Neuqua Valley bounces back, beats Benet
Wildcats win third in last four games with road victory
By Matt Le Cren
LISLE – Neuqua Valley’s run through the early part of the season has been one of peaks and valleys.
Now it appears the Wildcats might be hitting their stride.
Billy Heniades had a goal and an assist and sophomore Ryan Matthews came off the bench to register two assists on Thursday as Neuqua Valley knocked off host Benet 3-1.
Daniel Costea and T.J. Fenton also scored for the Wildcats (5-5), who have won three of their last four games.
“It’s four games of good soccer,” a pleased Neuqua coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said. “Unfortunately we didn’t win Tuesday (a 2-0 loss to Naperville Central), but I think it was a fun game to watch.
“I think going into this game the idea was to continue to play the way we’ve been playing.”
The Wildcats were impressive, especially in the first half, in controlling the midfield and building a solid attack. Benet had a couple chances which were snuffed by the defense and the turning point came late in the period when Neuqua scored twice.
Costea broke the ice with 11:02 left in the first half when he received a through-ball from Heniades and beat Benet goalkeeper Brian Gould.
Heniades made it 2-0 when he nodded home Matthews’ tight corner kick on the back post at the 1:28 mark.
“I think when we got that first one they pretty much deflated,” Gonzalez said. “It took the wind out of them, because I saw them take their foot off the accelerator.”
The Wildcats, in contrast, appear to be putting their foot down. Heniades’ goal was his team-leading sixth of the season and if Costea can start scoring regularly, Neuqua’s attack could be potent.
“It’s always good to get a win, definitely against a great side like Benet,” Heniades said. “Getting a 3-1 win, I think that really helps our momentum.
“I think we’re really settling into our formation now, and I think we’re really getting comfortable with our spots. We’re showing better connections, better chemistry on the field as well.
“We’re developing a style of play that’s pretty good, so I think it’s coming together.”
That showed in the build-up that led to Costea’s goal.
“It was a ball into (Ryan) Carlin,” Heniades said. “He’s a big kid so I knew he could get a flick on.”
The ball went to Heniades, who found who he was looking for.
“Danny Costea can get on the end of those balls, so if you get him 1-v.-1 with the keeper he will finish that every time,” Heniades said. “So I knew if I got it past (the defender) and he runs onto it, he’d put it away.”
Heniades put away an unusual chance to make it 2-0. Matthews sent his corner kick in high and tight to the line, where Heniades outjumped Gould for the point-blank
header.
“It was a great ball by Ryan,” Heniades said. “I love getting on the end of those, and Ryan played a nice ball right to the back post over the keeper.
“I was just following that ball all the way to the back post. It was nice getting on the end of that and tapping it in with my head.”
Most teams try to serve corner kicks near the 6-yard line, balancing a desire to get the ball as close to the goal as possible yet far enough away to prevent the keeper from easily getting to it. But Matthews intentionally sent his kick in close.
“We’ve been practicing it. ‘Gonzo’ (coach Gonzalez) wanted me to wait for the (forwards) to get in close, for me to play it close to the goalkeeper, because it will cause confusion,” Matthews said. “I knew Billy would get to it.”
Matthews notched his second point when his short pass from the left side found Fenton alone outside the top of the box. Fenton’s cracker from 25 yards rattled the underside of the crossbar and went in to make it 3-0 with 11:55 remaining in the second half.
Could it be a sign of things to come from the varsity rookie?
“We’re hoping,” Gonzalez said. “He’s young, but he’s getting used to the speed of play.
“He was coming off of an injury during the summer. Even at tryouts he was hurting, so now he’s trying to find his rhythm. We’re trying to get him to where we can definitely count on him.”
Matthews is gaining confidence in his ability to be counted on.
“I think I’ve been playing a little bit better,” Matthews said. “It was hard in the beginning of the season for me because I’m a lot smaller than these kids, but I think it’s been a lot better recently. The chemistry on our team is getting better.”
Benet, meanwhile, is struggling mightily, albeit against a difficult schedule. The Redwings (1-5-1) have had trouble scoring this season and junior Franklin Rutkowski, who bagged 21 last year, has yet to find the back of the net.
“We’ve only scored five goals on the year,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “We did not expect that, and we obviously expect to be better in the final third.
“I think we’re creating chances so at some point we have to put it together, and now it’s getting to be midseason. At the same time, I think everybody that’s watched us play knows that we can be dangerous. It’s whether we put it away.”
