4-goal 2nd half lifts Neuqua over S. Elgin
Kuhn collects brace, assist; Wildcats post 5-3 nonconference win
By Chris Walker
AURORA – Darkness began engulfing Neuqua Valley’s soccer field in the final 20 minutes of the Wildcats nonconference game against South Elgin on Monday afternoon.
Along with it came some unwanted guests who forced both teams to quickly scatter after shaking hands and then quickly rush off to their respective vehicles to avoid becoming the prize of a bloodthirsty and insatiable mosquitoes’ Happy Meal.
That left little time for post-game on-field conversations, although there were plenty of positives for Neuqua Valley to talk about. The Wildcats not only created a lot of scoring opportunities throughout the afternoon but finished more than enough to enjoy a 5-3 victory.
David Kuhn scored twice and added an assist for the Wildcats and was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his strong performance. Fellow senior Jose Navarro was the recipient of Kuhn’s assist and added an assist for Jack Bella. Jaison Chisnell also scored for the Wildcats, who had their second-biggest offensive output of the season.
“We haven’t been able to bury our chances,” Kuhn said. “That’s been one of our biggest obstacles, and we also talk a lot about not beating ourselves. When we make those dumb mistakes, those dumb errors and they capitalize on those, it’s tough. We’ve got to stop giving them those stupid goals.”
Neuqua Valley (6-7-2) still made some big mistakes and the first one put them behind 1-0 with 12:14 remaining before halftime.
Prior to surrendering the goal, the Wildcats had controlled play and had threatened numerous times, but came up empty.
South Elgin (1-11-1) was happy it was able to keep the Wildcats out of its net. But when the Storm finally got a decent scoring opportunity, they made the most of it with sophomore Daniel Quintana heading in his shot amongst a crowd in the box.
“We start out like that a lot,” South Elgin senior Jack McCall said. “We tend to start stronger than we finish and just break down by the end of the game. It’s been happening a lot the last couple of games.”
While not uncommon for a young team to make mistakes, now that the season has matured and October has arrived, one would hope many of those familiar mistakes would dissipate. The Storm, as much as they’ve tried, can’t seem to shake them.
“We start off good and then our discipline falls off a little bit in the back,” South Elgin senior Jackson Lamb said. “We just need to start playing the whole game with the same tempo, same intensity, same pace of play. We can’t do it for just the first 10-15 minutes, get a lead and expect to keep that lead and grow it unless we do that.”
South Elgin’s lead lasted a little more than seven minutes. It ended after the Storm took down Brandon Szabo in the box with 5:09 remaining before halftime, and Kuhn buried the ensuing penalty kick. It was the second time Kuhn has attempted a PK this season, and he’s hammered both of them home.
“When I take a PK I know where I’m going to put it,” he said. “I just place it where I want it. I’ve practiced it hundreds of times and know exactly where it’s going.”
Kuhn’s goal, albeit not in the run of play, had to be a huge relief for the Wildcats. Just a few minutes earlier, senior Tom Bludgen cranked a shot off the right post and prior to that Chisnell, Kuhn, Navarro and Sean Osoba had the ball in good offensive places but had nothing to show for such presences.
“Oh man, we had like 30 opportunities in the first half, and I was getting really ticked off,” Kuhn said. “I’m playing CDM and wanted to go up and finally bury one, because I was just getting so mad. Then they got the first one on their only opportunity, and we all kind of had a wakeup call, and we needed to seriously get one (goal) and pick things up.”
Kuhn beautifully assisted Navarro off a set piece just 4:07 into the second half, which was a sign of things to come. The second half overflowed with offense -- the teams combined for six goals.
“It was a set piece to Jose, and he buried it with his head,” Kuhn said. “Just a great header by him.”
It’s a play that the duo has been working on all fall.
“It was nice to get it, especially since he was wide open,” Navarro said. “We did all of our set plays well, but couldn’t finish them all off, but this was a great cross from (Kuhn), and I got lucky on the header. I got up and was able to win it.”
Bell tapped in a cross from Navarro with 28:27 to play to make it 3-1 as the Wildcats appeared well on their way to victory. Then, a speed bump suddenly appeared with 26:16 remaining when South Elgin's Lucas Reuitmann connected from long distance after Neuqua Valley goalkeeper Luke Molnar misplayed the ball as it skidded toward him to make it 3-2.
“It’s been tough with a young team making mistakes, but still we scored and even at 3-2 we were still in the game,” South Elgin coach Simon Brinklow said. “Then we went to just three in back. We gambled to try to get back in the game and that kind of hurt us. But at the point we had to try to do something to try to get a positive result.”
And what did the Storm have to do lose? Nothing. Unfortunately the risk didn’t pay off, and it soon put them in a deeper hole than they could escape.
“We kind of broke down in the back at the end, but we were taking some chances,” McCall said. “Until then I thought our back played pretty strong, and I thought we had some good scoring opportunities when we worked the ball through their defense a few times, which was good.”
