Neuqua Valley beats Benet
for Bolingbrook Regional title
5th-straight playoff matchup with Naperville North looms
By Matt Le Cren
BOLINGBROOK – Maybe the fifth time will be the charm for Neuqua Valley.
The Wildcats have been eliminated from the playoffs in each of the past four years by Naperville North, which has gone on to play in three state championship games, winning two, during that span.
Now Neuqua Valley gets another shot at their nemesis after both teams won regional titles Friday night. Top-seeded Naperville North got past Oswego 2-0 to capture the Lockport Regional while No. 5 seed Neuqua Valley edged No. 4 Benet by the same score to take the Bolingbrook Regional crown.
The two rivals will meet Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at the Metea Valley Sectional semifinals. Second-seeded Plainfield North will take on No. 6 Metea Valley in the nightcap.
“I’m really excited and I think we’re really prepared for this,” Neuqua Valley senior Kiley Czerwinski said. “I think it’s going to be a great game to come to. It’s going to be a physical match, and hopefully we’ll come out with the win.”
Czerwinski made sure the Wildcats (15-3-2) won their seventh-straight game. She scored twice off a pair of uncharacteristic mistakes by Benet defenders.
The first came with 17:35 left in the first half when Benet senior Rachel Bernicky fanned on a clearing attempt. Before she could recover, Czerwinski pounced, making the steal and drilling a 16-yard shot between lunging Benet goalkeeper Emma Hlavin and the left post.
“We always want to capitalize on the mistakes by the other team,” said Czerwinski, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “Before the game my coach told me always pressure the backs.
“That’s mainly what we try and do to win the ball and get a head start on the offense. So I saw it, and I immediately attacked and I got it to my strong foot and just ripped it to the near post.”
The play happened so quickly that Hlavin, who less than a minute before had made a great diving save on a point-blank shot from Czerwinski, barely had time to react.
“We didn’t win the 50-50 ball, and they just sent it right back in and I don’t think Rachel was expecting that,” Hlavin said. “So she just went to kick it and missed and the girl got in behind her and breakaway and buried it. Before I could even react to get in my set position, she shot it.”
The importance of scoring first in what turned out to be an evenly played game between two talented teams cannot be underestimated.
“I thought in the first half they kind of took it to us for a bit,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “Unfortunately for them, they made a mistake in the back and Kiley took advantage of it. That kind of changed the momentum because up to that point I thought they were definitely playing better than us.”
Indeed, the Redwings (17-5-2) came out fired up by the return of star senior forward Jacquie Kaufman, who had undergone an emergency appendectomy just 13 days before. The combination of Kaufman, sophomore sensation Kerry Abello and senior Kate Hennessy presented a challenge to Neuqua Valley’s defense due to their speed and ballhandling skills.
But Kaufman and Abello, who was less than 100 percent due to a sprained ankle, combined to get off just two shots, though both were dangerous, especially early in the game.
“We’ve been sound defensively all year,” Moreau said. “I’m very pleased. Benet is a solid team. They have some speed.”
But the Wildcats have four strong defenders in center backs Sophia Moreau and Dannah Williams and outside backs Tatiana Espinoza and Nicole Mondi. Moreau (Bowling Green), Williams (Purdue) and Espinoza (North Dakota) are seniors heading off to Division I colleges, while Mondi is an up-and-coming sophomore.
“Tati has been solid all year,” Moreau said. “Tati had a little bit of a nightmare in the first half because she was mistiming balls, but in the second half the wind was a factor. They couldn’t play it over her head, and she played solid.
“Kerry (Abello) is a national pool player for a reason – she’s a heckuva player – but we limited her chances.”
Espinoza, whose primary assignment was to shut down Abello on Benet’s left wing, was up to the challenge.
“We knew that they were fantastic players so our best [bet] was just to try to contain them and not be frantic and freak out that they’re such good players,” Espinoza said. “I think in every game you have to realize what kind of player you’re going up against.
“Of course you [might] be frantic. Once I realized what her tactics were I was able to defend her a little better.”
