NOTE: MATCH PHOTOS WILL APPEAR SHORTLY

When one side jumps out to a 2-0 advantage with less than six minutes elapsed from the clock, it usually doesn't result in a very competitive match.

And that's even more the case when the team with the lead is on its home field and enjoying a winning streak while its opponent has been struggling.

That's just the scenario that unfolded when South Elgin ventured to Neuqua Valley on Tuesday for an Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division contest.

Following a long bus ride which led to the match beginning about half an hour late, the Wildcats grabbed a quick 2-0 lead over the stunned Storm.

But if those in attendance, both on the field and in the stands, thought that the outcome was already determined, they were in for a big surprise.

South Elgin responded to its rough start by giving Neuqua all that it could handle and then some throughout the remaining 74 minutes of the match.

The Storm had some great opportunities in the opening half and got a goal back early in the final half to turn the pressure up on the Wildcats.

But to Neuqua's credit, it answered the threat and proceeded to hold off the visitors the rest of the way before claiming a 3-1 win in Naperville.

Thanks to two early scores from Ryan Ross and a late goal from Alex Liu, the 6-5 Wildcats have now won three straight and five of their last six.

Meanwhile, the Storm dropped to 4-5-1 after falling for the fourth straight time while seeing their winless streak extend one match beyond that.

"I thought South Elgin put forth a real effort to get back into the game while we kind of sat back and thought that it was going to be easy for us," Neuqua coach Skip Begley said. "They put some fire to us and we stood and watched a little bit.

"We've talked about how we have to work and if we do that like we did in the first 15 minutes where we make the ball do some of the work, we look like we can play and get some chances. But it's difficult when everyone tries to do it themselves.

"Once they scored, we realized that we had to get focused and make the ball do the work. After we started doing that, their chances diminished and they weren't as dangerous while we were winning some balls and doing a better job of keeping it.

"I think the kids are starting to believe that the old guy is right every once in awhile. We've got to really stay together and put forth the effort. We're pretty balanced and have some depth so we don't lose a lot when someone new comes in."

Begley hopes that his squad continues its improved play since it has two more key Valley matches this week which will definitely impact the race.

The 3-0 Wildcats play host to Metea Valley on Thursday and travel to 3-0 East Aurora on Saturday. Neuqua takes on 4-0 Lake Park on October 2.

One of the keys for the Wildcat success has been their ability to keep the ball out of the net. they've allowed just four goals in six matches.

Scoring has been a concern for the Storm, who fell to 1-3 in the Valley. Although they avoided a third-straight shutout, they again struggled.

While South Elgin had plenty of nice chances, it only connected shortly after the break when Quinn Uveges put a short clear into an open net.

"We started out horribly and that cost us," Storm coach John Uvenges said. "We gave up those two early goals and couldn't recover from it. But we did put some pressure on them and made a game out of it and had our chances.

"And the few times that we got some momentum it seemed the like the calls just weren't going our way, but those things happen. Right now we have to play a little better defensively, we're not picking up our man in 1 on 1s."

Although the start was definitely a bad omen for the Storm, the truth of the matter is that it could have been even worse than that for them.

Ross got free of defenders in both the fourth and sixth minutes and made South Elgin pay by putting in short efforts to put his team on top.

In between the early goals, Matt Padron had to clear a loose ball that was directed toward keeper Tyler Shipon, who played in the first half.

Then shortly after Ross scored for the second time, Jake Loncar sent a cross to Liu, who saw his close-range attempt turned away by Shipon.

Neuqua threatened again in the 12th minute when Ross sent in a free kick to Jim Kotowski, whose diving header was disallowed due to a foul.

The Storm started to apply pressure to Wildcat keeper Zach Goldstein a few minutes later when he halted a deflected try from Phil Saccameno.

Ross responded with a shot from the side that was thwarted and then Adam Smith was denied on a long free kick just before the half's midpoint.

South Elgin followed up on that threat with attempts from Tyler Piszczek and Isaac Perez, but the Wildcat keeper turned away both efforts.

In the final 10 minutes of the first half, Uveges was denied on a header and Sean Phelan cleared a threatening chance to keep it a 2-0 match.

"The first 15 minutes was great and it included excellent ball work," Neuqua midfielder Xavi Ortiz said. "But then we started getting too confident and started to slow down and when that happened, they started counter-attacking.

"They had some great opportunities in the first half and scored a goal in the second half and that's when we decided it was time to get down and dirty. We started working harder and communicating better with each other.

"Not all games feature pretty soccer. This is going to boost our confidence for Thursday's game against Metea. We're starting to get the flow of the game going from side to side by keeping the ball moving and letting it do the work."

Things started off well for the Storm in the final half when Uveges intercepted a short clearance and promptly connected in the 43rd minute.

Goldstein punched away an attempt from Padron a few minutes later but the visitors were unable to continue the same pace of threatening tries.

Shortly before the second half's midway mark, Munashe Nyamunduru had a shot deflected by Michael Cortes, who took over in goal at the break.

Nyamunduru sent the subsequent corner kick in front of the net but a short attempt from Eduardo Cruz was also turned away by the Storm keeper.

In the final 15 minutes, Uveges put a try over the net, Piszczek saw a long shot deflected away and Kotowski was wide of the mark on a header.

Neuqua added a late score when Jake Fritz sent a pass to Liu, who matched his jersey number (11) with the seconds remaining when he connected.

"In the beginning, we were passing the ball and possessing it and letting the ball do the work," said Cruz, a midfielder. "But after getting the 2-0 lead, people started getting lazy and that's when problems started happening.

"But 2-0 isn't that good of a lead because just one goal from them and the whole momentum shifts. So it was important for us to keep playing our game. Everyone picked each other up and we started playing more as a team.

"Right now we're just looking to stay undefeated in our conference and we have two more big conference games coming up this week."