2nd half splurge leads Neuqua over Lemont
Dovalovsky scores twice in 3-0 Wildcats victory
By Matt Le Cren
LEMONT -- Erin McCarthy made Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau look like a genius Saturday.
Moreau moved McCarthy, the Lipscomb-bound defender, up to forward for the first time and the senior responded by scoring one goal and helping set up another as the Wildcats, ranked 14th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, knocked off host and no. 23 Lemont 3-0.
“They actually just switched me for this game, so this is the first day I’m playing up-top,” McCarthy said. “I think the first half was all about getting used to it and then second half we were connecting a lot more and taking them on and getting in behind, playing to feet.”
Indeed, though Neuqua Valley (3-2-3) dominated the possession in the first half, the host Indians kept the game scoreless thanks to tenacious defending backed up by the solid goalkeeping of Grace Kucharski, who made half of her eight saves before intermission.
The Indians (6-3-1) actually went nearly 55 minutes before conceding. That started when McCarthy made her mark and ripped a 25-yard shot which Kucharski made a diving save on.
But the ball was hit so hard that Kucharski was unable to hang onto it and Alison Dovalovsky pounced on the rebound and slotted home a six-yard shot to put Neuqua ahead with 25:19 remaining.
Dovalovsky earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors after finishing with a pair of goals. The senior capped the scoring at the 9:51 mark when she latched onto a high cross from Isabella Espinoza, held off a challenge from a defender in the middle of the box, turned and fired a left-footed shot past Kucharski and into the lower left corner of the net.
“It was really nice to score both of them,” Dovalovsky said. “The goal from Erin’s shot, that’s something that we work on a lot in practice, getting rebounds. We focus on getting back in on the ball on rebounds.
“The second goal, we do a lot of crossing drills, getting the ball on the outside and everyone making their runs into the box. So that was just an example of us doing our runs perfectly and knowing when to call someone off the ball.”
The Wildcats had not played in seven days, and they used that time wisely in training as they have been moving pieces around the chessboard. Senior Shannon Tagler, another stalwart defender, has been playing forward all season and now McCarthy has moved up, but they have been quick studies.
“Ali did a great job of getting there for those rebounds,” McCarthy said. “I was able to make a turn, like we’ve been working on in practice, and she was there to clean it up. Her second goal, too, she did a nice turn.”
McCarthy took her turn scoring in between Dovalovsky’s twin strikes, volleying in a cross from Tagler on the near post with 20:14 remaining.
After a busy day of diving both ways to make saves and charging off her line to snuff out several other Neuqua chances, Kucharski was a bit disappointed to see her goals-against average rise.
“It was hard defending in the first half,” Kucharski said. “A lot of saves had to keep us in the game.
“It was frustrating to let up three goals especially when I felt like the team put in such good effort. But we’re very young.
“It took our young players a while to get used to playing (varsity), and it also took us upperclassmen time to get used to playing with them.”
Graduation claimed many of Lemont’s most productive offensive players and the backline is entirely new after the only returning starter, senior Katrina Retzke, had surgery to repair a torn labrum in her hip, ending her final season before it began.
Even Kucharski, who was a backup last year, is new to a starting role. Despite that, Lemont coach Rick Prangen liked what he saw against the Wildcats.
“The overall team speed and the rate of play for (the Wildcats) is really, really good,” Prangen said. “They’re very quick on the ball and very technical on the ball, so we did a lot of defending.
“I thought our defensive shape was really good for most of the game. But you can only do that so long before you get worn down.
“The second goal was a great finish. It was a great service and a great finish and if that’s what it takes for a team to score on us, I’m comfortable with that.”
Lemont was outshot 18-2 but the game was in doubt for quite a while. The Indians even had visions of striking first. They earned two corner kicks early in the second half. The second one nearly resulted in a goal as Maddy Counsil got on the end of Victoria Silvar’s serve just outside the six, but Neuqua Valley goalie Kasey Gillespie made the save.
Lemont’s other shot came with 7:30 remaining, a 30-yard effort off the foot of senior Michaela Egan, and Gillespie stopped that, too.
“I liked our discipline in the first half,” Prangen said. “And I thought the first 10 minutes of the second half we were down in the final third, and we had a scramble in the box that we just missed getting a touch on or it could have been one-nil.
“So for us it was a great test for the girls, and it was a good effort.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Kasey Gillespie
D Paige Munar
D Megan Olah
D Erin McCarthy
D Alex Lichtman
M Piper Biziorek
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Danielle Hopkins
M Brooke Miller
F Leah Senese
F Shannon Tagler
Lemont
GK Grace Kucharski
D Anna Borzecki
D Sophia Villarreal
D Trinity Hatton
M Michaela Egan
M Danielle Irwin
M Maddie Counsil
F Erin Crispo
F Katie Knutte
F Adriana Patino
F Victoria Silvar
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Alison Dovalovsky, sr., F, Neuqua Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
NV – Alison Dovalovsky 25:19
NV – Erin McCarty (Shannon Tagler) 20:14
NV – Dovalovsky (Isabella Espinoza) 9:51
Dovalovsky scores twice in 3-0 Wildcats victory
By Matt Le Cren
LEMONT -- Erin McCarthy made Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau look like a genius Saturday.
