Naperville C. thinks small
to beat Waubonsie Valley
Little things mean a lot to Redhawks in encore 2-0 victory
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA -- Credit another outcome to those magical “little things” coaches talk about for making a big difference between two DuPage Valley Conference squads battling for a first league win.
Little things like connecting passes, the hard to measure notion of work rate, off-the-ball movement, and desire boosted Naperville Central to a 2-0 triumph Thursday night over host Waubonsie Valley.
“We wanted this win more,” insisted Jimmy Kalkofen, whose goal 2:22 into the second half broke a scoreless tie and propelled the Redhawks (5-7-0, 1-4-0) to snap a five-game losing skid. “We figured they’d come out (at home) with intensity, but knew if we got one good break and picked up our momentum, we could win. It’s been tough. We lost some by being unlucky or despite playing well, so the key was to stay positive and work harder.”
Naperville Central coach Troy Adams especially agreed on the latter part of the statement by Kalkofen, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“We talked about two things: no. 1, work rate, and no. 2, not stopping on any play, be it connecting passes, playing through the ball, whatever was needed to link with teammates,” Adams said. “Our expression was, 'It’ll take 11 to do 80,’ meaning everyone working their hardest for 80 minutes.”
Waubonsie Valley, which won its first game of the season with a 4-3 home score over Oswego East 4-3 before a narrow 3-2 DVC double overtime loss at Neuqua Valley on Tuesday, was shut out for the first time since a trio of scoreless losses in the Best of the West Tournament. The second of those three was an identical 2-0 loss to the Redhawks at Naperville Central.
“We just couldn’t seem to get enough good shots tonight,” Warriors co-captain Ryan Dittmer said. “We won (over Oswego East) and played well against Neuqua, but didn’t have the same energy level today. Naperville Central’s a good team, but we haven’t won a lot (this season) because we’re just not scoring enough to get ahead.”
The Warriors have been outscored 20-11 during a 1-7-1 campaign (including 0-4 in the DVC).
“We didn’t have that same hard-nosed attitude tonight,” Waubonsie coach Jose Garcia admitted. “That little last effort or push, you need to get a win. They (Central) clearly wanted it more.
"With such a new, young crew, it’s hard to get them to mesh, find that little extra magic, get everyone to have the same philosophy. Some of that you can’t teach; they have to have it in themselves.”
Kalkofen’s 6-yard header was something the sophomore midfielder attributed to being on the same page with his setup man, Nate Zain.
“Nate is very good at getting the ball in and makes a lot of crosses to the middle, so I always look for his passes,” Kalkofen explained. “It was a perfect ball and easy to get the score.”
On the other end of the field, Redhawks goalie Joe Kallikadan was mentally prepared to face Waubonsie Valley scoring ace Leo Mendoza.
“Being on the same club team with him, I know he has a phenomenal shot, and he’s always ready to take a strike,” Kallikadan said. “Whether 35 yards out, 10 yards or wherever, he’ll strike it so you always have to be ready. Even early-on he had a shot that I simply saw the windup.”
One such blast came at the start of the second half. Another was within a minute of Naperville Central taking a 1-0 lead. Mendoza had a 15-yard cannon shot followed shortly by a left-side blast that sailed wide right. Five minutes later, Mendoza had a 21-yard laser from the middle that brought expressions of relief from the Redhawks bench after it was saved.
Kallikadan, who also soared high to snag a dangerous cross with 17 minutes to go, earned his first solo clean sheet after sharing in Central’s other four shutouts.
There was seven minutes left in regulation when the Redhawks produced a series of attacks that led to a 15-yard boomer from John Rudolph on a Kyle Forest setup. Waubonsie goalie Les Kruchten, who took over at halftime for Jacob Hennessy, was virtually screened by bodies as Rudolph’s shot found an alley into the right side of the cage.
“We had been talking about taking shots when available, and I knew I was inside the box so I took my chance,” Rudolph said of his second goal this season. “You have to take opportunities like that. My first was off a dead ball and bounced off some folks, while this was straight in.
“It’s nice to end our losing streak, but the key now is to keep it going. We want to peak at the right time. We need to build on this win and continue the focus on our work rate.”
The last four losses in Naperville Central’s five-game skid have been one-goal defeats, including three by a 1-0 tally.
Saturday the Redhawks host Notre Dame (Peoria) , which is ranked no. 1 in the state by Top Drawer soccer. Naperville Central resumes DVC play Tuesday when its hosts Wheaton Warrenville South.
Waubonsie Valley also has a home date with Wheaton Warrenville South (Oct. 1), but only after a Tuesday league visit to Metea Valley followed by a trip to former Upstate Eight Conference cross-over foe St. Charles East.
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
G Joe Kallikadan
D Griffin Geisler
D Noah Canlas
D Frank DeStefano
M Nate Zain
M Joe Granato
M Colin Heeneman
M Jimmy Kalkofen
F Chris Schwaiger
F Kyle Forest
F Taha Din
Waubonsie Valley
G Jacob Hennessy
D Eric Ninmann
D Charles Zehnel
D Brett Babcock
D Rogelio Grimaldo
M Stephan Spano
M Ryan Dittmer
M Noah Michael
M Eric Saucedo
F Justin Fitzpatrick
F Leo Mendoza
Man of the Match: Jimmy Kalkofen, MF, Naperville Central
Officials: Andew Sok (center), Mike Lichtfuss, Michael Montani
to beat Waubonsie Valley
Little things mean a lot to Redhawks in encore 2-0 victory
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA -- Credit another outcome to those magical “little things” coaches talk about for making a big difference between two DuPage Valley Conference squads battling for a first league win.
