Neuqua Valley defense
offensive to Hinsdale Central
Back line scores both goals in 2-0 win that earns state finals berth
By Matt Le Cren
ROMEOVILLE – Dannah Williams was unable to speak with the media, or anyone else, following Tuesday’s Class 3A Lewis University Supersectional.
The Neuqua Valley senior defender had a legitimate, and painful, reason.
Williams was elbowed in the mouth just over three minutes into the match, leaving one front tooth almost completely knocked out.
But the Purdue recruit later checked back in and helped Neuqua Valley knock Hinsdale Central out of the playoffs. She scored on a diving header with 17:20 remaining in the second half to put an exclamation point on a 2-0 victory that sent the Wildcats to the state semifinals for the first time since 2005.
Neuqua Valley (18-3-2), which has won 10-consecutive games, will play Collinsville at 5 p.m. Friday at North Central College in Naperville.
Williams’ goal was her sixth of the season and third of the playoffs. All three of her postseason goals have come on set pieces off assists from Lauren Ciesla, who triggered the latest goal when she sent a 25-yard free kick from the right wing high into the air in front of Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Katy Coseglia.
Before anyone could react, Williams came crashing in and dove headlong toward the ball, nodding it into the net from five yards out.
“Especially on corner kicks, ‘Dee’ and Sophia [Moreau] are just so strong,” Neuqua Valley goalkeeper Hannah Parrish said. “They are always there, and we’re supposed to finish those every time because they’re so strong in the air, so I can see why that [injury happened].”
No one, except maybe the Wildcats, foresaw Nicole Mondi scoring a goal. But that is just what the sophomore defender did to give her team a 1-0 lead just 31 seconds into the game.
Mondi, who had never scored in her high school career, launched a left-footed shot from 33 yards out that sailed over the head of Coseglia and into the upper right corner of the net.
“In big games you need players to step up. [Mondi] took a chance, good for her” Hinsdale Central coach Michael Smith said. “[Williams] we game-planned to man mark her and she still scored.
“They seized their opportunities. Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and say, ‘Well done.’ Their team earned it, and I wish them the best of luck this weekend.”
For Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau, luck had little to do with Mondi’s goal or the victory in general.
“It was a nice way to start,” Moreau said of the early goal. “She has been working on the ball getting laid back to her and [hitting] the cross up to the back six. It’s something that we actually practiced yesterday.”
Mondi had been unable to practice for three days last week because of a right hamstring strain, but she got in just enough work to enable her to take advantage of her early chance when she intercepted a clearing attempt after Jamie Goralski had made a run into the left side of the box.
“I have Jamie on my outside who is amazing and great to work with,” said Mondi, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “She tends to lay the ball off sometimes and this is my first year playing left back so I haven’t been able to hit [much] with my left foot.
“[Assistant coach] Sue [Soderberg] and I have been working on the shot in practice a lot. I had the right form on it and it was perfectly placed.
“It was my goal from the beginning of the season to actually score this year because I didn’t at all last year, so this is such a good feeling to be able to share with my teammates.”
Mondi, Williams and fellow defenders Sophia Moreau and Tatiana Espinoza share a bond and work ethic that has yielded impressive results this spring. The Wildcats have given up just 12 goals, including two in five playoff games. Only two teams have scored two goals against them.
“Besides our left back, everyone is solid,” Joe Moreau quipped as he stood next to Mondi. “They just play hard and aggressive without fouling. They cut service to the ball, they give great support angles. And you’ve got to trust your goalie to make a couple of saves in each game, and Hannah has been able to do that.”
Indeed, Parrish has recorded 13 shutouts. She often has little to do but comes up with the big save every now and then. The Baylor recruit had to make four saves, all routine, against the Red Devils.
“We work really well together,” Parrish said. “I think that’s our biggest thing. We are all really working well together and we work hard.
“My back line is a very hard-working group of girls, and they have definitely helped me a lot this year. I know they have my back and they know I have theirs, so there’s definitely a bond.”
It was a bond the Red Devils (19-7) could not break.
“We tried to move some things around so we could get around them more because we know their center backs were really strong players,” Hinsdale Central senior Erin Smith said. “It just didn’t work.”
After Mondi’s goal, the two sides combined for just two more shots the rest of the half. Things opened up more after intermission, but the Wildcats still controlled most of the play and all but one of Hinsdale Central’s six shots came from well outside the penalty area.
“Our game plan [was] to try to create more chances in the final third,” Smith said. “Did it create as many as we would have liked? No.
