Wildcats strike quickly in second half to defeat Redwings

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO GALLERY COURTESY OF LUANNE HOLLINGSHEAD

By Curt Herron

Over the years, Tony Kees has given his share of motivational or inspirational halftime speeches in an effort to fire up one of his teams.

But at Thursday's Best of the West Tournament, the veteran coach didn't say much to his Neuqua Valley players following their opening half against Benet Academy.

Instead he left it up to the Wildcats to go out and look for something to spur them on in the wake of a fourth-straight half featuring few offensive threats.

And based on how Neuqua went out and performed during the final 40 minutes of play against the Redwings, the silent approach worked wonders.

The Wildcats stunned Benet by scoring a pair of goals within the initial 6:44 of the second half and later added another score to claim a 3-0 win in Naperville.

Jacob Brindle collected the first and last goals, which were both set up by corner kicks from Will Butler.

In addition, Brindle handed out an assist on the middle score, which was recorded by Nicko Makropoulos.

The three-goal half was Neuqua's most productive since it opened the season with a four-goal outburst in the opening half against St. Charles East.

After scoring a pair of goals in the first half against Lyons Township, the Wildcats didn't threaten after the break and settled for a 2-2 draw.

Then in Tuesday's Best of the West opener against Naperville North, the Wildcats were easily outshot by the Huskies but managed to claim a 1-0 win.

As a result of Thursday's victory, the Wildcats (3-0-1) improved to 2-0 in pool play heading into Saturday's noon match with Lincoln-Way Central.

Neuqua advances to Saturday's 6 p.m. championship match at Naperville Central, where it will meet either Fremd or the hosts.

Click to hear coach Tony Kees interview

Following a fairly even opening half which saw neither squad really seriously threaten, the Wildcats quickly went on the attack following the break.

Pat Kaindl fired off the initial shot of the second half 95 seconds in and then Brindle connected 91 seconds later to put Neuqua ahead for good.

With 36:54 remaining in the match, Butler sent a corner directly in front of the net and Brindle was perfectly-positioned to head the ball in.

Benet (2-1-1) tried to respond to that score just over two minutes later but a header from Joe Menconi was grabbed by keeper Hunter Hollingshead.

A short time later, the Wildcats were at it again and this time put together a nice sequence of passes which resulted in the match's second goal.

Patrick Doody started things off after taking possession of a loose ball and he then passed off to Butler, who forwarded the ball to Brindle.

The match's scorer of the first and third goals sent a perfect pass to Makropoulos, who connected from close range with 33:16 left to play.

Click to hear Nicko Makropoulos interview

Neuqua kept up the pressure as Doody was stopped on a threatening corner kick and a later line drive while Kaindl was denied on a free kick.

Benet had a couple of chances during the final 11 minutes, but Hollingshead stopped a shot from Sean Mogan and a free kick from Hunter Miller.

The Wildcats also had a pair of good opportunities during that span, but Sammy Diab was stopped on a header and sent a shot wide of the net.

Neuqua added a final score with 4:58 remaining when Brindle made a diving header to cap another well-placed ball on another corner from Butler.

Hollingshead posted his third shutout in four matches and benefited from the work of defenders such as Andrew Solomon, A.K. Karkazis and Kaindl.

Benet had scored eight goals during its first three matches, including three apiece in victories over Lincoln-Way Central and Waubonsie Valley.

Click to hear Pat Kaindl interview

During the opening half, Butler provided Neuqua's best scoring chances with a line drive and a grounder in the opening 13 minutes of play.

Shortly after the midway point of the first half, Benet's Brian Morefield briefly got free but his short try was stopped by Hollingshead.

A few minutes later, Doody looked like he might be able to get off a close-range attempt but efforts were thwarted by defender Ryan Reilly.

Benet had a few more chances in the final 12 minutes of the first half but the Wildcat keeper stopped shots from Morefield, Mogan and Miller.

Redwings coach Sean Wesley handed out plenty of praise to the Wildcats, who he admitted defeated his big, physical squad at their own game.

Click to hear coach Sean Wesley interview

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