Neuqua Valley reigns over Glenbard East
Host Rams, keeper Dana make Wildcats work in wet win
By Dave Owen
LOMBARD- The rain, rain nor Neuqua Valley went away Thursday at Glenbard East.
Just as rains fell 45 minutes before kickoff against Neuqua Valley, the Rams had to deal with the pregame gloom of being without top two scorers Brittany Paganucci and Holly Ward.
Sunshine and warm temperatures surprisingly arrived for the first half of play, and Glenbard East goalkeeper Sierra Dana glowed with several great saves to deny the potent Neuqua Valley attack.
But a rumble of thunder with 29:05 left in the 0-0 tie prompted a 30-minute weather delay, and clouds gathered on the Rams’ victory bid once play resumed.
After increased waves of pressure were repelled by Dana and the Ram defense, Neuqua Valley’s Alyssa Bombacino and Kiley Czerwinski scored just 29 seconds apart in the 67th minute of play to earn the visiting Wildcats (5-1-1, 3-0 in the Upstate Eight) a 2-0 win.
“I was really happy that we came back from the rain delay with a lot of effort and intensity, and we finished it off,” the Illinois State-bound Czerwinski said.
“We wanted to come back harder than when we came off (for the delay). We wanted to make sure we had the same intensity or more.”
Glenbard East’s own intensity sent an early message. Defender Paige Taylor nicely blocked a Lauren Ciesla corner kick 55 seconds into the match, setting the tone for a solid half by the short-handed hosts.
The Rams (5-4, 0-2) had the best chance of the half in the 15th minute, courtesy of an unlikely source.
Off a nice Jessica Whipple touch pass towards open space at the top of the box, freshman Elizabeth Toledo’s sliding shot from 15 yards out clanged off the lower right post. Toledo got her first varsity debut due to the injured Ram strikers, and made an instant impression on coach Kent Overbey and the post.
“Brittany and Holly are out, so today we pulled Elizabeth up from JV, and I thought she did a great job,” Overbey said.
“This is a pretty eye-opening experience. Technically she’s a little bit behind, but she has pacing and you can’t teach that. She can give defenses fits, I thought she did really well checking back to the ball, and she was physical.
“Obviously Neuqua is big and strong in the air and wins a lot of balls,” Overbey added, “but I thought Elizabeth battled and did a great job. For her first varsity game this is a tough test, and I was very impressed.”
He wasn’t the only one to be impressed.
“Our whole program we have talented players all over the place,” Dana said. “So we bring someone up, and they understand that they’re up for a reason and they play hard. I feel they’re just as good and we have to use them the same as we would Holly and Brittany.”
Junior keeper Dana and the Rams’ defense met a variety of Neuqua Valley challenges to maintain the deadlock until late in the match.
Dana’s first big play came 20:15 before halftime. Neuqua’s Jamie Goralski sent a nice ball to Bombacino at the far post, but Dana answered Bombacino’s low 6-yard blast with a sliding kick save.
“I just focus on doing as much as I can to keep it out of the net,” Dana said of her day of similar big-time stops. “I try to keep the energy up, keep talking and make sure the players know we’re good to go and to keep fighting and keep pushing. And when teams come (with shots) I try to do as much as I can to save it.”
Dana continued to thwart big Neuqua Valley chances as the game progressed.
The visitor's frustration elevated 16:39 before halftime when standout midfielder Ciesla suffered an ankle injury and did not return to the match.
Just as Toledo did for the Rams, Neuqua Valley’s Amy McNeel entered and made her presence felt with a strong second half (including a shot on goal 1:10 into the half and a 25-yarder high off the post with 10:15 left).
“I thought Amy McNeel played fabulous after Lauren went down with the ankle injury,” Wildcats coach Joe Moreau said. “She had a good shot that hit the post, and to see her control the play and challenge balls in the air ... I thought she played very well.”
Meanwhile, Dana’s heroics increased early in the second half. She made a nice block at the post of Czerwinski’s 8-yard shot on right wing with 37:40 left. Two minutes later, Dana was even better with a flying swat to her right of Goralski’s 10-yard low liner on a sprint in on left wing.
