Lions fall 1-0 to Neuqua in battle of top sectional seeds

 

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By Paul Johnson

Soccer is certainly one sport where high winds can dramatically affect the play on the field.
In Saturday’s Naperville Invitational final between Lyons and Neuqua Valley, that was definitely the case.

The Wildcats were able to take advantage of the wind being at their backs in the first half to post the game’s lone goal, a 30-yard bomb from sophomore Hope D’Addario, in a 1-0 win over Lyons.
The win kept Neuqua unbeaten at 17-0 and gave the Wildcats their first-ever Naperville Invitational title.

“In the first half, we got a lot of good looks on goal because of the wind,” Neuqua senior Megan Oyster said. “The ball just flew by. In the second half, it was really hard to get the long ball in. Most goal kicks were painful because I had to hit it as hard as I could. They actually had the momentum in the second half a little bit because of the wind. That was a big factor in this game.”

The numbers certainly bear it out. The team playing with the wind had the better pace of play in each half. Neuqua had two other shots on goal, from Gianna Dal Pozzo and Noelle Leary, besides D’Addario’s goal with 9:40 left in the half. The Wildcats also had five other shots and four corner kicks.

Meanwhile, Lyons (14-3-1) did not muster a single shot in the half, on goal or otherwise. Its best scoring chance came at the 10:30 mark when senior Kelsey Holbert just missed a connection with freshman Emily Lange.

But despite not having the wind in the first half, and not generating much offense, coach Bill Lanspeary was actually not displeased with being down 1-0 at the break.

“I thought with this type of wind that we did a very good job in the first half of defending, but also getting up a little bit,” Lanspeary said. “Not just playing it up to them and then packing it in. We tried to attack as well. We at least had a little possession to relieve some of the pressure.”

D’Addario, who went with the left foot despite not being a lefty for her goal, wished that the Wildcats would have gotten their usual cushion and picked up an insurance goal along the way, instead of hanging on to a one-goal lead for nearly 50 minutes to finish the game. It was D’Addario’s second goal of the season. Her first came in a win over Metea Valley.

“We never want to settle for a 1-0 lead, because that’s not the best that you could do,” D’Addario said. “I thought that we could have gotten goals on more of our chances, but we’re thankful for that one that gave us the win. We could have gotten more, I think.”

The goal from D’Addario hit the inside of the crossbar and came down just over the goal line for the score.

“(Goalkeeper Maggie Orlowski) tried to get a hand on it,” Lanspeary said. “I’d be interested to see the relay on that, honestly.”

D’Addario had a shot on goal in the second half, and that accounted for the Wildcats’ lone scoring chance of the second half. Lyons managed seven shots in the half, but none of them threatened freshman Neuqua keeper Courtney Keefer. The best chance for the Lions came in the waning seconds of the game.

Holbert earned a direct kick with 10 seconds left, but it sailed high to seal the win for Neuqua.
Lyons was certainly tested in the five-game tournament, capping it off with Saturday’s loss to another No. 1 sectional seed in Neuqua.

“I know it’s a cliché, but it’s one game at a time because it’s been one big, tough game after another,” Lanspeary said. “You can’t look ahead. You play today. Every game has been a test. They’re obviously good. It gives us some things to work on and improve on moving forward.”

As for Neuqua, the Wildcats were certainly pleased to win the championship, but the celebration was quite subdued. After all, the No. 1 team in the nation has much loftier goals to accomplish in the next month.

“We really want to go to state,” Oyster said. “We’re always motivated to want to do that. We’re not stopping here. We got the trophy, but this is just the beginning.”

Comcast taped the game for broadcast. It will appear on CN100 Monday at 7 p.m.