Little things like connecting passes, the hard to measure notion of work rate, off-the-ball movement, and desire boosted Naperville Central to a 2-0 triumph Thursday night over host Waubonsie Valley.
“We wanted this win more,” insisted Jimmy Kalkofen, whose goal 2:22 into the second half broke a scoreless tie and propelled the Redhawks (5-7-0, 1-4-0) to snap a five-game losing skid. “We figured they’d come out (at home) with intensity, but knew if we got one good break and picked up our momentum, we could win. It’s been tough. We lost some by being unlucky or despite playing well, so the key was to stay positive and work harder.”
Naperville Central coach Troy Adams especially agreed on the latter part of the statement by Kalkofen, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“We talked about two things: no. 1, work rate, and no. 2, not stopping on any play, be it connecting passes, playing through the ball, whatever was needed to link with teammates,” Adams said. “Our expression was, 'It’ll take 11 to do 80,’ meaning everyone working their hardest for 80 minutes.”
Waubonsie Valley, which won its first game of the season with a 4-3 home score over Oswego East 4-3 before a narrow 3-2 DVC double overtime loss at Neuqua Valley on Tuesday, was shut out for the first time since a trio of scoreless losses in the Best of the West Tournament. The second of those three was an identical 2-0 loss to the Redhawks at Naperville Central.
“We just couldn’t seem to get enough good shots tonight,” Warriors co-captain Ryan Dittmer said. “We won (over Oswego East) and played well against Neuqua, but didn’t have the same energy level today. Naperville Central’s a good team, but we haven’t won a lot (this season) because we’re just not scoring enough to get ahead.”
The Warriors have been outscored 20-11 during a 1-7-1 campaign (including 0-4 in the DVC).
“We didn’t have that same hard-nosed attitude tonight,” Waubonsie coach Jose Garcia admitted. “That little last effort or push, you need to get a win. They (Central) clearly wanted it more.
"With such a new, young crew, it’s hard to get them to mesh, find that little extra magic, get everyone to have the same philosophy. Some of that you can’t teach; they have to have it in themselves.”
Kalkofen’s 6-yard header was something the sophomore midfielder attributed to being on the same page with his setup man, Nate Zain.
“Nate is very good at getting the ball in and makes a lot of crosses to the middle, so I always look for his passes,” Kalkofen explained. “It was a perfect ball and easy to get the score.”
On the other end of the field, Redhawks goalie Joe Kallikadan was mentally prepared to face Waubonsie Valley scoring ace Leo Mendoza.
“Being on the same club team with him, I know he has a phenomenal shot, and he’s always ready to take a strike,” Kallikadan said. “Whether 35 yards out, 10 yards or wherever, he’ll strike it so you always have to be ready. Even early-on he had a shot that I simply saw the windup.”
One such blast came at the start of the second half. Another was within a minute of Naperville Central taking a 1-0 lead. Mendoza had a 15-yard cannon shot followed shortly by a left-side blast that sailed wide right. Five minutes later, Mendoza had a 21-yard laser from the middle that brought expressions of relief from the Redhawks bench after it was saved.
Kallikadan, who also soared high to snag a dangerous cross with 17 minutes to go, earned his first solo clean sheet after sharing in Central’s other four shutouts.
There was seven minutes left in regulation when the Redhawks produced a series of attacks that led to a 15-yard boomer from John Rudolph on a Kyle Forest setup. Waubonsie goalie Les Kruchten, who took over at halftime for Jacob Hennessy, was virtually screened by bodies as Rudolph’s shot found an alley into the right side of the cage.
“We had been talking about taking shots when available, and I knew I was inside the box so I took my chance,” Rudolph said of his second goal this season. “You have to take opportunities like that. My first was off a dead ball and bounced off some folks, while this was straight in.
“It’s nice to end our losing streak, but the key now is to keep it going. We want to peak at the right time. We need to build on this win and continue the focus on our work rate.”
The last four losses in Naperville Central’s five-game skid have been one-goal defeats, including three by a 1-0 tally.
Saturday the Redhawks host Notre Dame (Peoria) , which is ranked no. 1 in the state by Top Drawer soccer. Naperville Central resumes DVC play Tuesday when its hosts Wheaton Warrenville South.
Waubonsie Valley also has a home date with Wheaton Warrenville South (Oct. 1), but only after a Tuesday league visit to Metea Valley followed by a trip to former Upstate Eight Conference cross-over foe St. Charles East.
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
G Joe Kallikadan
D Griffin Geisler
D Noah Canlas
D Frank DeStefano
M Nate Zain
M Joe Granato
M Colin Heeneman
M Jimmy Kalkofen
F Chris Schwaiger
F Kyle Forest
F Taha Din
Waubonsie Valley
G Jacob Hennessy
D Eric Ninmann
D Charles Zehnel
D Brett Babcock
D Rogelio Grimaldo
M Stephan Spano
M Ryan Dittmer
M Noah Michael
M Eric Saucedo
F Justin Fitzpatrick
F Leo Mendoza
Man of the Match: Jimmy Kalkofen, MF, Naperville Central
Officials: Andew Sok (center), Mike Lichtfuss, Michael Montani