Lions fall to Neuqua Valley
By Matt Le Cren

The first two goals of Sabrina Georgeff’s varsity career aren’t going to make any highlight shows.

But the Neuqua Valley junior has news for you: she doesn’t care.

Georgeff’s two goals late in the second half allowed the Wildcats to put the finishing touches on a 4-0 victory over Saint Viator on Saturday at the Naperville Invitational. Three of the four goals can best be described as gifts, but the Wildcats gladly accepted them.

“It was nice to actually come out and get two goals,” Georgeff said. “Even though they were pretty easy goals it was still a good feeling.”

Georgeff’s first goal came with 16:43 remaining in the contest when a 40-yard free kick by Hope D’Addario that Georgeff took away from Saint Viator goalie Samantha Stanley. Georgeff then finished from four yards out.

Georgeff capped the scoring at the 3:47 mark with a goal requiring a little more skill. She walked in alone on Stanley, hesitated and then rolled a 10-yard shot under Stanley and inside the near post.

“Honestly, I was pretty lucky,” Georgeff said. “I wasn’t sure whether I should cross it or shoot it but I went with the shot. Luckily it went in.”

Lucky or not, Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau will take it.

“It’s just nice to put the ball in the back of the net,” Moreau said. “I don’t care how.”

That the Wildcats (7-2-1) scored twice late in the game against a solid Lions defense while resting some starters ahead of Saturday’s later game against Wheaton Warrenville South speaks to their depth.

“We know that 2-0 is a good lead to have but that it’s also easy to come back from, so we talked about coming out in the second half and getting some goals early,” D’Addario said. “We didn’t get them early but we had Sabrina go in there and work hard for us and she finished the game off for us.

“She really brought in the energy from the bench. [Her job was to go] in there and work hard and she did that by following every shot up and on that one taking it herself.”

The Wildcats had a 2-0 lead at halftime thanks to some wizardry from D’Addario and Katie Ciesiulka in the waning seconds of the opening period.

D’Addario won a loose ball on the right side of midfield, then took two touches before looking to her left and finding a wide-open Ciesiulka streaking down the left wing.

Ciesiulka raced into the Saint Viator penalty area and rolled a 12-yard shot inside the right post with 12 seconds left in the half for a backbreaking goal.

“It was actually a little jumble to get the ball and once I had it at my feet I started to drive forward because I knew there wasn’t a lot of time left,” D’Addario said. “I actually didn’t see Katie at first because she was so wide and their team was so pushed over.

“Then I saw her sneak out and she had yards of open space, just the entire half [of the field]. I was like, ‘okay, if I get it to her I know she’s making that run, she knows how to make that run,’ and that was an excellent finish by her.”

Any team that concedes a goal just before the half can be demoralized, but the effect was magnified for the Lions (3-4), who had given up a soft goal in the fifth minute when Brooke Ksiazek scored after Stanley was unable to hang on to a long free kick from D’Addario.

“That’s a good team,” Saint Viator coach Mike Taylor said. “Sure they are going to pressure us, they’re going to have more opportunities than us because they’re more talented than us.

“Execution-wise they’re better than us, but if you don’t give up the first gift -- you don’t give up that one and you don’t give up various mistakes that we made like giving the ball up with 12 seconds left. Even if you give up the first one, you’re in the ball game.

“You’re chasing a 1-0 deficit. It’s a lot easier to come back from that but now you’re chasing a 2-0 deficit.”

Taylor said part of the problem is inexperience mixed with a lack of playing time. The Lions have played fewer games than a lot of teams because of the weather and have only five seniors.

Despite that, Taylor is optimistic the Lions can make another long run playoff run.

“Do I think we’ll be there at the end? Yeah, I think my squad is as good as it was last year,” Taylor said. “I really do. I just think it’s going to take them a little while to jell.”

One area the Lions have already jelled in is on defense, where fullbacks Liz Graff, Micaela Lonigro, Kayne Stanley and Emily Zahrebelski actually did an admirable job of limiting Neuqua to only a few solid shots on frame.

But Saint Viator couldn’t turn that into much offense at the other end, mustering only three shots. Neuqua goalie Hannah Parrish had to make just one save in recording the shutout.

“ You look at how well we moved it out of the back,” Taylor said. “We can take it from the goal mouth to the other end of the field in five or six touches, and I tell them if you can connect that together and…they did that on numerous occasions working it out of the back.

“When the ball’s in the midfield, it’s frustrating just because they are young and we haven’t played, but that’s why we play a tough schedule like this. That only prepares us for the state tournament. We just have to step up and start winning some of those games.”