Wildcats use quick burst to defeat Storm on senior day

By Curt Herron

All season long Neuqua Valley has shown the ability to score multiple goals in a short amount of time.

But it's hard to imagine how things could happen any quicker than they did for the Wildcats on Tuesday.

Playing against South Elgin on a day where it honored 18 seniors, Neuqua found itself facing a rare deficit just over 13 minutes into the match.

The Wildcats were in a little better situation with 30 minutes remaining to play, but still were only tied at 1-1 against the upset-minded Storm.

But then it suddenly happened and a tight match turned into a romp for coach Tony Kees' talented squad.

Neuqua scored three goals within a span of just 33 seconds to delight the home crowd and stun the Storm.

The hosts added one more score for good measure and went on to capture a 5-1 Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division match in Naperville.

Jacob Brindle finished with three goals while Patrick Doody added the other two scores and both played key roles during the quick outburst.

Doody put the Wildcats (8-2-1, 4-0) up for good with 29:31 left when he tapped in a ball that nearly had gone in on a try from Austin Bergstrom.

Eighteen sends after that, Brindle got his first goal when he connected from in front of the net after taking a pass from Brian Benjamin.

The sudden onslaught ended 15 seconds after that when Brindle got free on the side and lined in an attempt that managed to find the net.

Brindle completed his hat trick a little over three minutes later when he fired in another line drive to close the scoring with 25:37 left.

Although not happy about a few things, Kees was quite pleased to see his squad walk away from the worrisome match with a convincing victory.

The veteran coach was especially concerned since his squad had only played once since September 14, a 2-1 victory over Bartlett last Thursday.

Now he's hoping that the Wildcats can follow up on their strong finish by playing well at this weekend's Gateway City Classic in St. Louis.

Click to hear coach Tony Kees interview

Neuqua had the best early chances as Bergstrom, Brindle and Sammy Al-Qada were all denied on shot attempts by Storm keeper Jarod Schieler.

Shortly after Mike Kozielek was stopped by keeper Tom McKinney on the Storm's first good opportunity, Bryan Irwin gave the visitors the lead.

Irwin's long attempt found the side of the net to give South Elgin (6-5-2, 1-3) the early lead with 26:51 left in the opening half of play.

That score came as a shock to Neuqua, which had allowed only six goals thus far, with only two coming in opening halves, both against Jesuit.

But the Wildcats defense stepped up after that, allowing only two more Storm shots on goal for the rest of the half and none after the break.

Click to hear Alex Karkazis interview

Neuqua managed to get the equalizer a little over five minutes after it fell behind, pulling even with 21:37 remaining in the opening half.

Bergstrom sent a shot from the side that looked like it might make it into the net but Doody made sure that it did get there with a touch.

While that score didn't immediately lead to any more goals, it provided a big spark for the Wildcats, who began to raise their level of play.

Bret Hildebrandt sent a long shot toward McKinney about a bit later and shortly after that, Wildcat Pat Kaindl was stopped on a short shot.

Click to hear Austin Bergstrom interview

Following the intermission, which featured a ceremony for the 18 Wildcat seniors, the hosts seemed to play with a greater sense of urgency.

They didn't have much to show for it during the initial 10 minutes, however, as Doody was denied by Schieler on a liner on the best chance.

But it was a different story the next time that Doody got the ball in a threatening situation, and thus began Neuqua's offensive explosion.

Benjamin started things with a steal and pass to Doody, who then sent the ball back toward Benjamin before Doody got it back and connected.

Right after that, Benjamin handed out an assist on Brindle's first goal and then Brindle was able to score again with 28:58 left to play.

After performing so well during the initial 50 minutes, the quick three-goal outburst was a big disappointment for Storm coach John Uveges.

Click to hear coach John Uveges interview

Brindle scored his third goal with 25:37 left and although the Wildcats had other good chances, they were unable to find the net again.

Meanwhile, the Storm couldn't apply any pressure on new keeper Marc Fasshauer, with the lone threat coming on a wide try by Ryan Piszczek.

Shortly before the midway point of the final half, the Wildcats challenged Schieler with close attempts from Joe Carlson and Sammy Diab.

In the final 20 minutes, the Wildcats moved people around, including having Andrew Solomon go to the midfield from his spot in the back.

Click to Andrew Solomon interview

Neuqua plays Collinsville on Friday and then meets up with Chaminade Prep on Saturday, with both matches taking place in St. Louis.

Meanwhile, South Elgin hopes to add to its title at Burlington Central when it takes on a pair of opponents at the Hampshire Invite.

Wildcat seniors who were honored during Tuesday's match included Sammy Al-Qady, Austin Bergstrom, Jacob Brindle and Will Butler.

Others were Joe Carlson, Blake Carson, Moritz Conrads, Sammy Diab, Patrick Doody, Marc Fasshauer, Pat Kaindl and Alex Karkazis.

Joey Kaufman, Nate Koska, Nicko Makropoulos, Tom McKinney, Oscar Ortiz and Andrew Solomon round out the group of Neuqua seniors.