Moreau moved McCarthy, the Lipscomb-bound defender, up to forward for the first time and the senior responded by scoring one goal and helping set up another as the Wildcats, ranked 14th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, knocked off host and no. 23 Lemont 3-0.
“They actually just switched me for this game, so this is the first day I’m playing up-top,” McCarthy said. “I think the first half was all about getting used to it and then second half we were connecting a lot more and taking them on and getting in behind, playing to feet.”
Indeed, though Neuqua Valley (3-2-3) dominated the possession in the first half, the host Indians kept the game scoreless thanks to tenacious defending backed up by the solid goalkeeping of Grace Kucharski, who made half of her eight saves before intermission.
The Indians (6-3-1) actually went nearly 55 minutes before conceding. That started when McCarthy made her mark and ripped a 25-yard shot which Kucharski made a diving save on.
But the ball was hit so hard that Kucharski was unable to hang onto it and Alison Dovalovsky pounced on the rebound and slotted home a six-yard shot to put Neuqua ahead with 25:19 remaining.
Dovalovsky earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors after finishing with a pair of goals. The senior capped the scoring at the 9:51 mark when she latched onto a high cross from Isabella Espinoza, held off a challenge from a defender in the middle of the box, turned and fired a left-footed shot past Kucharski and into the lower left corner of the net.
“It was really nice to score both of them,” Dovalovsky said. “The goal from Erin’s shot, that’s something that we work on a lot in practice, getting rebounds. We focus on getting back in on the ball on rebounds.
“The second goal, we do a lot of crossing drills, getting the ball on the outside and everyone making their runs into the box. So that was just an example of us doing our runs perfectly and knowing when to call someone off the ball.”
The Wildcats had not played in seven days, and they used that time wisely in training as they have been moving pieces around the chessboard. Senior Shannon Tagler, another stalwart defender, has been playing forward all season and now McCarthy has moved up, but they have been quick studies.
“Ali did a great job of getting there for those rebounds,” McCarthy said. “I was able to make a turn, like we’ve been working on in practice, and she was there to clean it up. Her second goal, too, she did a nice turn.”
McCarthy took her turn scoring in between Dovalovsky’s twin strikes, volleying in a cross from Tagler on the near post with 20:14 remaining.
After a busy day of diving both ways to make saves and charging off her line to snuff out several other Neuqua chances, Kucharski was a bit disappointed to see her goals-against average rise.
“It was hard defending in the first half,” Kucharski said. “A lot of saves had to keep us in the game.
“It was frustrating to let up three goals especially when I felt like the team put in such good effort. But we’re very young.
“It took our young players a while to get used to playing (varsity), and it also took us upperclassmen time to get used to playing with them.”
Graduation claimed many of Lemont’s most productive offensive players and the backline is entirely new after the only returning starter, senior Katrina Retzke, had surgery to repair a torn labrum in her hip, ending her final season before it began.
Even Kucharski, who was a backup last year, is new to a starting role. Despite that, Lemont coach Rick Prangen liked what he saw against the Wildcats.
“The overall team speed and the rate of play for (the Wildcats) is really, really good,” Prangen said. “They’re very quick on the ball and very technical on the ball, so we did a lot of defending.
“I thought our defensive shape was really good for most of the game. But you can only do that so long before you get worn down.
“The second goal was a great finish. It was a great service and a great finish and if that’s what it takes for a team to score on us, I’m comfortable with that.”
Lemont was outshot 18-2 but the game was in doubt for quite a while. The Indians even had visions of striking first. They earned two corner kicks early in the second half. The second one nearly resulted in a goal as Maddy Counsil got on the end of Victoria Silvar’s serve just outside the six, but Neuqua Valley goalie Kasey Gillespie made the save.
Lemont’s other shot came with 7:30 remaining, a 30-yard effort off the foot of senior Michaela Egan, and Gillespie stopped that, too.
“I liked our discipline in the first half,” Prangen said. “And I thought the first 10 minutes of the second half we were down in the final third, and we had a scramble in the box that we just missed getting a touch on or it could have been one-nil.
“So for us it was a great test for the girls, and it was a good effort.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Kasey Gillespie
D Paige Munar
D Megan Olah
D Erin McCarthy
D Alex Lichtman
M Piper Biziorek
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Danielle Hopkins
M Brooke Miller
F Leah Senese
F Shannon Tagler
Lemont
GK Grace Kucharski
D Anna Borzecki
D Sophia Villarreal
D Trinity Hatton
M Michaela Egan
M Danielle Irwin
M Maddie Counsil
F Erin Crispo
F Katie Knutte
F Adriana Patino
F Victoria Silvar
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Alison Dovalovsky, sr., F, Neuqua Valley
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
NV – Alison Dovalovsky 25:19
NV – Erin McCarty (Shannon Tagler) 20:14
NV – Dovalovsky (Isabella Espinoza) 9:51