Chicagoland Soccer

Redwings fight the good fight vs. top-ranked Neuqua

By Paul Johnson

Neuqua Valley’s undefeated girls soccer team doesn’t usually find itself with a zero in the scoring column at halftime.

But that’s what faced the Wildcats as they chased what they hope will be the first of many trinkets they collect in the next few weeks, the Class 3A Neuqua Valley Regional title plaque against Benet Academy Friday.

The plan at the half was a simple one.

“We talked about getting an early goal to change the momentum,” Neuqua coach Joe Moreau said.

The brief and simple halftime message couldn’t have been received much more clearly by Neuqua.

Sophomore Zoey Goralski, who seemed destined to make something happen after an active but scoreless first half, made a run down the right side and fired a cross to a waiting Noelle Leary. Leary punched the ball past stellar Benet goalie Claire Munaretto a mere 42 seconds into the half.

The goal wound up standing; as Neuqua improved to 23-0 with a 1-0 win. The win sets up a Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Sectional semifinal date with its rivals, the host Warriors, Tuesday.

“(The halftime talk) was mostly just to relax and play our game, on the ground, play to feet,” Leary said. “We’re very excited to get another chance at Waubonsie.”

Benet (18-5-3) arrived at Neuqua late, with the game starting 20 minutes late. But the delay certainly didn’t affect the eighth-seeded Redwings, who gave the Wildcats all they could handle in the first half.

“The girls were ready to play,” Benet coach Henry Wind said. “Sometimes it’s good, you come off the bus and go out and play. We got them prepared yesterday. We told them some stories of things that were incredible feats, and I think they believed in themselves.”

Sure, Neuqua had six shots on goal in the half, three from Goralski, but Munaretto turned them all away and the Redwings actually had some opportunities offensively. Junior Katie Liber had a shot on goal, Benet had the half’s only corner kick and the Redwings also had two free kicks that didn’t find the frame.

“They didn’t back down from any of their kids,” Wind said. “They just played hard and didn’t care who it was.”

Munaretto kept Benet in the game despite allowing the lone goal. She made five more saves in the second half.

“She’s a good keeper,” Leary said. “Compared to a lot of keepers we’ve seen, she can get her hands on the ball. We had to make sure we got some good quality shots on her because it wasn’t going to be easy.”

Neuqua was never able to put the game away, however, leaving open the chance of a fluke goal that could have derailed the Wildcats’ state title aspirations two games into the journey.

Five shots on goal and three corner kicks gave Neuqua ample opportunity to score again, but the Wildcats were unable to cash them in.

“They played hard,” Neuqua coach Joe Moreau said of Benet. “The first half, they controlled the play for a little bit. It was a different story in the second half. We played the ball a little too long in the first half. We don’t want to do that. We were not as smart with the ball. In the second half, when we did play it long, we played it to the corners and (Munaretto) wasn’t able to come out and get the ball. That’s how we got our goal.”

Goralski led the Wildcats with four shots on goal Friday and Meghan Kelley added three shots on goal. Gianna Dal Pozzo and Leary each had two shots on goal and Megan Oyster added a shot on frame. Freshman goalie Courtney Keefer only had to make one save in net.

Neuqua rolls into its rematch with Waubonsie not having allowed a goal in eight matches, stretching back to a 2-1 win over Naperville North on April 28. The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 35-0 in that span.

Neuqua actually trailed briefly in the first match of the year against the defending Class 3A state champions, a 2-1 win on April 5.

“They’re friends off the field,” Moreau said. “We’re friends with the coaches off the field. It’s fun when we get them between the lines. They’re solid team, obviously a great program.”