Neuqua V. goes on goal rampage vs. Benet
Bombacino strikes twice early, Wildcats roll in 7-0 runaway
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Neuqua Valley midfielder Alyssa Bombacino took the suspense out of the game early with two goals in the first three minutes against Benet on Thursday night.
The highlight reel goals, however, were just beginning.
Bombacino, fellow senior co-captain Sydney Rushing and freshman Katelyn Nardulli each scored two goals and freshman Nina Calcaterra came off the bench late to tally the first goal of her career as the no. 6 Wildcats walloped Benet 7-0 on the opening night of the Naperville Invitational at Memorial Stadium.
The result was not quite as stunning as it seemed. Nineteenth-ranked Benet (8-2-0) played without four starters – senior striker Erin Flynn, and the junior class heart of its defense, goalkeeper Eva Frantzen and center backs Mary Kate Wilhelm and Mary Kate Hansen.
The Wildcats (5-3-0) took full advantage to win their fifth-straight game.
“It was a good thing that we were able to go and get some goals right away, because we wanted to get them right off the bat,” Bombacino said.
Bombacino made sure of that, scoring just 30 seconds into the game on a shot up the middle. She made it 2-0 in the third minute, latching on to a deflection before taking a touch and beating freshman Benet goalie Lauren Lukitsh.
The Redwings nearly got one of the goals back in the fifth minute when Maddie Becker’s shot hit the post. That would be Benet’s only decent scoring chance.
Benet, which came in riding a six-game winning streak, had given up only four goals this season. Neuqua Valley, meanwhile, had been inconsistent offensively, having found the back of the net eight times in seven games.
So did Bombacino see this coming?
“A little bit,” she said. “We knew they were a pretty good team, but we’ve been working really hard.
“We had a really good practice yesterday, so I think we had some momentum coming in.”
Apparently so. The Wildcats were incredibly efficient, scoring on 7-of-11 shots, including four of their first six. They scored on back-to-back shots on three occasions, including twice in the first half.
And the goals weren’t given to them. Most of them were on rocket shots or perfectly played combinations.
Nardulli, who bagged her first career brace, ripped a 22-yard shot top shelf midway through the first half to make it 3-0. Five minutes later, the next Neuqua Valley shot also went in, courtesy of Rushing’s 23-yard blast under the crossbar.
The second half brought more of the same. The Wildcats made it 5-0 on perhaps the prettiest play of the night. Defender Shannon Tagler recorded the first of her two assists when she lined a low 25-yard free kick from deep on the right wing in front to Rushing, who volleyed it inside the right post to complete her second two-goal game of the year.
“Benet is a great team but we’ve been working really hard in practice,” Rushing said. “We were focusing on defending as a team, stepping up as a team and obviously working on finishing in the final third, focusing on getting crosses in, and it’s easy from there.”
The Wildcats closed the game the same way they started it, scoring on two-consecutive shots. Nardulli took a pass from Tagler and drilled a 20-yard shot into the upper right corner with 25:31 remaining.
Calcaterra finished the scoring by cleaning up a loose ball in front with 4:59 to go.
“(Nardulli) is a really good addition to the midfield,” Bombacino said. “She’s been helping us out a lot, and then we got to see some of our newer freshmen in at the end also contributing.”
Goalkeeper Yanel Ortiz had to make just two saves, both routine, to record the shutout for the Wildcats, who clearly gave the Redwings a wake-up call.
“We’ve usually been the fastest team out there,” Benet senior defender Clare Bumpus said. “That’s usually been our strength this year.
“Tonight it wasn’t necessarily that Erin wasn’t in; that team is fast, and we haven’t played against a team as fast as us yet.
“Also, we haven’t played a game in a while. I think that was a bit rough to get our feet underneath us. Later on in the first half I think we were starting to do that. We just need to do it (earlier).”
The Redwings have never advanced out of pool play at the Naperville Invitational, which typically provides Benet with the toughest competition it sees. Neuqua certainly proved it.
“This is definitely one of the better teams we’ve played,” Bumpus said. “Me and Dani (Pullen) are the only (healthy) center backs right now, and we didn’t come out with the aggressive mindset.
“We just played with a safe mentality, which against a team like Neuqua, you cannot do that. You need to play to your strengths.”
While Bumpus acknowledged that the Redwings are a bit thin thanks to some injuries, she said they can’t use that as an excuse.
“Everybody on our team can 100 percent play,” Bumpus said. “It doesn’t matter who is in and who is hurt.”
While Bumpus and her teammates did not get a victory, everybody left a winner after Bumpus’ efforts to raise awareness of mental health issues.
Bumpus was a club teammate of Ashley Santos, the former Naperville North star who lost her mother to suicide in November, 2016. A Naperville resident, Bumpus teamed up with the Kids Matter organization and Janor Sports to outfit the Redwings with special black T-Shirts that had “Mental Health Awareness” on the front and their individual uniform numbers on the back.
“I’m a senior, I’ve been on varsity for four years,” Bumpus said. “If I went to public school, I would have gone to (Naperville) Central, so I know a lot of people, and I know a lot of things that happened with mental health in Naperville.
