Avalanche of Neuqua goals buries Redhawks

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By Paul La Tour

It would be easy to assume a coach and players would be satisfied after a four-goal victory against a quality opponent.

Sure, the Neuqua Valley Wildcats were pleased with their 6-2 rout of Naperville Central on Saturday afternoon.

But that didn’t mean they weren’t aggravated by giving up a season-high two goals, no matter that the Wildcats (11-0) had already built a 6-0 lead.

“We lost our fury a little bit,” senior midfielder Alexa Wilde said. “I wish we’d been able to keep it. We have to learn to keep it.

“They are a tough, physical team out there. They brought it to us, but I thought we controlled it well through the middle, the back and we combined well together.”

Wilde was one of five Wildcats to score in snapping a three-game winning streak for the Redhawks (7-4-1). Gianna Dal Pozzo scored twice, while Megan Oyster, Zoey Goralski and Allie McBride also added goals for the Wildcats, who have outscored their opponents 50-6 this season.

Sabrina Cisneros scored once and assisted on a goal by Nicole Ramberg for the Redhawks, who had allowed only eight goals in their first 11 games.

Things went Neuqua’s way from the start. Oyster gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead only 2 minutes, 14 seconds into the contest, scoring on a rebound of her own shot from in close against Jill D’Amico.

About eight minutes later the lead went to 2-0 as Wilde scored on a shot that smacked the far post and deflected all the way to the other side of the cage and in.

Goralski, a sophomore, made it 3-0 at 22:57. Displaying her remarkable speed, Goralski raced down the left side past the Central defense before depositing a shot behind D’Amico.

Dal Pozzo closed the first-half scoring with a goal at 17:45 to make it 4-0. Dal Pozzo booted a high shot from about 30 yards out after taking a pass from Wilde.

“They capitalized on every mistake we made in the first half,” Central coach Ed Watson said. “We created some opportunities and we could have had a couple goals in the first half. Not to say I would have been excited by 4-2 at halftime, but we did create some opportunities.”

The Wildcats showed they weren’t content to sit on their four-goal lead, popping in two goals in the opening 1:37 of the second half to stymie any thoughts the Redhawks had of rallying.

“We really made a statement in the second half by scoring two quick goals and keeping up the pressure,” Dal Pozzo said. “We knew we could do better than (a 4-0 halftime lead). Four goals wasn’t good enough.”

McBride got the first of the two, scoring on a header of a crossing pass by Goralski just 23 seconds into the half.

Dal Pozzo closed the Neuqua scoring on a similar play, heading in a cross by Meghan Kelley.

“I was wide open, so I was just waiting and Meghan served it right to me,” Dal Pozzo said. “We’ve been doing well getting the ball out wide and getting in for crosses. We seem to be finishing on those.”

The Redhawks answered for the first time six minutes later on the Cisneros goal. Cisneros sent a high shot from more than 30 yards out that took a high hop and eluded Neuqua freshman goalie Courtney Keefer, who finished with three saves.

Midway through the half the Redhawks struck again as Cisneros found Ramberg on the far post to make it 6-2.

“They are stacked,” Watson said of the Wildcats, who are ranked No. 3 nationally in the coaches’ poll. “They run hard at you. They run hard, make one move and bury shots.”

Prior to Central’s two goals, the Wildcats had only been scored upon by two Illinois teams – Downers Grove South and Waubonsie Valley. While they were disappointed by the finish, it wasn’t enough to completely overshadow the victory or the overall start to the season.

“Coming off the Metea win and the two wins (in the Hazelwood Showcase), I feel like we have some momentum,” Wilde said. “We’re carrying that momentum well.”