Sophomore Nick Renfro finally put one away to avert the shutout. He took a pass from Nick Trakszelis and beat Neuqua goalie Luke Molnar from 12 yards with 2:12 to play.
It was the first goal of the season for Renfro and the second of his career.
“It felt good for sure,” Renfro said. “It’s definitely been a hard year so far, but hopefully (that goal) will give us the spark that we need.
“We’ll take anything – a good defensive stop or a goal. We just need to keep playing.”
The Redwings, in fact, did play well for most of the second half. After mustering only one shot before intermission, they outshot the Wildcats 7-3 in the second half, forcing Molnar to make three saves.
The ball was in Neuqua’s end for the vast majority of the first 25 minutes of the second half, yet the Redwings had nothing to show for it.
“I think (the problem) is just going forward,” Renfro said. “We’re really good as a possession team, and we can keep the ball. It’s just in the final third where we’re having trouble.”
Wesley noted that the backline has had some difficult moments as well.
“We have to be better in the back,” Wesley said. “The second goal was hard-fought for them but soft for us, a corner kick that needs to be cleared.
“We give up a header two yards away from the goal. That’s unacceptable.
“Their third goal is genius. That was a great strike so that should decide a high school soccer game, but I would like to see us convert a few of those chances early in the first half.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Luke Molnar
D Edon Kosova
D Daniel Laverde
D Nate Kuper
M Amish Gupta
M David Kuhn
M Kevin Wu
M Parker Domschke
M Jose Navarro
F Billy Heniades
F Anthony Safo
Benet
GK Brian Gould
D Anthony Klos
D Daniel Smith
D Collin Dannheim
D Thomas Miskin
D Kyle Kohlsaat
M Nick Trakszelis
M Artur Pach
M Nick Renfro
F Jason Rowaiye
F Franklin Rutkowski
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Billy Heniades, sr., F, Neuqua Valley
Scoring summary
1st Half
Neuqua Valley – Daniel Costea (Billy Heniades) 11:02
Neuqua Valley – Heniades (Ryan Matthews) 1:28
2nd Half
Neuqua Valley – T.J. Fenton (Matthews) 11:55
Benet – Nick Renfro (Nick Trakszelis) 2:12
Wildcats win third in last four games with road victory
By Matt Le Cren
LISLE – Neuqua Valley’s run through the early part of the season has been one of peaks and valleys.
Now it appears the Wildcats might be hitting their stride.
Billy Heniades had a goal and an assist and sophomore Ryan Matthews came off the bench to register two assists on Thursday as Neuqua Valley knocked off host Benet 3-1.
Daniel Costea and T.J. Fenton also scored for the Wildcats (5-5), who have won three of their last four games.
“It’s four games of good soccer,” a pleased Neuqua coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said. “Unfortunately we didn’t win Tuesday (a 2-0 loss to Naperville Central), but I think it was a fun game to watch.
“I think going into this game the idea was to continue to play the way we’ve been playing.”
The Wildcats were impressive, especially in the first half, in controlling the midfield and building a solid attack. Benet had a couple chances which were snuffed by the defense and the turning point came late in the period when Neuqua scored twice.
Costea broke the ice with 11:02 left in the first half when he received a through-ball from Heniades and beat Benet goalkeeper Brian Gould.
Heniades made it 2-0 when he nodded home Matthews’ tight corner kick on the back post at the 1:28 mark.
“I think when we got that first one they pretty much deflated,” Gonzalez said. “It took the wind out of them, because I saw them take their foot off the accelerator.”
The Wildcats, in contrast, appear to be putting their foot down. Heniades’ goal was his team-leading sixth of the season and if Costea can start scoring regularly, Neuqua’s attack could be potent.
“It’s always good to get a win, definitely against a great side like Benet,” Heniades said. “Getting a 3-1 win, I think that really helps our momentum.
“I think we’re really settling into our formation now, and I think we’re really getting comfortable with our spots. We’re showing better connections, better chemistry on the field as well.
“We’re developing a style of play that’s pretty good, so I think it’s coming together.”
That showed in the build-up that led to Costea’s goal.
“It was a ball into (Ryan) Carlin,” Heniades said. “He’s a big kid so I knew he could get a flick on.”
The ball went to Heniades, who found who he was looking for.
“Danny Costea can get on the end of those balls, so if you get him 1-v.-1 with the keeper he will finish that every time,” Heniades said. “So I knew if I got it past (the defender) and he runs onto it, he’d put it away.”