“I’m on the Kids Matter junior board, which is the organization that sponsored this event today with Janor Sports. There is a survey (of area students) and one of the stats was that of the 7th and 10th graders, 50 percent didn’t feel like they had somebody to talk to.
“I know more about mental health statistics than most Naperville teens just because I’ve been doing that as my volunteer work, so I really wanted to somehow portray that.”
To that end, Bumpus recruited several local high school students to set up a table at the stadium to hand out information on mental health services.
“We’re just trying to raise awareness, get people talking,” Bumpus said. “If one person talks to their mom about what happened at the game (tonight) or one person talks to their daughter (about the issue), I think that’s great.”
Bumpus’ effort is just part of a larger movement among area teens to help advance the issue. Students at Naperville Central and Naperville North have participated or have planned Mental Health walks.
“At every school, something has happened that’s not good,” Bumpus said. “So I think everybody is getting into that mode of we want change, and we want people to talk about what is going on.”
Bumpus got support from the Neuqua Valley captains and the coaches of all four of the teams who played at Naperville Central on the tournament’s opening night.
“I also want to thank (Naperville Central) coach (Ed) Watson, who was a huge help in allowing this to happen, and all the teams were really helpful,” Bumpus said. “Janor Sports was amazing.”
Bumpus originally got the idea from watching what the Lyons soccer team does by hosting a Pink Out Game to raise funds and awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
“They do that every year, and everybody is very excited,” Bumpus said. “It’s a really good cause, and I just wanted to do something like that that’s good for the community.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Yanel Ortiz
D Shannon Tagler
D Erin McCarthy
D Kayla Monis
D Leah Senese
M Alyssa Bombacino
M Paige Munar
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Danielle Hopkins
F Sydney Rushing
F Alison Dovalovsky
Benet
GK Lauren Lukitsh
D Lauren Fischer
D Kate Flynn
D Clare Bumpus
D Dani Pullen
M Jackie Schuman
M Maddie Becker
M Mia Ullmer
F Kayla Branigan
F Abby Casmere
F Mia Tommasone
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Alyssa Bombacino, sr., M, Neuqua Valley
Scoring summary
1st half
Neuqua Valley – Alyssa Bombacino 1st minute
Neuqua Valley – Bombacino 3rd minute
Neuqua Valley – Katelyn Nardulli 20th minute
Neuqua Valley – Sydney Rushing 24th minute
2nd half
Neuqua Valley – Rushing (Shannon Tagler) 47th minute
Neuqua Valley – Nardulli (Tagler) 55th minute
Neuqua Valley – Nina Calcaterra 76th minute
Bombacino strikes twice early, Wildcats roll in 7-0 runaway
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Neuqua Valley midfielder Alyssa Bombacino took the suspense out of the game early with two goals in the first three minutes against Benet on Thursday night.
The highlight reel goals, however, were just beginning.
Bombacino, fellow senior co-captain Sydney Rushing and freshman Katelyn Nardulli each scored two goals and freshman Nina Calcaterra came off the bench late to tally the first goal of her career as the no. 6 Wildcats walloped Benet 7-0 on the opening night of the Naperville Invitational at Memorial Stadium.
The result was not quite as stunning as it seemed. Nineteenth-ranked Benet (8-2-0) played without four starters – senior striker Erin Flynn, and the junior class heart of its defense, goalkeeper Eva Frantzen and center backs Mary Kate Wilhelm and Mary Kate Hansen.
The Wildcats (5-3-0) took full advantage to win their fifth-straight game.
“It was a good thing that we were able to go and get some goals right away, because we wanted to get them right off the bat,” Bombacino said.
Bombacino made sure of that, scoring just 30 seconds into the game on a shot up the middle. She made it 2-0 in the third minute, latching on to a deflection before taking a touch and beating freshman Benet goalie Lauren Lukitsh.
The Redwings nearly got one of the goals back in the fifth minute when Maddie Becker’s shot hit the post. That would be Benet’s only decent scoring chance.
Benet, which came in riding a six-game winning streak, had given up only four goals this season. Neuqua Valley, meanwhile, had been inconsistent offensively, having found the back of the net eight times in seven games.
So did Bombacino see this coming?
“A little bit,” she said. “We knew they were a pretty good team, but we’ve been working really hard.
“We had a really good practice yesterday, so I think we had some momentum coming in.”
Apparently so. The Wildcats were incredibly efficient, scoring on 7-of-11 shots, including four of their first six. They scored on back-to-back shots on three occasions, including twice in the first half.
And the goals weren’t given to them. Most of them were on rocket shots or perfectly played combinations.
Nardulli, who bagged her first career brace, ripped a 22-yard shot top shelf midway through the first half to make it 3-0. Five minutes later, the next Neuqua Valley shot also went in, courtesy of Rushing’s 23-yard blast under the crossbar.
The second half brought more of the same. The Wildcats made it 5-0 on perhaps the prettiest play of the night. Defender Shannon Tagler recorded the first of her two assists when she lined a low 25-yard free kick from deep on the right wing in front to Rushing, who volleyed it inside the right post to complete her second two-goal game of the year.
