick in the first half and that was all Neuqua Valley needed to eke out a 1-0 victory over the host Redhawks.
The lightning bolt of a kick – Neuqua Valley’s only shot on frame – came from the right wing and whizzed into the upper left corner of the net with 29:24 remaining in the opening half.
“It was a good shot,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “She hit it with power.
“She saw the back side was open, and she ripped it. I don’t think even if the goalie was on the back side she would have saved it.”
The goal was Toersloev’s second of the season and first game-winner. The exchange student from Denmark also scored on a free kick against Barrington in the season opener.
“I was just aiming for the corners,” said Toersloev, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. “[Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler] set the wall kind of far out, so she was placed in the middle.
“That left both the corners open, so I just hit that. It was a real good feeling.”
Nobody knew it at the time, but that would be the lone tally on an afternoon that saw most of the match played in the midfield. But Naperville Central coach Ed Watson knew Toersloev’s shot was trouble as soon as she hit it.
“Their shot was a phenomenal shot, unfortunately,” Watson said. “We could see it on the line as it left her and thought, ‘Oh, that’s in.’
“There aren’t many girls that are going to save that. There aren’t many guys that are going to save that one.
“Give them credit. They took advantage of that one opportunity that they had. We had them for two shots the whole game.”
The Redhawks (7-2-1) outshot the Wildcats 11-4 but couldn’t put anything on goal, and Neuqua Valley goalie Hannah Parrish did not have to make a tough save in recording her fifth shutout of the season.
“They were very efficient,” Watson said. “They had the better of it in the first half, we had the better of it in the second half. The difference was we had a couple of near-misses that didn’t get on frame.”
The Redhawks nearly got the equalizer a minute after Toersloev’s goal when Alison Kincaide made a run into the right side of the penalty area and got off a 15-yard shot from a tough angle under pressure. The ball skittered just wide of the left post.
Naperville Central’s other quality chance came with 2:20 to go in the second half when the hosts were awarded a free kick from nearly the same spot as Toersloev’s kick. But Meredith Tunney’s shot went just over the crossbar and landed on top of the net.
The Redhawks also enjoyed a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks but the Wildcats cleared all three easily.
“Our girls worked hard,” Watson said. “The thing that I’m disappointed with in terms of today is, we had [three] corners and not a single one of them got to the back post.
“All of our corners were left for them to win at the front post. Our server has to adjust and get it to the back post where we have an advantage. We didn’t get it there.”
On the other hand, at least the Redhawks earned some corners. The Wildcats were even less potent through the run of play, prompting Moreau to display his acerbic wit.
“I don’t know if I could be more disgusted,” Moreau said with a laugh. “It was a very pretty game. I hope people got in half price.”
So Moreau was not impressed with the level of play?
“No," he said. "Maybe we don’t want to play on Saturdays again. That’s three Saturdays in a row we’ve played awful.”
The Wildcats, who extended their unbeaten streak to eight, actually have won all three of those matches, but they know they must improve.
“We could have done a lot better both offensively and defensively, so we definitely have to work on that,” Toersloev said. “We worked on the offensive play this whole week and we need to work on that some more.
“We’re much better than we showed today so we definitely could have done better. But I think we put in some effort and we won, so that was nice.”
Both teams defended well but that didn’t lend itself to much excitement.
“There wasn’t a lot,” Watson said. “It was like watching paint dry. The ball wasn’t on the ground, it was pinging around.
“It’s April. There’s little if any relevance that comes out of a game like this.”
That will change next year when Neuqua Valley joins Naperville Central in the DuPage Valley Conference.
“This was a fun last nonconference game before it becomes for real next year,” Watson said. “This game will mean something next year because it will actually count in the conference standings.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Hannah Parrish
D: Sophia Moreau
D: Dannah Williams
D: Nicole Mondi
M: Anna Toersloev
M: Amy McNeal
M: Kiley Czerwinski
M: Veda Tappin
F: Amanda Fenton
F: Jamie Goralski
F: Alyssa Bombacino
Naperville Central
GK: Kinzly Dressler
D: Amanda Murphy
D: Kayla Rowan
D: Taylor Stenmark
D: Caitlin Reece
M: Kirsten Dorgan
M: Alison Kincaide
M: Meredith Tunney
M: Isabel Reedy
F: Meridith Hannan
F: Mackenzie Sisko
MVP of the Match: Anna Toersloev, MF, Neuqua Valley
Referees: Gene Mraz, Dylan Kramer, Brett Richter
shoots down Naperville C.
Free kick lifts Neuqua V. to victory in defensive struggle
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – It was a game even a soccer purist would have had trouble enjoying.
Naperville Central and Neuqua Valley are both state-ranked teams, but you wouldn’t know it based on their performance, at least on the offensive end, in Saturday’s match at Memorial Stadium.