Of course, it is always easier to play with the lead, so Neuqua Valley’s defenders were able to relax a little after Czerwinski’s first goal.
“Kiley is such an amazing player,” Espinoza said. “For her to be able to score it just got us really pumped up, and we realized this is our chance to win regionals and go far and hopefully be able to get to state.”
Benet wasn’t without scoring chances. Ellie Bumpus got loose a couple times in the Neuqua Valley box, but Moreau rubbed her off the ball the first time and she missed a 16-yard shot wide left a few minutes later.
The Redwings’ best opportunity came with 10:10 left in the first half when Kaufman ran on to a long ball from Sophia Elbchiri into the box and shot from 10 yards out. Neuqua Valley goalkeeper Hannah Parrish, who finished with six saves to register her 11th shutout, bobbled the ball up against the right post but recovered it in time.
Hennessy had a pair of chances early in the second half. Parrish had to jump to catch a 26-yard drive with 31:50 to go. Less than 90 seconds later, Hennessy took a pass from Abello and sprinted through a seam into the box but fired high from 14 yards out.
“We played well,” Hlavin said. “We definitely had opportunities to score but we couldn’t get it in.
“Then they get two really good opportunities to score, and they capitalize on them. That’s just how soccer works; if you dominate the game but you don’t score, you’re going to lose.”
As the clock melted away, so did Benet’s dreams of a regional title. The Wildcats began dominating the play, with Czerwinski battling for loose balls and creating havoc.
Czerwinski nearly broke through with 18:35 left as she battled one-on-one with a defender before poking a shot which Hlavin saved on the near post. By that time Czerwinski was hobbling after getting a strawberry on her leg courtesy of the artificial turf, but she was ready when another Benet mistake sealed the Redwings’ fate.
Elbchiri was called for an inadvertent hand ball in the box, and Czerwinski buried the ensuing penalty kick at the 8:09 mark. It was the 12th goal of the season for the Illinois State signee, who is heating up at an opportune time.
“I think mainly I’m taking on the forward role a lot more than I have in past years,” Czerwinski said. “I’m listening to my coaches and we’re doing a lot of forward drills, holding back the defense, using your body, turning, and I think it’s working pretty well.”
Benet’s defense had been working well all season, with the veteran Bernicky and Elbchiri leading the way. The irony that rare misplays by the team’s two best defenders led to a season-ending defeat was not lost on Hlavin, who had nothing but praise for her teammates.
“The ball that was crossed into the box just took an unfortunate bounce and hit [Elbchiri’s] hand,” Hlavin said. “Nothing you can do there, it is just unfortunate.
“Our back line has been so solid this year. I love playing behind them because they protect me so well.”
Hlavin, a four-year starter, was proud of her team despite the loss.
“We did pretty well,” Hlavin said. “We started off the season really strong and then we kind of had some injuries, but we played through them. We had almost everyone back tonight from the injuries, but it just didn’t work out.”
Neuqua Valley is hoping things will work out Tuesday against Naperville North (17-2-0), which is shooting for its third state title in four years.
“We are so pumped,” Espinoza said. “Last year it was extremely disappointing that we lost in not a great way. This is such a big rivalry for us, so to be able to play them again, we’re excited. We’re ready to do our best.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK: Emma Hlavin
D: Rachel Bernicky
D: Sophia Elbchiri
D: Erin Flynn
D: Elena McCarthy
M: Loretta Elder
M: Katie Gesior
M: Ellie Bumpus
F: Kate Hennessy
F: Kerry Abello
F: Jacquie Kaufman
Neuqua Valley
GK: Hannah Parrish
D: Sophia Moreau
D: Dannah Williams
D: Tatiana Espinoza
D: Nicole Mondi
M: Anna Toersloev
M: Lauren Ciesla
M: Veda Tappin
F: Kiley Czerwinski
F: Jamie Goralski
F: Alyssa Bombacino
MVP of the Match: Kiley Czerwinski, M, Neuqua Valley.
for Bolingbrook Regional title
5th-straight playoff matchup with Naperville North looms
By Matt Le Cren
BOLINGBROOK – Maybe the fifth time will be the charm for Neuqua Valley.
