Bombacino helps Neuqua Valley
to 3-1 win over Collinsville
Wildcats to meet New Trier for championship Saturday
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Neuqua Valley freshman Alyssa Bombacino felt a few nerves but a lot of excitement prior to Friday’s Class 3A state semifinal with Collinsville.
The latter emotion overcame the former as Bombacino registered a career-high three assists on the Wildcats' first half goals to help the Wildcats to a 3-1 victory over Collinsville at North Central College.
The win advances Neuqua Valley (19-3-2) into Saturday’s 7 p.m. championship game against defending state champion New Trier (26-1-1), which edged Barrington 1-0 in overtime.
“I’m extremely proud of Alyssa, and she’s doing great,” Neuqua Valley senior Kiley Czerwinski said. “She’s really stepping up for the team, which is exactly what we need all across the board. We need all of our teammates to step up and Alyssa stepped up in this game.”
It didn’t take long for the rookie to do so.
Collinsville (21-4-1) surprised the Wildcats by getting a shot off just 22 seconds into the game – a 15-yard attempt by Andrea Frerker – before Neuqua Valley went on the attack.
Bombacino caught the Kahoks napping when she played a long ball through to senior Lauren Ciesla, who got behind the defense and sent a shot that deflected under the arm of Collinsville goalkeeper Morgan Lerch for a 1-0 lead in the second minute.
“I saw Lauren cut up the middle, and I saw that she was going toward the goal, so I looked up and played it to her,” Bombacino said. “She had a nice finish.”
It was the second-straight game the Wildcats have scored in the first two minutes, which again took some of the pressure off their vaunted defense and goalkeeper Hannah Parrish.
“It’s great to score in the first five minutes,” Czerwinski said. “I know Hannah loves it when we score early in the game.
“I was talking to [defender] Sophia [Moreau] about it and she was like, ‘Get an early goal, please help us out in the back.’
“We want early offense. We want to put them under pressure. We want to relieve pressure on our defensive end.”
And there was more than a little pressure on Neuqua’s defense. The Kahoks nearly tied it just 34 seconds after Ciesla’s goal when Emily Holten intercepted a clearing attempt in the box and fired from point-blank range. Parrish, who finished with a season-high 10 saves, fully extended to make the stop.
“To be honest I thought they had the better of the play,” said Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau, who recorded his 375th career victory. “Hannah made a great save right after we scored. They could have knotted it up and that was a fabulous save by Hannah.
“Our back line didn’t play as well today as they have been. They were kind of playing on their heels, especially in the second half, so it was nice to get the offense going.”
The Wildcats scored on their first and third shots of the game, with Czerwinski making it 2-0 on another counterattack in the 12th minute.
Bombacino triggered that goal as well as she dribbled up the left wing and sent a pass across to freshman Jamie Goralski, who flicked the ball to her right to Czerwinski, who was wide-open at the top of the box. Czerwinski never hesitated in pulling the trigger on the 18-yarder that beat Lerch into the lower right corner.
Czerwinski said the second goal was a result of the momentum created by the first goal.
“They were moving a little slower, and we do have some speed up top. And Alyssa played a great ball which was on a great run from Lauren and it was a great finish, honestly amazing,” Czerwinski said of the initial tally. “We wanted to keep going and keep attacking.
“[On her goal] I saw Jamie and Alyssa, and you always want to make the run to the middle in case something does happen or in case I was open. I just saw it and took the shot.”
Collinsville felt the strain from the Neuqua Valley speedsters.
“That’s the fastest team we’ve faced this year," said junior defender Kitty Besserman. "We played fast teams like St. Charles North and St. Joseph, but it’s been awhile since we saw a team this fast."
Junior Anna Toersloev extended the Neuqua lead to 3-0 with her fourth goal of the season, a 30-yard bomb into the upper 90 with 4:56 left in the first half. Bombacino set that one up, too.
“Alyssa played much better today than she has in a little bit,” Joe Moreau said. “She was able to turn and take people on. You give her a little bit of room and she can be dangerous.”
The Kahoks were dangerous, too, but had nothing to show for it until Mikayla McCarthy broke up Parrish’s shutout bid with 3:03 remaining in the second half. By then, the Wildcats were well on their way to their second appearance in the state title game, a decade after their last, when they beat New Trier 6-3 in a memorable final.
“Obviously, [the Kahoks] are a quality team,” Joe Moreau said. “They put as much pressure on us as anyone has.
“I think it was a little shock to them to get down two goals. That helped us.”
Collinsville coach Clay Smith agreed.
