Chicagoland Soccer

Wildcats play well, fail to finish at Barrington
By Mike Garofola

Area fans were treated to watching two of the best in the land yesterday when Barrington hosted Neuqua Valley in the season opener for both clubs.

The host Fillies won 2-0 to end a two-game losing streak to the Wildcats, but it was quite clear afterwards that all parties involved have the bigger picture in their sights.

"It was a nice win for us, but obviously we have a lot of work to do, and I have to believe that (Neuqua coach Joe Moreau) feels the same way that I do, and that this result doesn't mean a whole lot, and that each of us is looking way down the road at the state tournament," said Barrington manager Ryan Stengren.

Stengren got everyone in on another bone-chilling March day, after watching his first two matches of the season cancelled due to the weather.

"We want to enjoy this win against a great opponent, but I know the girls understand that it was just one game, and that the work never ends until the very end," said Stengren, who is closing in on his 100th career victory.

"Neuqua probably had more of the run of play today, but I felt we had the better scoring chances so things we pretty even for the most part. Now we’ll just go forward from here."

By now, fans of the Wildcats already know that their all-everything star, Zoey Goralski, is lost for the season after suffering a torn ACL in a recent under-17 match between the U.S. and Germany. While the sensational senior's injury stunned her teammates it also sent a dash of reality to everyone on the club, including captain Gianna Dal Pozzo.

"When we heard that Zoey was injured in that game, we immediately were sad for her,” Dal Pozzo said. “But when the news came that she needed surgery, all of us were heart-broken because it meant we would be without one of our teammates for the year and that she wouldn't be able to play during her senior year.

"What it really means for all of us is that each of us will need to pick up our play to make up for her loss, and I really feel we have the type of players who will be able to do so."

The Wildcats all-sectional midfielder took what she preached seriously with a strong 80-minute performance against reigning MSL champion Barrington, to give Neuqua Valley a strong presence in the middle of the park.

Dal Pozzo and her teammates showed their head coach the potential for some wonderful stuff this season.

"You know, for a first match of the season and in some terrible weather conditions, I thought we did a lot of good things despite playing without Zoey, having several new faces out there against a real quality opponent," Moreau said.

Moreau will lean on his senior captains Dal Pozzo, Shannon Donlon, Hope D'Addario and Brooke Ksiazek to bridge the gap between experience and youth.

"We're doing a few different things this season, so it will take some time for it all to come together, but I liked the way we possessed the ball and got ourselves going forward. That was a good sign of things to come," added Moreau.

Barrington’s Marquette-bound Molly Pfeiffer nearly swept the home side in front just four minutes into the game when she rose up to head a quality serve off a corner from Mia Calamari, but the all-state midfielder thumped her header off the woodwork to save the Wildcats from chasing an early deficit.

"I should have put that one into the back of the net," Pfeiffer said. "But it felt good to finally beat (Neuqua) after back-to-back (3-0) losses, so maybe this is a good omen for us this year."

After dodging Pfeiffer’s early scoring chance, the Wildcats slowly found their way back into the match by making sure there would be plenty of touches by their midfield, while using the width of the oversized pitch at Barrington Community Stadium to insure all would be involved in the game.

Dal Pozzo and Katie Ciesiulka ensured team-wide involvement with quality distribution from the middle, and the benefactors of that distribution much of the time were Donlon, Sabrina Georgeff and Kiley Czerwinski, who all had a hand in keeping the ball in the Barrington end for most of the first period.

"We possessed really well, but we just weren't sharp enough in the final third," offered Dal Pozzo.

The extra time spent in the Fillies’ end tested Barrington’s newly-formed backline and for the most part, a back four led by seniors Emily Morin and Meredith Slott stayed organized while keeping their shape in front of second-year starting keeper Hannah Luedtke, who was tested just a couple of times between the sticks.

"We lost a couple of very good players to graduation back there so we're still trying to figure out some things there, as well at a few other spots in our lineup, but for the most part I really feel like the girls defended well," said Stengren.

Despite their early pressure, Neuqua Valley found itself trailing in the 12th minute when Barrington varsity rookie Kelsey Muniz went past keeper Courtney Keefer with a header off an Aimee Pierce helper.

Sophomore Jenna Szczesny brought a fine save out of Keefer at 23 minutes when she broke free down the right side, with the Neuqua junior stretching out as far as she was able in order to slow the pace of the low drive and send it around the back post.

The Fillies were under pressure just moments after intermission when a poorly-played ball just outside the box gave Chelsea Meyers a chance, but an ever-alert Luedtke showed her athleticism with a strong challenge off the line to help persuade Meyers' shot to go wide of the post.

The Wildcats’ Dal Pozzo, Czerwinski and Georgeff looked lively as the trio poured forward in search of an equalizing goal, but the Wildcats’ inability to create quality chances came back to haunt them when Szczesny struck against the run of play to double the Fillies’ lead in the 56th minute.

"Jenna and Molly will do a lot of good things for our attack this season, but they will need to step up a little bit more in the early going because we will be without Elli (Ackermann) for a few weeks to an injury, and her loss up top will be missed as far as scoring and with the hard work she gives us up there," said Stengren.

Both keepers did well to keep the other side out of the back of the net during the next quarter hour as the speed of play picked up.

Ksiazek sent Georgeff through yet again but Luedtke read it perfectly and came off her line to smother the scoring chance. Szczesny found the woodwork after another well-paced Calamari freekick started it all, and after Dal Pozzo went over the bar from 22 yards, Parrish did well to pull a looping serve out of the air from Muniz.

Barrington junior Carrie Caplin, brought on late by Stengren to provide fresh legs, cleared a troublesome ball sent in from D'Addario in the 76th minute, which became the last threat of the match from the visitors.

"It took us awhile to wake up after a very slow start, but I was pretty happy with our overall play and effort for the first time out, and I know once our new players get more comfortable, we're going to be just fine," said Dal Pozzo.

The Wildcats will host Batavia on Tuesday in their home opener before taking on rival Naperville North at North Central College on Wednesday, in a rematch of a sectional semifinal loss to the Huskies from last year.

For Barrington there will be little time to rest and train this week with back-to-back MSL West division matches against Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg, before Stengren watches his club take off for spring break.

"The girls know how important it will be to stay sharp and to keep up with their conditioning during break, and I feel like all of them are aware of how far that will go in our ability to succeed later on this season," said Stengren.