Ross double lifts Neuqua V. over Bartlett
Valient Hawks finally yield to Huskies' pressure
By Derek Wolff
NAPERVILLE — After playing a tough schedule early in the season, Neuqua Valley won its fifth straight game Tuesday, downing Bartlett 3-1.
Host Neuqua Valley (9-5-0) improved to 5-0-0 in Upstate Eight Conference play in the process, all but ensuring the regular season title, thanks to a pair of goals from senior forward Ryan Ross.
Ross, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, broke out in the second half with a strike in the 43rd minute off a cross from Kas Baladi.
Then, with pressure on Neuqua’s back line mounting throughout the final 15 minutes of play, Ross found space on the counterattack before scoring near post in the 78th minute to essentially ice the game.
“I just saw some space in front of me and thought I could beat (the defender),” Ross said. “It was a nice pass in and felt great to lift some of the pressure they were putting on us.”
The 3-1 score line didn’t do justice to Bartlett’s efforts in the game, however, with the Hawks offense pressing for the equalizer early and often in the second half after Ross’ first goal.
Bartlett (3-10-0) had its best chance to tie the game in the 77th minute on a far post attempt by Saul Espinosa, but Huskies goaltender Brady Moody dove to his left and was able to smother it. His quick throw afterward lead to Ross’ goal on the counterattack.
Bartlett coach Ben Beary was happy with the way his team played against the top team in its conference and was encouraged by the competitive level on the day, saying his team was shaping up at the right time.
“With all the injuries that we’ve had, we’ve got bodies coming back, so every game is just another opportunity to continue to grow and work on some things and tweak some things to keep building toward the playoffs,” Beary said. “The season hasn’t gone the way we wanted, but we’re building at the right moment. We’re looking just about as good as we’ve looked all season now, and that’s when you want to start looking good. We’re building at the right moment.”
In the first half, both sides traded a number of chances before Waubonsie Valley finally broke through on a second-chance opportunity from Reed Kurtenbach in the 35th minute.
But Bartlett wasn’t deterred. Junior forward T.J. Ivkovich, fresh off the bench, entered the game and scored on a cross from Igor Zwada to knot things up at 1-1.
Ross had a chance to put the Huskies back on top in the final seconds of the half after getting an open look in the box, but Bartlett goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein was able to make a save and deflect the ball up in the air.
Ross grabbed the rebound, but his second shot arched just high over the crossbar and the teams went into halftime level.
With two goals in the second half, Ross’ uplifting performance earned the Bowling Green-bound striker high praise from his coach, Skip Begley.
“That’s the kind of player he is,” Begley said. “He can take a ball that just doesn’t look dangerous, put a move on it, put a swirl on it in the box and it’s in the back of the net. He can change a game for us, so when he’s playing like that it’s big for us.”
Bartlett midfielder Marcus Singleton said his team had chances to come back, but at the end of the day were outworked by the Huskies.
“We played good; they just had a higher work rate than us, so we need to come out and play a little harder,” Singleton said. “We moved the ball a lot better throughout the game. We just need to come out and match the intensity of everybody else.”
Neuqua Valley was playing without usual starters Xavi Ortiz, a central midfielder and center back Jason Pastene.
Begley was pleased with the efforts and adjustments of his back line and sophomore goalkeeper Moody after giving up the goal late in the first half.
“Solid performance out of the back,” Begley said. “We kind of fell asleep on their first goal that tied it up. They got in behind us. We talked a little bit in the second half about Moody staying closer and those guys dropping off a little more.
“There shouldn’t have been such a big gap for Igor (Zwada). He made a great run and got the ball across, so we shut that down a little bit. So a pretty happy second half.”
With five wins in a row the Huskies enter the Gateway Classic tournament this weekend feeling pretty good, Kurtenbach said.
“This is huge,” Kurtenbach said. “Undefeated in conference, which is great, and five wins in a row is big going into this tournament. With playoffs starting soon, that’s what we want. That’s good for us; it’s what we like.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK-Jake Hasenstein
D-Saul Espinosa
D-Joey Mirsky
D-Steven Wentlaff
M-Andrew Gott
M-Zane Kaiser
M-Oliver Saile
M-Marcus Singleton
M-Ryan Stratton
M-Tim Riordan
F-Igor Zwada
Neuqua Valley
GK-Brady Moody
D-Joel Algren
D-Nick Chevalier
D-Reed Kurtenbach
D-Jack Schoonenberg
M-Austin Flatt
M-Kas Baladi
M-Jacob Graham
F-Mike Moser
F-Max Plesh
F-Ryan Ross
Man of the Match: Ryan Ross, Neuqua Valley
Officials: Andrew Sak, Jennifer Wegner
Valient Hawks finally yield to Huskies' pressure
By Derek Wolff
NAPERVILLE — After playing a tough schedule early in the season, Neuqua Valley won its fifth straight game Tuesday, downing Bartlett 3-1.