“I just told the girls we created a lot of good opportunities to score,” Smith said. “We just can’t find the back of the net and a good team like Neuqua is going to counter on you.
“Obviously we get a good early look in the first couple minutes and for them to come down and counter on their first opportunity with some miscommunication in the back, giving up a score in the first three minutes really wipes you out. It really takes the wind out of your sails.”
If the early goals took the wind out of the Kahoks’ sails, then the loss of leading scorer Sophia Sharos with 30:29 left sunk their chances.
The Tennessee-Martin recruit was carted off the field on a stretcher and taken to the hospital after suffering a suspected broken right leg in a collision with Parrish, who stopped her on a breakaway.
Parrish had made another important stop on Sharos with 19 seconds left in the first half, leaping to punch a 20-yard free kick over the crossbar.
Collinsville was left to lament its loss.
“I think the first two goals they scored are on us; they were preventable,” Smith said. “It was a breakdown in the back and credit Neuqua. They did a good job of pushing up and confusing our back line a little bit.
“But we still pushed up on them and had some good opportunities. I’m glad we did put one in the back of the net. I think we deserved one. But soccer is an unforgiving game, and we saw that today.”
The Kahoks fought until the final horn
"I just feel like we kept our heads up," Besserman said. "(After the injury to Sharos) we wanted to regroup and win the game for her.
"It’s sad that we couldn’t, but we got a goal and we’re going to keep trying to get third place for her no matter what."
Starting lineups
Collinsville
GK: Morgan Lerch
D: Kitty Besserman
D: Caydren Jones
D: Dayle McEwen
D: Chayse Richardson
M: Alyannah O’Leary
M: Sophia Sharos
M: Andrea Frerker
M: Hannah Liljegren
F: Emily Holten
F: Mikayla McCarthy
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: Jamie Goralski
F: Alyssa Bombacino
F: Kiley Czerwinski
MVP of the Match: Alyssa Bombacino, F, Neuqua Valley.
Officials: M-Demetre Sarikoudis, Doug Huey, Sam Nachampassack, 4th Jay Weis
Editor's note: Batavia, Fremd, Hinsdale Central, Neuqua Valley, Plainfield North, St. Charles East, Saint Viator and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools helped make Chicagoland Soccer's state finals coverage possible.
to 3-1 win over Collinsville
Wildcats to meet New Trier for championship Saturday
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Neuqua Valley freshman Alyssa Bombacino felt a few nerves but a lot of excitement prior to Friday’s Class 3A state semifinal with Collinsville.
The latter emotion overcame the former as Bombacino registered a career-high three assists on the Wildcats' first half goals to help the Wildcats to a 3-1 victory over Collinsville at North Central College.
The win advances Neuqua Valley (19-3-2) into Saturday’s 7 p.m. championship game against defending state champion New Trier (26-1-1), which edged Barrington 1-0 in overtime.
“I’m extremely proud of Alyssa, and she’s doing great,” Neuqua Valley senior Kiley Czerwinski said. “She’s really stepping up for the team, which is exactly what we need all across the board. We need all of our teammates to step up and Alyssa stepped up in this game.”
It didn’t take long for the rookie to do so.
Collinsville (21-4-1) surprised the Wildcats by getting a shot off just 22 seconds into the game – a 15-yard attempt by Andrea Frerker – before Neuqua Valley went on the attack.
Bombacino caught the Kahoks napping when she played a long ball through to senior Lauren Ciesla, who got behind the defense and sent a shot that deflected under the arm of Collinsville goalkeeper Morgan Lerch for a 1-0 lead in the second minute.
“I saw Lauren cut up the middle, and I saw that she was going toward the goal, so I looked up and played it to her,” Bombacino said. “She had a nice finish.”
It was the second-straight game the Wildcats have scored in the first two minutes, which again took some of the pressure off their vaunted defense and goalkeeper Hannah Parrish.
“It’s great to score in the first five minutes,” Czerwinski said. “I know Hannah loves it when we score early in the game.
“I was talking to [defender] Sophia [Moreau] about it and she was like, ‘Get an early goal, please help us out in the back.’
“We want early offense. We want to put them under pressure. We want to relieve pressure on our defensive end.”
And there was more than a little pressure on Neuqua’s defense. The Kahoks nearly tied it just 34 seconds after Ciesla’s goal when Emily Holten intercepted a clearing attempt in the box and fired from point-blank range. Parrish, who finished with a season-high 10 saves, fully extended to make the stop.