“Benet is a great team but we’ve been working really hard in practice,” Rushing said. “We were focusing on defending as a team, stepping up as a team and obviously working on finishing in the final third, focusing on getting crosses in, and it’s easy from there.”
The Wildcats closed the game the same way they started it, scoring on two-consecutive shots. Nardulli took a pass from Tagler and drilled a 20-yard shot into the upper right corner with 25:31 remaining.
Calcaterra finished the scoring by cleaning up a loose ball in front with 4:59 to go.
“(Nardulli) is a really good addition to the midfield,” Bombacino said. “She’s been helping us out a lot, and then we got to see some of our newer freshmen in at the end also contributing.”
Goalkeeper Yanel Ortiz had to make just two saves, both routine, to record the shutout for the Wildcats, who clearly gave the Redwings a wake-up call.
“We’ve usually been the fastest team out there,” Benet senior defender Clare Bumpus said. “That’s usually been our strength this year.
“Tonight it wasn’t necessarily that Erin wasn’t in; that team is fast, and we haven’t played against a team as fast as us yet.
“Also, we haven’t played a game in a while. I think that was a bit rough to get our feet underneath us. Later on in the first half I think we were starting to do that. We just need to do it (earlier).”
The Redwings have never advanced out of pool play at the Naperville Invitational, which typically provides Benet with the toughest competition it sees. Neuqua certainly proved it.
“This is definitely one of the better teams we’ve played,” Bumpus said. “Me and Dani (Pullen) are the only (healthy) center backs right now, and we didn’t come out with the aggressive mindset.
“We just played with a safe mentality, which against a team like Neuqua, you cannot do that. You need to play to your strengths.”
While Bumpus acknowledged that the Redwings are a bit thin thanks to some injuries, she said they can’t use that as an excuse.
“Everybody on our team can 100 percent play,” Bumpus said. “It doesn’t matter who is in and who is hurt.”
While Bumpus and her teammates did not get a victory, everybody left a winner after Bumpus’ efforts to raise awareness of mental health issues.
Bumpus was a club teammate of Ashley Santos, the former Naperville North star who lost her mother to suicide in November, 2016. A Naperville resident, Bumpus teamed up with the Kids Matter organization and Janor Sports to outfit the Redwings with special black T-Shirts that had “Mental Health Awareness” on the front and their individual uniform numbers on the back.
“I’m a senior, I’ve been on varsity for four years,” Bumpus said. “If I went to public school, I would have gone to (Naperville) Central, so I know a lot of people, and I know a lot of things that happened with mental health in Naperville.
“I’m on the Kids Matter junior board, which is the organization that sponsored this event today with Janor Sports. There is a survey (of area students) and one of the stats was that of the 7th and 10th graders, 50 percent didn’t feel like they had somebody to talk to.
“I know more about mental health statistics than most Naperville teens just because I’ve been doing that as my volunteer work, so I really wanted to somehow portray that.”
To that end, Bumpus recruited several local high school students to set up a table at the stadium to hand out information on mental health services.
“We’re just trying to raise awareness, get people talking,” Bumpus said. “If one person talks to their mom about what happened at the game (tonight) or one person talks to their daughter (about the issue), I think that’s great.”
Bumpus’ effort is just part of a larger movement among area teens to help advance the issue. Students at Naperville Central and Naperville North have participated or have planned Mental Health walks.
“At every school, something has happened that’s not good,” Bumpus said. “So I think everybody is getting into that mode of we want change, and we want people to talk about what is going on.”
Bumpus got support from the Neuqua Valley captains and the coaches of all four of the teams who played at Naperville Central on the tournament’s opening night.
“I also want to thank (Naperville Central) coach (Ed) Watson, who was a huge help in allowing this to happen, and all the teams were really helpful,” Bumpus said. “Janor Sports was amazing.”
Bumpus originally got the idea from watching what the Lyons soccer team does by hosting a Pink Out Game to raise funds and awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
“They do that every year, and everybody is very excited,” Bumpus said. “It’s a really good cause, and I just wanted to do something like that that’s good for the community.”
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK Yanel Ortiz
D Shannon Tagler
D Erin McCarthy
D Kayla Monis
D Leah Senese
M Alyssa Bombacino
M Paige Munar
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Danielle Hopkins
F Sydney Rushing
F Alison Dovalovsky
Benet
GK Lauren Lukitsh
D Lauren Fischer
D Kate Flynn
D Clare Bumpus
D Dani Pullen
M Jackie Schuman
M Maddie Becker
M Mia Ullmer
F Kayla Branigan
F Abby Casmere
F Mia Tommasone
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Alyssa Bombacino, sr., M, Neuqua Valley
Scoring summary
1st half
Neuqua Valley – Alyssa Bombacino 1st minute
Neuqua Valley – Bombacino 3rd minute
Neuqua Valley – Katelyn Nardulli 20th minute
Neuqua Valley – Sydney Rushing 24th minute
2nd half
Neuqua Valley – Rushing (Shannon Tagler) 47th minute
Neuqua Valley – Nardulli (Tagler) 55th minute
Neuqua Valley – Nina Calcaterra 76th minute