“There was a lack of composure where a few times I thought we could have taken an extra touch to be a little bit more dangerous and get closer to the goal, but let’s give credit to Neuqua. Their back line is phenomenal.
“[Mondi] was a player we were avoiding attacking head on because she’s that strong. [Williams] is a phenomenal player. They’re a quality group.”
It is a group which few thought would be going to state considering the tremendous competition in the Naperville area. This is the first time in Joe Moreau’s 10-year tenure as Neuqua boss the Wildcats have made it this far.
“It feels great,” said Moreau, who was an assistant coach when Neuqua won the 2005 state title.” I’m just so happy with the girls, how hard they worked because there was no expectations of us this year from anyone.
“It was Waubonsie, it was Naperville North, it was everyone but us, so I think we were the only ones who believed in ourselves and we told them at the beginning, there aren’t any superstars or anything so it’s going to have to be a team effort of hard work. We’re one of four remaining so it has to say something about the kids and how hard they worked.”
Hinsdale Central also worked hard but it wasn’t enough to beat the Wildcats. Now the Red Devils say goodbye to seven seniors, including future collegiate players Lauren Cangelosi (Dubuque), Sydney Griffin (New Hampshire) and Jenny Saviski (Illinois-Chicago).
“We’re disappointed,” Smith said. “I’m not going to lie; we wanted more ... but wanting and then executing are two different things.
“Today we wanted to put ourselves in position to be dangerous but it’s that extra step, it’s that sacrifice that we just lacked in the final third.
“There are moments in this game that I’ll never forget, and I’ll make sure that going into the offseason when we have our exit interviews, the conversation will be [about not forgetting] that. Now make sure your work in the off-season is to make sure we’re in a much better position.
“I said we’re here and you should be proud of yourselves. But don’t forget that this wasn’t the goal. There was an end goal that was [the state finals]. Next year we want more but the only way we’re going to get more is if we work for it.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK: Katy Coseglia
D: Lauren Cangelosi
D: Erin Smith
D: Kaitlyn Livingston
D: Julie Culler
M: Katie Murphy
M: Lizzie Nelson
M: Abby Cole
F: Emma Dannhausen-Brun
F: Kate Shroyer
F: Sydney Griffin
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
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nicole Mondi, D, Neuqua Valley.
offensive to Hinsdale Central
Back line scores both goals in 2-0 win that earns state finals berth
By Matt Le Cren
ROMEOVILLE – Dannah Williams was unable to speak with the media, or anyone else, following Tuesday’s Class 3A Lewis University Supersectional.
The Neuqua Valley senior defender had a legitimate, and painful, reason.
Williams was elbowed in the mouth just over three minutes into the match, leaving one front tooth almost completely knocked out.
But the Purdue recruit later checked back in and helped Neuqua Valley knock Hinsdale Central out of the playoffs. She scored on a diving header with 17:20 remaining in the second half to put an exclamation point on a 2-0 victory that sent the Wildcats to the state semifinals for the first time since 2005.
Neuqua Valley (18-3-2), which has won 10-consecutive games, will play Collinsville at 5 p.m. Friday at North Central College in Naperville.
Williams’ goal was her sixth of the season and third of the playoffs. All three of her postseason goals have come on set pieces off assists from Lauren Ciesla, who triggered the latest goal when she sent a 25-yard free kick from the right wing high into the air in front of Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Katy Coseglia.
Before anyone could react, Williams came crashing in and dove headlong toward the ball, nodding it into the net from five yards out.
“Especially on corner kicks, ‘Dee’ and Sophia [Moreau] are just so strong,” Neuqua Valley goalkeeper Hannah Parrish said. “They are always there, and we’re supposed to finish those every time because they’re so strong in the air, so I can see why that [injury happened].”
No one, except maybe the Wildcats, foresaw Nicole Mondi scoring a goal. But that is just what the sophomore defender did to give her team a 1-0 lead just 31 seconds into the game.
Mondi, who had never scored in her high school career, launched a left-footed shot from 33 yards out that sailed over the head of Coseglia and into the upper right corner of the net.
“In big games you need players to step up. [Mondi] took a chance, good for her” Hinsdale Central coach Michael Smith said. “[Williams] we game-planned to man mark her and she still scored.
“They seized their opportunities. Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and say, ‘Well done.’ Their team earned it, and I wish them the best of luck this weekend.”
For Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau, luck had little to do with Mondi’s goal or the victory in general.