The attacks on goal that became the second half norm were a big change for the Wildcats.
“The first half I didn’t think we played all that well,” Moreau said. “We talked about making better runs up top. We were playing a 4-4-2 but it was basically a 4-4-1 with one person making the run.
“In the second half we got more combinations, and we were looking to put some shots on goal and get some crosses up. In the first half we were sliding it, their goalkeeper (Dana) is very solid, and every near post ball was hers.”
A roar of thunder with 29:05 left prompted a 30-minute delay. Then the Wildcats really brought the lightning.
“They come at you one million miles an hour and you have to really be ready for that,” Overbey said. “To be 0-0 with them for 50 minutes...our girls played great. We came back a little flat from the lightning delay unfortunately. I thought that (delay) would maybe help us, give some of our kids a chance to catch their breath. But (Neuqua) came out and hit us with a lot of pressure.”
Dana stopped a Goralski shot from the end line 25 seconds after play resumed, then made the save on an Anna Toersloev 12-yarder with 26:15 left.
But after a 42-yard Czerwinski free kick went just over the net with 15:30 left, the Wildcat pressure finally broke through.
Goralski made another speedy left-side drive and sent a cross to Czerwinski at the far post. Defender Corie Ewoldt denied a sure goal with a great block, but Bombacino’s 6-yard rebound shot deflected off a defender and into the far right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
“I knew I had to slot it back so they could get an easy touch on the goal,” Goralski said, “so I tried my hardest to get around the players, take a second to set and pass it back so they could have an easy touch.”
That go-ahead goal with 13:53 to go was followed by an impossible angle goal by Czerwinski just 29 seconds later. Her liner from the end line appeared destined to hit the right side of the net, but somehow veered inside the far post.
“I slotted it through the near post,” Czerwinski said. “It wasn’t my intention at first, but a goal’s a goal, and I’ll take it.
“I’m a little upset that I didn’t finish on some of them earlier, but Jamie and a lot of people up top played great.”
Moreau was taken aback by the combination of luck and skill.
“Kiley hit it a ton of pace, and it looked it was going into the post,” he said. “I felt bad for the keeper on that because she played a great game.”
That crazy play aside, Dana and the Rams had plenty of great moments to build on.
“Obviously the (30-minute) gap when we had to leave for the storm, our momentum kind of shifted a little bit,” Dana said. “But we’re happy. We’ve had some tough losses, but we feel this is the best game we’ve played coming out of the Windy City tournament.
“There are a bunch of good teams in this conference. We’re just trying to play hard, play well and focus on what we can do. We know that we can hang with any team.”
The Rams closed with more defensive heroics when Taylor made a great sliding clear in the crease of Goralski’s chip towards an open right corner of the net with 3:30 left.
The day was typical of a defense that has shut out six teams in the flow of play this season (five wins, plus a loss on penalty kicks to Lincoln-Way East after a 0-0 tie in regulation).
“We’ve been playing the same four in back all season,” Overbey said. “Mary Kurtz and Corie Ewoldt have done a great job. They’re both very smart, they don’t make mistakes and they play well. And then you have Maria Berrum and Paige Taylor who’s only a sophomore. We’re very happy with them.”
Ewoldt has shown versatility and endurance.
“We’d love to play Corie in the midfield because she’s a great distributor of the ball,” Overbey said. “She’s a three-year starter for us and the last two years she’s played more minutes than any other player. And we had an all-stater last year in Alex Ruffer.
“And our midfielders are our unsung heros. Jordyn Fulton and Amanda Chlebeck, and Sammie Sarles and Megan Mrazek on the outside. They really work well together and complement each other.”
Dana has joined seniors Haley Lydon and Rachel Anderson to form a strong goalkeeper corps.
“She’s a great athlete,” Overbey said of Dana. “We have very strong keepers. Sierra has shown the best but the seniors are great too. A lot of times at the varsity level if you have one keeper head and shoulders above the rest, no one is pushing her. But all of our keepers are very good and push each other to be as strong as possible.”