Kuhn beat a pair of defenders with 14:39 remaining to give the Wildcats some insurance at 4-2.
“They went to a 4-4-2 and those two kids in the middle were kind of gassed,” he said. “So when you beat one of them, there’s all that space.
“Their centerbacks, one would step and the other would step off a bit, and you could just run in between them, and you’d be fine.”
Then, 27 seconds later Chisnell broke the game open with a goal.
South Elgin refused to give up. Fifty-inine seconds later, Jose Rangel scored for the Storm to make it 5-3 as the teams combined for three goals in a span of just 86 seconds.
That got Neuqua Valley's atention.
“We needed to do more earlier,” Navarro said. “We’ve been progressing throughout the season and obviously at the beginning of the game we were dominating, but we have got to finish it. If we finish it earlier we don’t have to get chippy and let it be so close.”
Kuhn came this close to getting a hat-trick when he blasted a shot off the left post with 8:29 remaining.
South Elgin will keep working to get back in the win column.
“We were able to compete, but it comes down to simple things we need to do like always marking our man and stuff like that,” McCall said. “Other teams are getting easy opportunities off stuff like that, so that has to stop. We just need to mark up.”
Starting lineups
South Elgin
GK: Christian Andrew
D: Edwin Ayala
D: Ryan Doherty
D: Grayson Downing
D: Nicklaus Harris
D: Jackson Lamb
D: Johsua Serpico
MF: Jacob Zupan
MF: Jose Rangel
MF: Zack Rys
F: Anthony Sisler
Neuqua Valley
GK: Luke Molnar
D: Ryan Jasek
D: Mac Lehman
D: Anthony Safo
D: Brandon Szabo
MF: Jack Bella
MF: Tom Bludgen
MF: David Kuhn
MF: Jose Navarro
MF: John Pochyly
F: Ryan Matthews
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: David Kuhn, sr., MF, Neuqua Valley
Scoring Summary
First Half
South Elgin – Daniel Quintana (Jacob Zupan), 12:14
Neuqua Valley – David Kuhn PK, 5:09
Second Half
Neuqua Valley – Jose Navarro (David Kuhn), 35:53
Neuqua Valley – Jack Bella (Jose Navarro), 28:27
South Elgin – Lucas Reutimann (unassisted), 26:16
Neuqua Valley – David Kuhn (unassisted), 14:39
Neuqua Valley – Jaison Chisnell (Sean Osoba), 14:12
South Elgin – Jose Rangel (Daniel Quintana), 13:13
Kuhn collects brace, assist; Wildcats post 5-3 nonconference win
By Chris Walker
AURORA – Darkness began engulfing Neuqua Valley’s soccer field in the final 20 minutes of the Wildcats nonconference game against South Elgin on Monday afternoon.
Along with it came some unwanted guests who forced both teams to quickly scatter after shaking hands and then quickly rush off to their respective vehicles to avoid becoming the prize of a bloodthirsty and insatiable mosquitoes’ Happy Meal.
That left little time for post-game on-field conversations, although there were plenty of positives for Neuqua Valley to talk about. The Wildcats not only created a lot of scoring opportunities throughout the afternoon but finished more than enough to enjoy a 5-3 victory.
David Kuhn scored twice and added an assist for the Wildcats and was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his strong performance. Fellow senior Jose Navarro was the recipient of Kuhn’s assist and added an assist for Jack Bella. Jaison Chisnell also scored for the Wildcats, who had their second-biggest offensive output of the season.
“We haven’t been able to bury our chances,” Kuhn said. “That’s been one of our biggest obstacles, and we also talk a lot about not beating ourselves. When we make those dumb mistakes, those dumb errors and they capitalize on those, it’s tough. We’ve got to stop giving them those stupid goals.”
Neuqua Valley (6-7-2) still made some big mistakes and the first one put them behind 1-0 with 12:14 remaining before halftime.
Prior to surrendering the goal, the Wildcats had controlled play and had threatened numerous times, but came up empty.
South Elgin (1-11-1) was happy it was able to keep the Wildcats out of its net. But when the Storm finally got a decent scoring opportunity, they made the most of it with sophomore Daniel Quintana heading in his shot amongst a crowd in the box.
“We start out like that a lot,” South Elgin senior Jack McCall said. “We tend to start stronger than we finish and just break down by the end of the game. It’s been happening a lot the last couple of games.”
While not uncommon for a young team to make mistakes, now that the season has matured and October has arrived, one would hope many of those familiar mistakes would dissipate. The Storm, as much as they’ve tried, can’t seem to shake them.
“We start off good and then our discipline falls off a little bit in the back,” South Elgin senior Jackson Lamb said. “We just need to start playing the whole game with the same tempo, same intensity, same pace of play. We can’t do it for just the first 10-15 minutes, get a lead and expect to keep that lead and grow it unless we do that.”