Even the respective coaches, well-known for their sarcastic humor, found it hard to say anything positive.
But one thing everyone agreed on was that Anna Toersloev provided the silver lining to an otherwise cloudy game.
Toersloev scored on a perfectly placed 29-yard free kick in the first half and that was all Neuqua Valley needed to eke out a 1-0 victory over the host Redhawks.
The lightning bolt of a kick – Neuqua Valley’s only shot on frame – came from the right wing and whizzed into the upper left corner of the net with 29:24 remaining in the opening half.
“It was a good shot,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “She hit it with power.
“She saw the back side was open, and she ripped it. I don’t think even if the goalie was on the back side she would have saved it.”
The goal was Toersloev’s second of the season and first game-winner. The exchange student from Denmark also scored on a free kick against Barrington in the season opener.
“I was just aiming for the corners,” said Toersloev, Chicagoland Soccer's MVP of the Match. “[Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler] set the wall kind of far out, so she was placed in the middle.
“That left both the corners open, so I just hit that. It was a real good feeling.”
Nobody knew it at the time, but that would be the lone tally on an afternoon that saw most of the match played in the midfield. But Naperville Central coach Ed Watson knew Toersloev’s shot was trouble as soon as she hit it.
“Their shot was a phenomenal shot, unfortunately,” Watson said. “We could see it on the line as it left her and thought, ‘Oh, that’s in.’
“There aren’t many girls that are going to save that. There aren’t many guys that are going to save that one.
“Give them credit. They took advantage of that one opportunity that they had. We had them for two shots the whole game.”
The Redhawks (7-2-1) outshot the Wildcats 11-4 but couldn’t put anything on goal, and Neuqua Valley goalie Hannah Parrish did not have to make a tough save in recording her fifth shutout of the season.
“They were very efficient,” Watson said. “They had the better of it in the first half, we had the better of it in the second half. The difference was we had a couple of near-misses that didn’t get on frame.”
The Redhawks nearly got the equalizer a minute after Toersloev’s goal when Alison Kincaide made a run into the right side of the penalty area and got off a 15-yard shot from a tough angle under pressure. The ball skittered just wide of the left post.
Naperville Central’s other quality chance came with 2:20 to go in the second half when the hosts were awarded a free kick from nearly the same spot as Toersloev’s kick. But Meredith Tunney’s shot went just over the crossbar and landed on top of the net.
The Redhawks also enjoyed a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks but the Wildcats cleared all three easily.
“Our girls worked hard,” Watson said. “The thing that I’m disappointed with in terms of today is, we had [three] corners and not a single one of them got to the back post.
“All of our corners were left for them to win at the front post. Our server has to adjust and get it to the back post where we have an advantage. We didn’t get it there.”
On the other hand, at least the Redhawks earned some corners. The Wildcats were even less potent through the run of play, prompting Moreau to display his acerbic wit.
“I don’t know if I could be more disgusted,” Moreau said with a laugh. “It was a very pretty game. I hope people got in half price.”
So Moreau was not impressed with the level of play?
“No," he said. "Maybe we don’t want to play on Saturdays again. That’s three Saturdays in a row we’ve played awful.”
The Wildcats, who extended their unbeaten streak to eight, actually have won all three of those matches, but they know they must improve.
“We could have done a lot better both offensively and defensively, so we definitely have to work on that,” Toersloev said. “We worked on the offensive play this whole week and we need to work on that some more.
“We’re much better than we showed today so we definitely could have done better. But I think we put in some effort and we won, so that was nice.”
Both teams defended well but that didn’t lend itself to much excitement.
“There wasn’t a lot,” Watson said. “It was like watching paint dry. The ball wasn’t on the ground, it was pinging around.
“It’s April. There’s little if any relevance that comes out of a game like this.”
That will change next year when Neuqua Valley joins Naperville Central in the DuPage Valley Conference.
“This was a fun last nonconference game before it becomes for real next year,” Watson said. “This game will mean something next year because it will actually count in the conference standings.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Hannah Parrish
D: Sophia Moreau
D: Dannah Williams
D: Nicole Mondi
M: Anna Toersloev
M: Amy McNeal
M: Kiley Czerwinski
M: Veda Tappin
F: Amanda Fenton
F: Jamie Goralski
F: Alyssa Bombacino
Naperville Central
GK: Kinzly Dressler
D: Amanda Murphy
D: Kayla Rowan
D: Taylor Stenmark
D: Caitlin Reece
M: Kirsten Dorgan
M: Alison Kincaide
M: Meredith Tunney
M: Isabel Reedy
F: Meridith Hannan
F: Mackenzie Sisko
MVP of the Match: Anna Toersloev, MF, Neuqua Valley
Referees: Gene Mraz, Dylan Kramer, Brett Richter