Neuqua Valley’s defense and goalkeeper Hannah Parrish also impressed when tested. Parrish punched a Sammie Sarles corner kick out of danger five minutes into the match, then stopped a Whipple 25-yard shot 1:15 before halftime.
Mrazek’s 15-yard chip over the net off a Dana Plotke pass with 5:30 left was followed by Parrish’s catch of a 44-yard direct kick by Sarles to seal the shutout. The Wildcats have allowed just four goals all season, and never more than one in a match.
“They (Glenbard East) are a good team,” Czerwinski said, “so this definitely boosts our confidence. Every game is an important game, and we’re progressing and getting better every game. I’m happy with how we played today, and I think we can continue to get better.”
Another huge test awaits Tuesday against Waubonsie Valley (5-0-1), which took third in the Class 3A state tournament last year.
Glenbard East has its own big test next in New Trier at the PepsiCo Showdown on Saturday, but getting healthy is the major task.
Overbey said Ward could be ready to return by Saturday, while Paganucci may not return for at least another week.
“With Pepsi and New Trier this weekend obviously that’s a big game, but we have an entire season to go,” he said. “We have to make decisions on what’s best for the individual and their health. We’d love to have them back soon, but we’ll see.”
Starting lineups:
Neuqua Valley:
GK-Hannah Parrish
D-Dannah Williams
D-Sophia Moreau
D-Tatiana Espinoza
D-Nicole Mondi
M-Alyssa Bombacino
M-Erin Sweda
M-Lauren Ciesla
M-Veda Tappin
F-Jamie Goralski
F-Kiley Czerwinski
Glenbard East:
GK-Sierra Dana
D-Paige Taylor
D-Maria Berrum
D-Mary Kurtz
D-Corie Ewoldt
M-Jordyn Fulton
M-Sammie Sarles
M-Amanda Chlebeck
M-Megan Mrazek
F-Jessica Whipple
F-Dana Plotke
MVP of Match: Kiley Czerwinski, Neuqua Valley
Host Rams, keeper Dana make Wildcats work in wet win
By Dave Owen
LOMBARD- The rain, rain nor Neuqua Valley went away Thursday at Glenbard East.
Just as rains fell 45 minutes before kickoff against Neuqua Valley, the Rams had to deal with the pregame gloom of being without top two scorers Brittany Paganucci and Holly Ward.
Sunshine and warm temperatures surprisingly arrived for the first half of play, and Glenbard East goalkeeper Sierra Dana glowed with several great saves to deny the potent Neuqua Valley attack.
But a rumble of thunder with 29:05 left in the 0-0 tie prompted a 30-minute weather delay, and clouds gathered on the Rams’ victory bid once play resumed.
After increased waves of pressure were repelled by Dana and the Ram defense, Neuqua Valley’s Alyssa Bombacino and Kiley Czerwinski scored just 29 seconds apart in the 67th minute of play to earn the visiting Wildcats (5-1-1, 3-0 in the Upstate Eight) a 2-0 win.
“I was really happy that we came back from the rain delay with a lot of effort and intensity, and we finished it off,” the Illinois State-bound Czerwinski said.
“We wanted to come back harder than when we came off (for the delay). We wanted to make sure we had the same intensity or more.”
Glenbard East’s own intensity sent an early message. Defender Paige Taylor nicely blocked a Lauren Ciesla corner kick 55 seconds into the match, setting the tone for a solid half by the short-handed hosts.
The Rams (5-4, 0-2) had the best chance of the half in the 15th minute, courtesy of an unlikely source.
Off a nice Jessica Whipple touch pass towards open space at the top of the box, freshman Elizabeth Toledo’s sliding shot from 15 yards out clanged off the lower right post. Toledo got her first varsity debut due to the injured Ram strikers, and made an instant impression on coach Kent Overbey and the post.
“Brittany and Holly are out, so today we pulled Elizabeth up from JV, and I thought she did a great job,” Overbey said.
