Wildcats blank rival Warriors in regional opener

By Curt Herron

Neuqua Valley had good reason to be nervous heading into Tuesday's Class 3A regional opener with Waubonsie Valley in Naperville.

After all, the Warriors are district rivals, a well-coached team and only dropped a 1-0 decision to the Wildcats on September 7.

More recently, Waubonsie had won five straight matches and gone 6-0-1 in its last seven outings, scoring 21 goals in that span.

But Neuqua scored a first-half goal to grab the early lead and then took control with two more scores early in the final half.

When all was said and done, the Wildcats walked away with a satisfying 4-0 win over the Warriors in the Neuqua Valley Regional.

Coach Tony Kees' squad advances to Saturday's 2:30 finals, where they'll face either Plainfield South or Wheaton Warrenville South.

That semifinal takes place Wednesday afternoon, giving Neuqua (14-3-3) an extra day to recuperate and prepare for the title match.

Alex Karkazis scored the opening goal while Patrick Doody, Will Butler and Jacob Brindle chipped in with second half scores.

Wildcat keeper Hunter Hollingshead stopped everything the Warriors (8-11-2) sent his way to post his 11th shutout of the season.

Kees was pleased to see how his entire squad performed defensively against a squad that had shown goal-scoring prowess of late.

Click to hear coach Tony Kees interview

The go-ahead score came with about 15 minutes remaining in the opening half and was the first of three that Doody had a hand in.

Doody sent a free kick toward the net and Karkazis was there to put it in for what he believed was his initial goal of the year.

And on the other side of the field, Karkazis joined with Andrew Solomon in the center back to limit attempts toward their keeper.

Click to hear Alex Karkazis interview

Both squads had chances between then and the break with Warrior Timmy Miller and Butler both being denied on good shot attempts.

The Wildcat lead didn't remain at 1-0 for long, however, as they struck just 1:07 into the second half to begin to pull away.

That's when Brindle sent a shot toward keeper Sean Elvert, who deflected the ball toward Doody, who put in the rebound for a goal.

Just over a minute later, the Wildcats were back at it again when Doody sent a pass toward Butler, who connected from close range.

After first disallowing the goal due to an offsides call, the referee reversed the ruling and Neuqua led 3-0 with 37:42 remaining.

That reveresal troubled Warriors coach Angelo DiBernardo, but he also realized that the bottom line was that his team was beaten by a better squad.

Click to hear coach Angelo DiBernardo interview

The one-two punch definitely took the wind out of the sails for the Warriors, who seemed to understand their desperate situation.

Neuqua added another goal a short time later when Brindle scored following a pass from Austin Bergstrom with 35:09 left to play.

Doody and Tyler Yanisch exchanged line drives a few minutes later before Butler forced Elvert to make a diving save on a shot.

Sean Piegore sent a liner on a free kick to Hollingshead, who stopped an attempt from Gytis Savukynas a few minutes after that.

Around the midway point of the final half, Karkazis was denied on a header before Warrior Jason O'Brien saw a liner get halted.

Click to hear Nicko Makropoulos interview

Neuqua's players were understandably pleased with their performance after they effectively dispatched of their longtime rivals.

And the Wildcats know that they'll need more efforts like Tuesday's if they hope to advance further than they did a year ago.

Click to hear Blake Carson interview