Heniades put away an unusual chance to make it 2-0. Matthews sent his corner kick in high and tight to the line, where Heniades outjumped Gould for the point-blank
header.
“It was a great ball by Ryan,” Heniades said. “I love getting on the end of those, and Ryan played a nice ball right to the back post over the keeper.
“I was just following that ball all the way to the back post. It was nice getting on the end of that and tapping it in with my head.”
Most teams try to serve corner kicks near the 6-yard line, balancing a desire to get the ball as close to the goal as possible yet far enough away to prevent the keeper from easily getting to it. But Matthews intentionally sent his kick in close.
“We’ve been practicing it. ‘Gonzo’ (coach Gonzalez) wanted me to wait for the (forwards) to get in close, for me to play it close to the goalkeeper, because it will cause confusion,” Matthews said. “I knew Billy would get to it.”
Matthews notched his second point when his short pass from the left side found Fenton alone outside the top of the box. Fenton’s cracker from 25 yards rattled the underside of the crossbar and went in to make it 3-0 with 11:55 remaining in the second half.
Could it be a sign of things to come from the varsity rookie?
“We’re hoping,” Gonzalez said. “He’s young, but he’s getting used to the speed of play.
“He was coming off of an injury during the summer. Even at tryouts he was hurting, so now he’s trying to find his rhythm. We’re trying to get him to where we can definitely count on him.”
Matthews is gaining confidence in his ability to be counted on.
“I think I’ve been playing a little bit better,” Matthews said. “It was hard in the beginning of the season for me because I’m a lot smaller than these kids, but I think it’s been a lot better recently. The chemistry on our team is getting better.”
Benet, meanwhile, is struggling mightily, albeit against a difficult schedule. The Redwings (1-5-1) have had trouble scoring this season and junior Franklin Rutkowski, who bagged 21 last year, has yet to find the back of the net.
“We’ve only scored five goals on the year,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “We did not expect that, and we obviously expect to be better in the final third.
“I think we’re creating chances so at some point we have to put it together, and now it’s getting to be midseason. At the same time, I think everybody that’s watched us play knows that we can be dangerous. It’s whether we put it away.”
Sophomore Nick Renfro finally put one away to avert the shutout. He took a pass from Nick Trakszelis and beat Neuqua goalie Luke Molnar from 12 yards with 2:12 to play.
It was the first goal of the season for Renfro and the second of his career.
“It felt good for sure,” Renfro said. “It’s definitely been a hard year so far, but hopefully (that goal) will give us the spark that we need.
“We’ll take anything – a good defensive stop or a goal. We just need to keep playing.”
The Redwings, in fact, did play well for most of the second half. After mustering only one shot before intermission, they outshot the Wildcats 7-3 in the second half, forcing Molnar to make three saves.
The ball was in Neuqua’s end for the vast majority of the first 25 minutes of the second half, yet the Redwings had nothing to show for it.
“I think (the problem) is just going forward,” Renfro said. “We’re really good as a possession team, and we can keep the ball. It’s just in the final third where we’re having trouble.”
Wesley noted that the backline has had some difficult moments as well.
“We have to be better in the back,” Wesley said. “The second goal was hard-fought for them but soft for us, a corner kick that needs to be cleared.
“We give up a header two yards away from the goal. That’s unacceptable.
“Their third goal is genius. That was a great strike so that should decide a high school soccer game, but I would like to see us convert a few of those chances early in the first half.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Luke Molnar
D Edon Kosova
D Daniel Laverde
D Nate Kuper
M Amish Gupta
M David Kuhn
M Kevin Wu
M Parker Domschke
M Jose Navarro
F Billy Heniades
F Anthony Safo
Benet
GK Brian Gould
D Anthony Klos
D Daniel Smith
D Collin Dannheim
D Thomas Miskin
D Kyle Kohlsaat
M Nick Trakszelis
M Artur Pach
M Nick Renfro
F Jason Rowaiye
F Franklin Rutkowski
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Billy Heniades, sr., F, Neuqua Valley
Scoring summary
1st Half
Neuqua Valley – Daniel Costea (Billy Heniades) 11:02
Neuqua Valley – Heniades (Ryan Matthews) 1:28
2nd Half
Neuqua Valley – T.J. Fenton (Matthews) 11:55
Benet – Nick Renfro (Nick Trakszelis) 2:12