“This is a pretty eye-opening experience. Technically she’s a little bit behind, but she has pacing and you can’t teach that. She can give defenses fits, I thought she did really well checking back to the ball, and she was physical.
“Obviously Neuqua is big and strong in the air and wins a lot of balls,” Overbey added, “but I thought Elizabeth battled and did a great job. For her first varsity game this is a tough test, and I was very impressed.”
He wasn’t the only one to be impressed.
“Our whole program we have talented players all over the place,” Dana said. “So we bring someone up, and they understand that they’re up for a reason and they play hard. I feel they’re just as good and we have to use them the same as we would Holly and Brittany.”
Junior keeper Dana and the Rams’ defense met a variety of Neuqua Valley challenges to maintain the deadlock until late in the match.
Dana’s first big play came 20:15 before halftime. Neuqua’s Jamie Goralski sent a nice ball to Bombacino at the far post, but Dana answered Bombacino’s low 6-yard blast with a sliding kick save.
“I just focus on doing as much as I can to keep it out of the net,” Dana said of her day of similar big-time stops. “I try to keep the energy up, keep talking and make sure the players know we’re good to go and to keep fighting and keep pushing. And when teams come (with shots) I try to do as much as I can to save it.”
Dana continued to thwart big Neuqua Valley chances as the game progressed.
The visitor's frustration elevated 16:39 before halftime when standout midfielder Ciesla suffered an ankle injury and did not return to the match.
Just as Toledo did for the Rams, Neuqua Valley’s Amy McNeel entered and made her presence felt with a strong second half (including a shot on goal 1:10 into the half and a 25-yarder high off the post with 10:15 left).
“I thought Amy McNeel played fabulous after Lauren went down with the ankle injury,” Wildcats coach Joe Moreau said. “She had a good shot that hit the post, and to see her control the play and challenge balls in the air ... I thought she played very well.”
Meanwhile, Dana’s heroics increased early in the second half. She made a nice block at the post of Czerwinski’s 8-yard shot on right wing with 37:40 left. Two minutes later, Dana was even better with a flying swat to her right of Goralski’s 10-yard low liner on a sprint in on left wing.
The attacks on goal that became the second half norm were a big change for the Wildcats.
“The first half I didn’t think we played all that well,” Moreau said. “We talked about making better runs up top. We were playing a 4-4-2 but it was basically a 4-4-1 with one person making the run.
“In the second half we got more combinations, and we were looking to put some shots on goal and get some crosses up. In the first half we were sliding it, their goalkeeper (Dana) is very solid, and every near post ball was hers.”
A roar of thunder with 29:05 left prompted a 30-minute delay. Then the Wildcats really brought the lightning.
“They come at you one million miles an hour and you have to really be ready for that,” Overbey said. “To be 0-0 with them for 50 minutes...our girls played great. We came back a little flat from the lightning delay unfortunately. I thought that (delay) would maybe help us, give some of our kids a chance to catch their breath. But (Neuqua) came out and hit us with a lot of pressure.”
Dana stopped a Goralski shot from the end line 25 seconds after play resumed, then made the save on an Anna Toersloev 12-yarder with 26:15 left.
But after a 42-yard Czerwinski free kick went just over the net with 15:30 left, the Wildcat pressure finally broke through.
Goralski made another speedy left-side drive and sent a cross to Czerwinski at the far post. Defender Corie Ewoldt denied a sure goal with a great block, but Bombacino’s 6-yard rebound shot deflected off a defender and into the far right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
“I knew I had to slot it back so they could get an easy touch on the goal,” Goralski said, “so I tried my hardest to get around the players, take a second to set and pass it back so they could have an easy touch.”
That go-ahead goal with 13:53 to go was followed by an impossible angle goal by Czerwinski just 29 seconds later. Her liner from the end line appeared destined to hit the right side of the net, but somehow veered inside the far post.
“I slotted it through the near post,” Czerwinski said. “It wasn’t my intention at first, but a goal’s a goal, and I’ll take it.
“I’m a little upset that I didn’t finish on some of them earlier, but Jamie and a lot of people up top played great.”