The Wildcats have been eliminated from the playoffs in each of the past four years by Naperville North, which has gone on to play in three state championship games, winning two, during that span.
Now Neuqua Valley gets another shot at their nemesis after both teams won regional titles Friday night. Top-seeded Naperville North got past Oswego 2-0 to capture the Lockport Regional while No. 5 seed Neuqua Valley edged No. 4 Benet by the same score to take the Bolingbrook Regional crown.
The two rivals will meet Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at the Metea Valley Sectional semifinals. Second-seeded Plainfield North will take on No. 6 Metea Valley in the nightcap.
“I’m really excited and I think we’re really prepared for this,” Neuqua Valley senior Kiley Czerwinski said. “I think it’s going to be a great game to come to. It’s going to be a physical match, and hopefully we’ll come out with the win.”
Czerwinski made sure the Wildcats (15-3-2) won their seventh-straight game. She scored twice off a pair of uncharacteristic mistakes by Benet defenders.
The first came with 17:35 left in the first half when Benet senior Rachel Bernicky fanned on a clearing attempt. Before she could recover, Czerwinski pounced, making the steal and drilling a 16-yard shot between lunging Benet goalkeeper Emma Hlavin and the left post.
“We always want to capitalize on the mistakes by the other team,” said Czerwinski, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “Before the game my coach told me always pressure the backs.
“That’s mainly what we try and do to win the ball and get a head start on the offense. So I saw it, and I immediately attacked and I got it to my strong foot and just ripped it to the near post.”
The play happened so quickly that Hlavin, who less than a minute before had made a great diving save on a point-blank shot from Czerwinski, barely had time to react.
“We didn’t win the 50-50 ball, and they just sent it right back in and I don’t think Rachel was expecting that,” Hlavin said. “So she just went to kick it and missed and the girl got in behind her and breakaway and buried it. Before I could even react to get in my set position, she shot it.”
The importance of scoring first in what turned out to be an evenly played game between two talented teams cannot be underestimated.
“I thought in the first half they kind of took it to us for a bit,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “Unfortunately for them, they made a mistake in the back and Kiley took advantage of it. That kind of changed the momentum because up to that point I thought they were definitely playing better than us.”
Indeed, the Redwings (17-5-2) came out fired up by the return of star senior forward Jacquie Kaufman, who had undergone an emergency appendectomy just 13 days before. The combination of Kaufman, sophomore sensation Kerry Abello and senior Kate Hennessy presented a challenge to Neuqua Valley’s defense due to their speed and ballhandling skills.
But Kaufman and Abello, who was less than 100 percent due to a sprained ankle, combined to get off just two shots, though both were dangerous, especially early in the game.
“We’ve been sound defensively all year,” Moreau said. “I’m very pleased. Benet is a solid team. They have some speed.”
But the Wildcats have four strong defenders in center backs Sophia Moreau and Dannah Williams and outside backs Tatiana Espinoza and Nicole Mondi. Moreau (Bowling Green), Williams (Purdue) and Espinoza (North Dakota) are seniors heading off to Division I colleges, while Mondi is an up-and-coming sophomore.
“Tati has been solid all year,” Moreau said. “Tati had a little bit of a nightmare in the first half because she was mistiming balls, but in the second half the wind was a factor. They couldn’t play it over her head, and she played solid.
“Kerry (Abello) is a national pool player for a reason – she’s a heckuva player – but we limited her chances.”
Espinoza, whose primary assignment was to shut down Abello on Benet’s left wing, was up to the challenge.
“We knew that they were fantastic players so our best [bet] was just to try to contain them and not be frantic and freak out that they’re such good players,” Espinoza said. “I think in every game you have to realize what kind of player you’re going up against.
“Of course you [might] be frantic. Once I realized what her tactics were I was able to defend her a little better.”