“It was a nice way to start,” Moreau said of the early goal. “She has been working on the ball getting laid back to her and [hitting] the cross up to the back six. It’s something that we actually practiced yesterday.”
Mondi had been unable to practice for three days last week because of a right hamstring strain, but she got in just enough work to enable her to take advantage of her early chance when she intercepted a clearing attempt after Jamie Goralski had made a run into the left side of the box.
“I have Jamie on my outside who is amazing and great to work with,” said Mondi, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. “She tends to lay the ball off sometimes and this is my first year playing left back so I haven’t been able to hit [much] with my left foot.
“[Assistant coach] Sue [Soderberg] and I have been working on the shot in practice a lot. I had the right form on it and it was perfectly placed.
“It was my goal from the beginning of the season to actually score this year because I didn’t at all last year, so this is such a good feeling to be able to share with my teammates.”
Mondi, Williams and fellow defenders Sophia Moreau and Tatiana Espinoza share a bond and work ethic that has yielded impressive results this spring. The Wildcats have given up just 12 goals, including two in five playoff games. Only two teams have scored two goals against them.
“Besides our left back, everyone is solid,” Joe Moreau quipped as he stood next to Mondi. “They just play hard and aggressive without fouling. They cut service to the ball, they give great support angles. And you’ve got to trust your goalie to make a couple of saves in each game, and Hannah has been able to do that.”
Indeed, Parrish has recorded 13 shutouts. She often has little to do but comes up with the big save every now and then. The Baylor recruit had to make four saves, all routine, against the Red Devils.
“We work really well together,” Parrish said. “I think that’s our biggest thing. We are all really working well together and we work hard.
“My back line is a very hard-working group of girls, and they have definitely helped me a lot this year. I know they have my back and they know I have theirs, so there’s definitely a bond.”
It was a bond the Red Devils (19-7) could not break.
“We tried to move some things around so we could get around them more because we know their center backs were really strong players,” Hinsdale Central senior Erin Smith said. “It just didn’t work.”
After Mondi’s goal, the two sides combined for just two more shots the rest of the half. Things opened up more after intermission, but the Wildcats still controlled most of the play and all but one of Hinsdale Central’s six shots came from well outside the penalty area.
“Our game plan [was] to try to create more chances in the final third,” Smith said. “Did it create as many as we would have liked? No.
“There was a lack of composure where a few times I thought we could have taken an extra touch to be a little bit more dangerous and get closer to the goal, but let’s give credit to Neuqua. Their back line is phenomenal.
“[Mondi] was a player we were avoiding attacking head on because she’s that strong. [Williams] is a phenomenal player. They’re a quality group.”
It is a group which few thought would be going to state considering the tremendous competition in the Naperville area. This is the first time in Joe Moreau’s 10-year tenure as Neuqua boss the Wildcats have made it this far.
“It feels great,” said Moreau, who was an assistant coach when Neuqua won the 2005 state title.” I’m just so happy with the girls, how hard they worked because there was no expectations of us this year from anyone.
“It was Waubonsie, it was Naperville North, it was everyone but us, so I think we were the only ones who believed in ourselves and we told them at the beginning, there aren’t any superstars or anything so it’s going to have to be a team effort of hard work. We’re one of four remaining so it has to say something about the kids and how hard they worked.”
Hinsdale Central also worked hard but it wasn’t enough to beat the Wildcats. Now the Red Devils say goodbye to seven seniors, including future collegiate players Lauren Cangelosi (Dubuque), Sydney Griffin (New Hampshire) and Jenny Saviski (Illinois-Chicago).
“We’re disappointed,” Smith said. “I’m not going to lie; we wanted more ... but wanting and then executing are two different things.
“Today we wanted to put ourselves in position to be dangerous but it’s that extra step, it’s that sacrifice that we just lacked in the final third.
“There are moments in this game that I’ll never forget, and I’ll make sure that going into the offseason when we have our exit interviews, the conversation will be [about not forgetting] that. Now make sure your work in the off-season is to make sure we’re in a much better position.
“I said we’re here and you should be proud of yourselves. But don’t forget that this wasn’t the goal. There was an end goal that was [the state finals]. Next year we want more but the only way we’re going to get more is if we work for it.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK: Katy Coseglia
D: Lauren Cangelosi
D: Erin Smith
D: Kaitlyn Livingston
D: Julie Culler
M: Katie Murphy
M: Lizzie Nelson
M: Abby Cole
F: Emma Dannhausen-Brun
F: Kate Shroyer
F: Sydney Griffin
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
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nicole Mondi, D, Neuqua Valley.