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Neuqua's third strike beats rival Waubonsie By Eddie Burns
Then again, it should come no surprise how the Wildcats play and the outcomes that result from their matches. Neuqua dominated its rival for a third time and scored an impressive 3-0 victory against Waubonsie Valley to not only claim the Class 3A regional championship, but also gather its 22nd straight win on Saturday afternoon at Metea Valley High School. “If we want to be a great team, beating a team three times is just part of it,” Neuqua forward Pat Doody said. “You have to be able to beat teams as many times as they come at you. (Waubonsie) was just another team in the road that we had to get past.” Waubonsie sat back and allowed Neuqua to take the action to the Warriors. The Wildcats (25-0-1) had plenty of shots at the net, but had difficultly finishing until Will Butler’s restart in the 13th minute. Butler sent his restart in toward the Waubonsie net, the ball deflected off a Warriors’ defender to the far post where Keegan Balle was waiting and finished with a header to give the Wildcats an early lead. Neuqua coach Tony Kees said implementing Butler to take free kicks from the left side of the field is something new that the Wildcats introduced this past week at practice. “It was just a few days ago that we started experimenting with that, so that paid off right away,” Kees said. Neuqua continued to apply pressure and struck for its second goal shortly before halftime. “Scotty hustles -- that is all he does is hustle – nobody else plays like he does,” Doody said. “Once he got possession, I called, ‘Drop,’ and he laid a perfect ball right in the middle of the pile and I was able to get a good foot on it.” Kees agreed. “That is a typical Scott Davis play,” Kees said. “He doesn’t give up on plays and he gets goals because of it. That was a terrific play by Scott to set up that goal.” Davis could have had two goals of his own, but he had two shots hit off the crossbar and post. “We can’t make that kind of mistake at this level at this time of the year,” DiBernardo said. “It deflates you a little bit. I was proud of how we fought throughout the second half because they could have just packed it in after a mistake of that magnitude.” The Warriors were held without a shot on net in the first half, but they did change to a much more aggressive style in the second half and managed to get three shots on Neuqua goalie Jack Turanchik. The Wildcats put the game on ice when Bryan Ciesiulka had his direct restart blocked, but he managed to retain possession of the ball, dribbled around the Warriors’ defense and then fired a right-footed shot past Elvert. “We scratched out some goals off restarts and it was good enough for today,” Neuqua coach Tony Kees said. DiBernardo’s squad finished 13-7-1, with three losses coming to Neuqua and its relentless pressure. “They never stop,” he said. “They continue to counter and it doesn’t matter who you bring in from the bench -- the level of play doesn’t go down. They have a good, solid team. It is hard to find a high school team that is as good as this one.” Neuqua advance to the sectional semifinals where it will play Naperville Central at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at Naperville North. The Redhawks and Wildcats have not played this season.
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Man of the Match: Patrick Doody By Eddie Burns
Since the Wildcats claimed the title at the Pepsi Showdown in the middle of September they have dealt with their share of injuries. Leading goal-scorer Scott Davis missed a week because of an injury and Pat Doody missed almost two and a half weeks because of a bout with mononucleosis. Doody returned to the regular lineup in Neuqua’s regular-season finale at Brother Rice on Oct. 17. It has taken a few matches, but Doody appeared to have his feet fully back under him during Neuqua’s 3-0 win against Waubonsie Valley in a Class 3A Regional championship match played on Saturday at Metea Valley. Doody was involved in a several scoring chances and when he was doing that, he was creating scoring chances by sending volleys into the penalty area. “Patrick is a difference maker,” Neuqua coach Tony Kees said. “There are good players and then there are difference makers. Pat makes a difference for us. We noticed it when he was out with mono and we didn’t have a guy who could turn the corner and we had to play a little bit differently – he adds another element to our attack. He is a special player.” Doody is usually dishing out the assists, but he was the recipient of Davis’ hustle when he helped set up Doody’s goal shortly before halftime. “The goal we scored before halftime took something out of Waubonsie and just gave us a whole lot of confidence heading into the second half,” Doody said. With Doody back at full strength, it provides the Wildcats with another weapon as they move into sectionals. |
Neuqua Valley made beating a team for a third time in the same season a breeze.