Moreau was taken aback by the combination of luck and skill.
“Kiley hit it a ton of pace, and it looked it was going into the post,” he said. “I felt bad for the keeper on that because she played a great game.”
That crazy play aside, Dana and the Rams had plenty of great moments to build on.
“Obviously the (30-minute) gap when we had to leave for the storm, our momentum kind of shifted a little bit,” Dana said. “But we’re happy. We’ve had some tough losses, but we feel this is the best game we’ve played coming out of the Windy City tournament.
“There are a bunch of good teams in this conference. We’re just trying to play hard, play well and focus on what we can do. We know that we can hang with any team.”
The Rams closed with more defensive heroics when Taylor made a great sliding clear in the crease of Goralski’s chip towards an open right corner of the net with 3:30 left.
The day was typical of a defense that has shut out six teams in the flow of play this season (five wins, plus a loss on penalty kicks to Lincoln-Way East after a 0-0 tie in regulation).
“We’ve been playing the same four in back all season,” Overbey said. “Mary Kurtz and Corie Ewoldt have done a great job. They’re both very smart, they don’t make mistakes and they play well. And then you have Maria Berrum and Paige Taylor who’s only a sophomore. We’re very happy with them.”
Ewoldt has shown versatility and endurance.
“We’d love to play Corie in the midfield because she’s a great distributor of the ball,” Overbey said. “She’s a three-year starter for us and the last two years she’s played more minutes than any other player. And we had an all-stater last year in Alex Ruffer.
“And our midfielders are our unsung heros. Jordyn Fulton and Amanda Chlebeck, and Sammie Sarles and Megan Mrazek on the outside. They really work well together and complement each other.”
Dana has joined seniors Haley Lydon and Rachel Anderson to form a strong goalkeeper corps.
“She’s a great athlete,” Overbey said of Dana. “We have very strong keepers. Sierra has shown the best but the seniors are great too. A lot of times at the varsity level if you have one keeper head and shoulders above the rest, no one is pushing her. But all of our keepers are very good and push each other to be as strong as possible.”
Neuqua Valley’s defense and goalkeeper Hannah Parrish also impressed when tested. Parrish punched a Sammie Sarles corner kick out of danger five minutes into the match, then stopped a Whipple 25-yard shot 1:15 before halftime.
Mrazek’s 15-yard chip over the net off a Dana Plotke pass with 5:30 left was followed by Parrish’s catch of a 44-yard direct kick by Sarles to seal the shutout. The Wildcats have allowed just four goals all season, and never more than one in a match.
“They (Glenbard East) are a good team,” Czerwinski said, “so this definitely boosts our confidence. Every game is an important game, and we’re progressing and getting better every game. I’m happy with how we played today, and I think we can continue to get better.”
Another huge test awaits Tuesday against Waubonsie Valley (5-0-1), which took third in the Class 3A state tournament last year.
Glenbard East has its own big test next in New Trier at the PepsiCo Showdown on Saturday, but getting healthy is the major task.
Overbey said Ward could be ready to return by Saturday, while Paganucci may not return for at least another week.
“With Pepsi and New Trier this weekend obviously that’s a big game, but we have an entire season to go,” he said. “We have to make decisions on what’s best for the individual and their health. We’d love to have them back soon, but we’ll see.”
Starting lineups:
Neuqua Valley:
GK-Hannah Parrish
D-Dannah Williams
D-Sophia Moreau
D-Tatiana Espinoza
D-Nicole Mondi
M-Alyssa Bombacino
M-Erin Sweda
M-Lauren Ciesla
M-Veda Tappin
F-Jamie Goralski
F-Kiley Czerwinski
Glenbard East:
GK-Sierra Dana
D-Paige Taylor
D-Maria Berrum
D-Mary Kurtz
D-Corie Ewoldt
M-Jordyn Fulton
M-Sammie Sarles
M-Amanda Chlebeck
M-Megan Mrazek
F-Jessica Whipple
F-Dana Plotke
MVP of Match: Kiley Czerwinski, Neuqua Valley