Naperville C. good enough to top Neuqua V.
Redhawks do what they need to do in 2-0 win, remain atop DVC
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – With his team coming off a huge DuPage Valley Conference win over crosstown rival Naperville North, Naperville Central coach Troy Adams warned his team against a possible letdown for Tuesday night’s game with Neuqua Valley.
“We said this game as just as important as Saturday’s,” Adams said. “Both are worth three points.”
The Redhawks secured three points in each game, though how they went about it was a little different.
Zack Kokes scored one goal and set up Cameron Strang on the other as Naperville Central knocked off the visiting Wildcats 2-0 at Memorial Stadium.
While the match lacked artistry, it was entertaining. The Redhawks (7-3-0, 3-0-0) grabbed an early advantage in the DVC race by completing shutting down a Neuqua attack that had produced nine goals in two victories at a tournament in Wisconsin over the weekend.
It was the third-straight shutout for the Redhawks, who allowed only four shots.
“It was not pretty,” Adams said. “It was not as clean of a game that we played on Saturday, but we played well enough to do what we wanted to do.
“The problem is, the expectation is you should always be playing your best. So when you don’t you get a little crabby and upset. But a sign of a good team is being able to rise to the level to get a win when you need to get a win, and we needed a win today.”
They got it thanks to the play of the backline, especially center back Cameron Strang, who saved a pair of goals, including one on a point-blank shot from Amish Gupta in front of an open net, and scored one of his own.
Strang tallied his second goal of the season, which turned out to be the game-winner, when he headed home Kokes’ 36-yard free kick at the 17:20 mark of the first half.
“For me it’s probably more (fun) scoring a goal,” Strang said. “My job is block all goals and stop as many shots as possible. So just getting in on the offense, that’s something that I don’t get to do very often.
Strang’s goal came after the Wildcats (4-5-0, 0-2-0) committed a foul out on the Redhawks’ left wing. Kokes lofted the ball into the middle of the box seeking the head of Strang, who sent the ball crashing into the net past Neuqua goalie Dylan Soto.
“I just put all my focus on the ball, and I kind of shrugged off the guys next to me,” Strang said. “I put as much power and accuracy on the ball as I could to put it in the back of the net. So that was very exciting for me.”
Kokes is excited to have a tall target like Strang for set pieces.
“He’s going up there winning all the headers,” Kokes said. “Neuqua’s not the tallest team, but we played North on Saturday and they’re tough in the air. But Cam has been winning the ball in the air for us, so I just pick out the big guy in the box and let him do his thing.”
Kokes did his thing early in the second half. Naperville Central’s leading scorer took advantage of a tentative clearing attempt in the Neuqua box to steal the ball and poke a short shot past Soto for a 2-0 lead.
“(On Strang’s goal) those type of balls are hard for any keeper,” Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said. “Anyone can get something on it, and there it is.
“(The second goal) we can’t have those types of mistakes. We just couldn’t clear the ball.”
The Wildcats couldn’t sustain any offensive momentum even though there was quite a bit of end-to-end action thanks to a lot of long balls.
Naperville Central goalie Brad Palagi had to make only one save, though Strang saved his clean sheet when he blocked Gupta’s wide-open shot with 75 ticks left in the first half.
That was a backbreaker for Neuqua Valley.
“I was just trying to get as much contact as I can on that ball, trying to hit it hard across the net,” Gupta said. “Unfortunately they’re big, tall, and fast, and they got there before I could finish it.”
Opportunities like that were few and far between for the Wildcats, who got only one shot off in the second half despite playing with a five-man midfield.
“That’s what we talked about at halftime,” Gonzalez said. “We do have five in the middle, but it seems like we’re trying to go forward all the time instead of actually finding the five in the middle and build. We did a nice job of that this weekend and not so much today.”
Part of that, of course, was due to the Redhawks’ defense, but the Wildcats realize they need to be more consistent, especially if they want to make their mark in the DVC. Neuqua has been shut out in both of its league games.
“Their defense is definitely big, strong and fast,” Gupta said. “They had a couple of set pieces that they are really good at capitalizing on, and unfortunately we weren’t able to score.
“I think if we did we would have gotten back in it. We’re moving the ball around pretty quickly.
“However, one thing I think we need to do is finish more. We need to be more aggressive in taking shots and getting crosses in.”
Naperville Central didn’t exactly do a great job of that, either, hampered in part by the absence of midfielder Rohan Bhargava. The sophomore, who tallied the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Naperville North, was out sick.
But Naperville Central remained in the driver’s seat in the DVC race. They lead Waubonsie Valley (4-1-1, 2-0-0), which is the only other unbeaten and untied team left, by a half-game.
“Tonight wasn’t as pretty as we’d like it,” Kokes said. “We were lacking a little communication in the passing, but good teams find a way to win even when they’re not playing well, and that’s what we did tonight.
“Obviously, the shutout and keeping our unbeaten record in the DVC is something we like about this game.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Dylan Soto
D Daniel Laverde
D Nate Kuper
D Kevin Wu
M Matthew Miller
M Edon Kosova
M Parker Domschke
M Jose Navarro
M David Kuhn
F Billy Heniades
F Daniel Costea
Naperville Central
GK Brad Palagi
D Mitch Becker
D Jake Crawford
D Tanner Greenhagen
D Cameron Strang
M Owen Jarrell
M Nico Couropmitree
M Nate Zain
F Rokas Stadalninkas
F Jimmy Kalkofen
F Ryan Coleman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Cameron Strang, jr., D, Naperville Central.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Naperville Central – Cameron Strang (Zack Kokes) 17:20
2nd Half
Naperville Central – Kokes 35:30
Redhawks do what they need to do in 2-0 win, remain atop DVC
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – With his team coming off a huge DuPage Valley Conference win over crosstown rival Naperville North, Naperville Central coach Troy Adams warned his team against a possible letdown for Tuesday night’s game with Neuqua Valley.