South Elgin’s lead lasted a little more than seven minutes. It ended after the Storm took down Brandon Szabo in the box with 5:09 remaining before halftime, and Kuhn buried the ensuing penalty kick. It was the second time Kuhn has attempted a PK this season, and he’s hammered both of them home.
“When I take a PK I know where I’m going to put it,” he said. “I just place it where I want it. I’ve practiced it hundreds of times and know exactly where it’s going.”
Kuhn’s goal, albeit not in the run of play, had to be a huge relief for the Wildcats. Just a few minutes earlier, senior Tom Bludgen cranked a shot off the right post and prior to that Chisnell, Kuhn, Navarro and Sean Osoba had the ball in good offensive places but had nothing to show for such presences.
“Oh man, we had like 30 opportunities in the first half, and I was getting really ticked off,” Kuhn said. “I’m playing CDM and wanted to go up and finally bury one, because I was just getting so mad. Then they got the first one on their only opportunity, and we all kind of had a wakeup call, and we needed to seriously get one (goal) and pick things up.”
Kuhn beautifully assisted Navarro off a set piece just 4:07 into the second half, which was a sign of things to come. The second half overflowed with offense -- the teams combined for six goals.
“It was a set piece to Jose, and he buried it with his head,” Kuhn said. “Just a great header by him.”
It’s a play that the duo has been working on all fall.
“It was nice to get it, especially since he was wide open,” Navarro said. “We did all of our set plays well, but couldn’t finish them all off, but this was a great cross from (Kuhn), and I got lucky on the header. I got up and was able to win it.”
Bell tapped in a cross from Navarro with 28:27 to play to make it 3-1 as the Wildcats appeared well on their way to victory. Then, a speed bump suddenly appeared with 26:16 remaining when South Elgin's Lucas Reuitmann connected from long distance after Neuqua Valley goalkeeper Luke Molnar misplayed the ball as it skidded toward him to make it 3-2.
“It’s been tough with a young team making mistakes, but still we scored and even at 3-2 we were still in the game,” South Elgin coach Simon Brinklow said. “Then we went to just three in back. We gambled to try to get back in the game and that kind of hurt us. But at the point we had to try to do something to try to get a positive result.”
And what did the Storm have to do lose? Nothing. Unfortunately the risk didn’t pay off, and it soon put them in a deeper hole than they could escape.
“We kind of broke down in the back at the end, but we were taking some chances,” McCall said. “Until then I thought our back played pretty strong, and I thought we had some good scoring opportunities when we worked the ball through their defense a few times, which was good.”
Kuhn beat a pair of defenders with 14:39 remaining to give the Wildcats some insurance at 4-2.
“They went to a 4-4-2 and those two kids in the middle were kind of gassed,” he said. “So when you beat one of them, there’s all that space.
“Their centerbacks, one would step and the other would step off a bit, and you could just run in between them, and you’d be fine.”
Then, 27 seconds later Chisnell broke the game open with a goal.
South Elgin refused to give up. Fifty-inine seconds later, Jose Rangel scored for the Storm to make it 5-3 as the teams combined for three goals in a span of just 86 seconds.
That got Neuqua Valley's atention.
“We needed to do more earlier,” Navarro said. “We’ve been progressing throughout the season and obviously at the beginning of the game we were dominating, but we have got to finish it. If we finish it earlier we don’t have to get chippy and let it be so close.”
Kuhn came this close to getting a hat-trick when he blasted a shot off the left post with 8:29 remaining.
South Elgin will keep working to get back in the win column.
“We were able to compete, but it comes down to simple things we need to do like always marking our man and stuff like that,” McCall said. “Other teams are getting easy opportunities off stuff like that, so that has to stop. We just need to mark up.”
Starting lineups
South Elgin
GK: Christian Andrew
D: Edwin Ayala
D: Ryan Doherty
D: Grayson Downing
D: Nicklaus Harris
D: Jackson Lamb
D: Johsua Serpico
MF: Jacob Zupan
MF: Jose Rangel
MF: Zack Rys
F: Anthony Sisler
Neuqua Valley
GK: Luke Molnar
D: Ryan Jasek
D: Mac Lehman
D: Anthony Safo
D: Brandon Szabo
MF: Jack Bella
MF: Tom Bludgen
MF: David Kuhn
MF: Jose Navarro
MF: John Pochyly
F: Ryan Matthews
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: David Kuhn, sr., MF, Neuqua Valley
Scoring Summary
First Half
South Elgin – Daniel Quintana (Jacob Zupan), 12:14
Neuqua Valley – David Kuhn PK, 5:09
Second Half
Neuqua Valley – Jose Navarro (David Kuhn), 35:53
Neuqua Valley – Jack Bella (Jose Navarro), 28:27
South Elgin – Lucas Reutimann (unassisted), 26:16
Neuqua Valley – David Kuhn (unassisted), 14:39
Neuqua Valley – Jaison Chisnell (Sean Osoba), 14:12
South Elgin – Jose Rangel (Daniel Quintana), 13:13