Of course, it is always easier to play with the lead, so Neuqua Valley’s defenders were able to relax a little after Czerwinski’s first goal.
“Kiley is such an amazing player,” Espinoza said. “For her to be able to score it just got us really pumped up, and we realized this is our chance to win regionals and go far and hopefully be able to get to state.”
Benet wasn’t without scoring chances. Ellie Bumpus got loose a couple times in the Neuqua Valley box, but Moreau rubbed her off the ball the first time and she missed a 16-yard shot wide left a few minutes later.
The Redwings’ best opportunity came with 10:10 left in the first half when Kaufman ran on to a long ball from Sophia Elbchiri into the box and shot from 10 yards out. Neuqua Valley goalkeeper Hannah Parrish, who finished with six saves to register her 11th shutout, bobbled the ball up against the right post but recovered it in time.
Hennessy had a pair of chances early in the second half. Parrish had to jump to catch a 26-yard drive with 31:50 to go. Less than 90 seconds later, Hennessy took a pass from Abello and sprinted through a seam into the box but fired high from 14 yards out.
“We played well,” Hlavin said. “We definitely had opportunities to score but we couldn’t get it in.
“Then they get two really good opportunities to score, and they capitalize on them. That’s just how soccer works; if you dominate the game but you don’t score, you’re going to lose.”
As the clock melted away, so did Benet’s dreams of a regional title. The Wildcats began dominating the play, with Czerwinski battling for loose balls and creating havoc.
Czerwinski nearly broke through with 18:35 left as she battled one-on-one with a defender before poking a shot which Hlavin saved on the near post. By that time Czerwinski was hobbling after getting a strawberry on her leg courtesy of the artificial turf, but she was ready when another Benet mistake sealed the Redwings’ fate.
Elbchiri was called for an inadvertent hand ball in the box, and Czerwinski buried the ensuing penalty kick at the 8:09 mark. It was the 12th goal of the season for the Illinois State signee, who is heating up at an opportune time.
“I think mainly I’m taking on the forward role a lot more than I have in past years,” Czerwinski said. “I’m listening to my coaches and we’re doing a lot of forward drills, holding back the defense, using your body, turning, and I think it’s working pretty well.”
Benet’s defense had been working well all season, with the veteran Bernicky and Elbchiri leading the way. The irony that rare misplays by the team’s two best defenders led to a season-ending defeat was not lost on Hlavin, who had nothing but praise for her teammates.
“The ball that was crossed into the box just took an unfortunate bounce and hit [Elbchiri’s] hand,” Hlavin said. “Nothing you can do there, it is just unfortunate.
“Our back line has been so solid this year. I love playing behind them because they protect me so well.”
Hlavin, a four-year starter, was proud of her team despite the loss.
“We did pretty well,” Hlavin said. “We started off the season really strong and then we kind of had some injuries, but we played through them. We had almost everyone back tonight from the injuries, but it just didn’t work out.”
Neuqua Valley is hoping things will work out Tuesday against Naperville North (17-2-0), which is shooting for its third state title in four years.
“We are so pumped,” Espinoza said. “Last year it was extremely disappointing that we lost in not a great way. This is such a big rivalry for us, so to be able to play them again, we’re excited. We’re ready to do our best.”
Starting lineups
Benet
GK: Emma Hlavin
D: Rachel Bernicky
D: Sophia Elbchiri
D: Erin Flynn
D: Elena McCarthy
M: Loretta Elder
M: Katie Gesior
M: Ellie Bumpus
F: Kate Hennessy
F: Kerry Abello
F: Jacquie Kaufman
Neuqua Valley
GK: Hannah Parrish
D: Sophia Moreau
D: Dannah Williams
D: Tatiana Espinoza
D: Nicole Mondi
M: Anna Toersloev
M: Lauren Ciesla
M: Veda Tappin
F: Kiley Czerwinski
F: Jamie Goralski
F: Alyssa Bombacino
MVP of the Match: Kiley Czerwinski, M, Neuqua Valley.