“To be honest I thought they had the better of the play,” said Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau, who recorded his 375th career victory. “Hannah made a great save right after we scored. They could have knotted it up and that was a fabulous save by Hannah.
“Our back line didn’t play as well today as they have been. They were kind of playing on their heels, especially in the second half, so it was nice to get the offense going.”
The Wildcats scored on their first and third shots of the game, with Czerwinski making it 2-0 on another counterattack in the 12th minute.
Bombacino triggered that goal as well as she dribbled up the left wing and sent a pass across to freshman Jamie Goralski, who flicked the ball to her right to Czerwinski, who was wide-open at the top of the box. Czerwinski never hesitated in pulling the trigger on the 18-yarder that beat Lerch into the lower right corner.
Czerwinski said the second goal was a result of the momentum created by the first goal.
“They were moving a little slower, and we do have some speed up top. And Alyssa played a great ball which was on a great run from Lauren and it was a great finish, honestly amazing,” Czerwinski said of the initial tally. “We wanted to keep going and keep attacking.
“[On her goal] I saw Jamie and Alyssa, and you always want to make the run to the middle in case something does happen or in case I was open. I just saw it and took the shot.”
Collinsville felt the strain from the Neuqua Valley speedsters.
“That’s the fastest team we’ve faced this year," said junior defender Kitty Besserman. "We played fast teams like St. Charles North and St. Joseph, but it’s been awhile since we saw a team this fast."
Junior Anna Toersloev extended the Neuqua lead to 3-0 with her fourth goal of the season, a 30-yard bomb into the upper 90 with 4:56 left in the first half. Bombacino set that one up, too.
“Alyssa played much better today than she has in a little bit,” Joe Moreau said. “She was able to turn and take people on. You give her a little bit of room and she can be dangerous.”
The Kahoks were dangerous, too, but had nothing to show for it until Mikayla McCarthy broke up Parrish’s shutout bid with 3:03 remaining in the second half. By then, the Wildcats were well on their way to their second appearance in the state title game, a decade after their last, when they beat New Trier 6-3 in a memorable final.
“Obviously, [the Kahoks] are a quality team,” Joe Moreau said. “They put as much pressure on us as anyone has.
“I think it was a little shock to them to get down two goals. That helped us.”
Collinsville coach Clay Smith agreed.
“I just told the girls we created a lot of good opportunities to score,” Smith said. “We just can’t find the back of the net and a good team like Neuqua is going to counter on you.
“Obviously we get a good early look in the first couple minutes and for them to come down and counter on their first opportunity with some miscommunication in the back, giving up a score in the first three minutes really wipes you out. It really takes the wind out of your sails.”
If the early goals took the wind out of the Kahoks’ sails, then the loss of leading scorer Sophia Sharos with 30:29 left sunk their chances.
The Tennessee-Martin recruit was carted off the field on a stretcher and taken to the hospital after suffering a suspected broken right leg in a collision with Parrish, who stopped her on a breakaway.
Parrish had made another important stop on Sharos with 19 seconds left in the first half, leaping to punch a 20-yard free kick over the crossbar.
Collinsville was left to lament its loss.
“I think the first two goals they scored are on us; they were preventable,” Smith said. “It was a breakdown in the back and credit Neuqua. They did a good job of pushing up and confusing our back line a little bit.
“But we still pushed up on them and had some good opportunities. I’m glad we did put one in the back of the net. I think we deserved one. But soccer is an unforgiving game, and we saw that today.”
The Kahoks fought until the final horn
"I just feel like we kept our heads up," Besserman said. "(After the injury to Sharos) we wanted to regroup and win the game for her.
"It’s sad that we couldn’t, but we got a goal and we’re going to keep trying to get third place for her no matter what."
Starting lineups
Collinsville
GK: Morgan Lerch
D: Kitty Besserman
D: Caydren Jones
D: Dayle McEwen
D: Chayse Richardson
M: Alyannah O’Leary
M: Sophia Sharos
M: Andrea Frerker
M: Hannah Liljegren
F: Emily Holten
F: Mikayla McCarthy
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: Jamie Goralski
F: Alyssa Bombacino
F: Kiley Czerwinski
MVP of the Match: Alyssa Bombacino, F, Neuqua Valley.
Officials: M-Demetre Sarikoudis, Doug Huey, Sam Nachampassack, 4th Jay Weis
Editor's note: Batavia, Fremd, Hinsdale Central, Neuqua Valley, Plainfield North, St. Charles East, Saint Viator and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools helped make Chicagoland Soccer's state finals coverage possible.