“We said this game as just as important as Saturday’s,” Adams said. “Both are worth three points.”
The Redhawks secured three points in each game, though how they went about it was a little different.
Zack Kokes scored one goal and set up Cameron Strang on the other as Naperville Central knocked off the visiting Wildcats 2-0 at Memorial Stadium.
While the match lacked artistry, it was entertaining. The Redhawks (7-3-0, 3-0-0) grabbed an early advantage in the DVC race by completing shutting down a Neuqua attack that had produced nine goals in two victories at a tournament in Wisconsin over the weekend.
It was the third-straight shutout for the Redhawks, who allowed only four shots.
“It was not pretty,” Adams said. “It was not as clean of a game that we played on Saturday, but we played well enough to do what we wanted to do.
“The problem is, the expectation is you should always be playing your best. So when you don’t you get a little crabby and upset. But a sign of a good team is being able to rise to the level to get a win when you need to get a win, and we needed a win today.”
They got it thanks to the play of the backline, especially center back Cameron Strang, who saved a pair of goals, including one on a point-blank shot from Amish Gupta in front of an open net, and scored one of his own.
Strang tallied his second goal of the season, which turned out to be the game-winner, when he headed home Kokes’ 36-yard free kick at the 17:20 mark of the first half.
“For me it’s probably more (fun) scoring a goal,” Strang said. “My job is block all goals and stop as many shots as possible. So just getting in on the offense, that’s something that I don’t get to do very often.
Strang’s goal came after the Wildcats (4-5-0, 0-2-0) committed a foul out on the Redhawks’ left wing. Kokes lofted the ball into the middle of the box seeking the head of Strang, who sent the ball crashing into the net past Neuqua goalie Dylan Soto.
“I just put all my focus on the ball, and I kind of shrugged off the guys next to me,” Strang said. “I put as much power and accuracy on the ball as I could to put it in the back of the net. So that was very exciting for me.”
Kokes is excited to have a tall target like Strang for set pieces.
“He’s going up there winning all the headers,” Kokes said. “Neuqua’s not the tallest team, but we played North on Saturday and they’re tough in the air. But Cam has been winning the ball in the air for us, so I just pick out the big guy in the box and let him do his thing.”
Kokes did his thing early in the second half. Naperville Central’s leading scorer took advantage of a tentative clearing attempt in the Neuqua box to steal the ball and poke a short shot past Soto for a 2-0 lead.
“(On Strang’s goal) those type of balls are hard for any keeper,” Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said. “Anyone can get something on it, and there it is.
“(The second goal) we can’t have those types of mistakes. We just couldn’t clear the ball.”
The Wildcats couldn’t sustain any offensive momentum even though there was quite a bit of end-to-end action thanks to a lot of long balls.
Naperville Central goalie Brad Palagi had to make only one save, though Strang saved his clean sheet when he blocked Gupta’s wide-open shot with 75 ticks left in the first half.
That was a backbreaker for Neuqua Valley.
“I was just trying to get as much contact as I can on that ball, trying to hit it hard across the net,” Gupta said. “Unfortunately they’re big, tall, and fast, and they got there before I could finish it.”
Opportunities like that were few and far between for the Wildcats, who got only one shot off in the second half despite playing with a five-man midfield.
“That’s what we talked about at halftime,” Gonzalez said. “We do have five in the middle, but it seems like we’re trying to go forward all the time instead of actually finding the five in the middle and build. We did a nice job of that this weekend and not so much today.”
Part of that, of course, was due to the Redhawks’ defense, but the Wildcats realize they need to be more consistent, especially if they want to make their mark in the DVC. Neuqua has been shut out in both of its league games.
“Their defense is definitely big, strong and fast,” Gupta said. “They had a couple of set pieces that they are really good at capitalizing on, and unfortunately we weren’t able to score.
“I think if we did we would have gotten back in it. We’re moving the ball around pretty quickly.
“However, one thing I think we need to do is finish more. We need to be more aggressive in taking shots and getting crosses in.”
Naperville Central didn’t exactly do a great job of that, either, hampered in part by the absence of midfielder Rohan Bhargava. The sophomore, who tallied the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Naperville North, was out sick.
But Naperville Central remained in the driver’s seat in the DVC race. They lead Waubonsie Valley (4-1-1, 2-0-0), which is the only other unbeaten and untied team left, by a half-game.
“Tonight wasn’t as pretty as we’d like it,” Kokes said. “We were lacking a little communication in the passing, but good teams find a way to win even when they’re not playing well, and that’s what we did tonight.
“Obviously, the shutout and keeping our unbeaten record in the DVC is something we like about this game.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Dylan Soto
D Daniel Laverde
D Nate Kuper
D Kevin Wu
M Matthew Miller
M Edon Kosova
M Parker Domschke
M Jose Navarro
M David Kuhn
F Billy Heniades
F Daniel Costea
Naperville Central
GK Brad Palagi
D Mitch Becker
D Jake Crawford
D Tanner Greenhagen
D Cameron Strang
M Owen Jarrell
M Nico Couropmitree
M Nate Zain
F Rokas Stadalninkas
F Jimmy Kalkofen
F Ryan Coleman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Cameron Strang, jr., D, Naperville Central.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Naperville Central – Cameron Strang (Zack Kokes) 17:20
2nd Half
Naperville Central – Kokes 35:30