Host Neuqua Valley (9-5-0) improved to 5-0-0 in Upstate Eight Conference play in the process, all but ensuring the regular season title, thanks to a pair of goals from senior forward Ryan Ross.
Ross, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, broke out in the second half with a strike in the 43rd minute off a cross from Kas Baladi.
Then, with pressure on Neuqua’s back line mounting throughout the final 15 minutes of play, Ross found space on the counterattack before scoring near post in the 78th minute to essentially ice the game.
“I just saw some space in front of me and thought I could beat (the defender),” Ross said. “It was a nice pass in and felt great to lift some of the pressure they were putting on us.”
The 3-1 score line didn’t do justice to Bartlett’s efforts in the game, however, with the Hawks offense pressing for the equalizer early and often in the second half after Ross’ first goal.
Bartlett (3-10-0) had its best chance to tie the game in the 77th minute on a far post attempt by Saul Espinosa, but Huskies goaltender Brady Moody dove to his left and was able to smother it. His quick throw afterward lead to Ross’ goal on the counterattack.
Bartlett coach Ben Beary was happy with the way his team played against the top team in its conference and was encouraged by the competitive level on the day, saying his team was shaping up at the right time.
“With all the injuries that we’ve had, we’ve got bodies coming back, so every game is just another opportunity to continue to grow and work on some things and tweak some things to keep building toward the playoffs,” Beary said. “The season hasn’t gone the way we wanted, but we’re building at the right moment. We’re looking just about as good as we’ve looked all season now, and that’s when you want to start looking good. We’re building at the right moment.”
In the first half, both sides traded a number of chances before Waubonsie Valley finally broke through on a second-chance opportunity from Reed Kurtenbach in the 35th minute.
But Bartlett wasn’t deterred. Junior forward T.J. Ivkovich, fresh off the bench, entered the game and scored on a cross from Igor Zwada to knot things up at 1-1.
Ross had a chance to put the Huskies back on top in the final seconds of the half after getting an open look in the box, but Bartlett goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein was able to make a save and deflect the ball up in the air.
Ross grabbed the rebound, but his second shot arched just high over the crossbar and the teams went into halftime level.
With two goals in the second half, Ross’ uplifting performance earned the Bowling Green-bound striker high praise from his coach, Skip Begley.
“That’s the kind of player he is,” Begley said. “He can take a ball that just doesn’t look dangerous, put a move on it, put a swirl on it in the box and it’s in the back of the net. He can change a game for us, so when he’s playing like that it’s big for us.”
Bartlett midfielder Marcus Singleton said his team had chances to come back, but at the end of the day were outworked by the Huskies.
“We played good; they just had a higher work rate than us, so we need to come out and play a little harder,” Singleton said. “We moved the ball a lot better throughout the game. We just need to come out and match the intensity of everybody else.”
Neuqua Valley was playing without usual starters Xavi Ortiz, a central midfielder and center back Jason Pastene.
Begley was pleased with the efforts and adjustments of his back line and sophomore goalkeeper Moody after giving up the goal late in the first half.
“Solid performance out of the back,” Begley said. “We kind of fell asleep on their first goal that tied it up. They got in behind us. We talked a little bit in the second half about Moody staying closer and those guys dropping off a little more.
“There shouldn’t have been such a big gap for Igor (Zwada). He made a great run and got the ball across, so we shut that down a little bit. So a pretty happy second half.”
With five wins in a row the Huskies enter the Gateway Classic tournament this weekend feeling pretty good, Kurtenbach said.
“This is huge,” Kurtenbach said. “Undefeated in conference, which is great, and five wins in a row is big going into this tournament. With playoffs starting soon, that’s what we want. That’s good for us; it’s what we like.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK-Jake Hasenstein
D-Saul Espinosa
D-Joey Mirsky
D-Steven Wentlaff
M-Andrew Gott
M-Zane Kaiser
M-Oliver Saile
M-Marcus Singleton
M-Ryan Stratton
M-Tim Riordan
F-Igor Zwada
Neuqua Valley
GK-Brady Moody
D-Joel Algren
D-Nick Chevalier
D-Reed Kurtenbach
D-Jack Schoonenberg
M-Austin Flatt
M-Kas Baladi
M-Jacob Graham
F-Mike Moser
F-Max Plesh
F-Ryan Ross
Man of the Match: Ryan Ross, Neuqua Valley
Officials: Andrew Sak, Jennifer Wegner