Unbeaten Neuqua Valley dominant in posting third shutout

By Gary Larsen

Neuqua Valley's Scott Davis seemingly enters every game with the goal of putting himself in the hospital.

Davis threw himself around the field with a grit and a reckless relentlessness that perfectly embodied his squad's dominance on Saturday, in a 4-0 win over visiting Lyons Township.

"He is relentless, technical, and dangerous," Neuqua coach Tony Kees said of Davis. "He brings a lot to the party for us."

Kees could have been speaking about any of his players' performances against a quality LT squad that isn't going to lose many games this year, but got caught in a buzzsaw on Saturday.

"Neuqua Valley is outstanding. They're spectacular in a lot of aspects of the game. They're a handful," said Lyons' coach Paul Labbato. "It's a credit to Tony (Kees) and to their players."

"You can see it in their eyes and in the way they track the ball on the field. In every aspect of the field and every aspect of the game, they worked hard."

Early on, LT goalkeeper Sully Fox saw a sign of things to come when he had to dive to his left in the contest to stop a shot taken by Neuqua's Cale Brown. The Wildcats established early attacking pressure and didn't let up through 40 minutes of play.

Bryan Ciesiulka put the Wildcats up 1-0 with a blistered shot that tore into the back netting from 18 yards out. It came less than five minutes into the game.

"When you get a goal that early in the match, their confidence goes way up and yours comes back a little bit," said LT coach Paul Labbato. "It was a great strike on goal. No one is saving that ball, and it kind of changed the complexion of the game."

Fox made another outstanding save five minutes later before Neuqua went up 2-0 on a Patrick Doody serve from the left side that caremed in off a defender. Keegan Balle found himself on the end of a serve before halftime, knocking Neuqua's third goal in near the goalmouth.

"I guess it just hit off my back. We'll take it," Balle said. Nate Freed finalized the deal with a second-half goal.

"We have a lot of skill and a lot of guys that want to go to goal," Kees said. "But that's only part of the game. So to get them to buy into defending the way we wanted to -- like today -- that was the big sell."

Neuqua goalkeeper Jack Turanchik posted his third shutout in three games, in which the Wildcats have outscored Waubonsie Valley, Plainfield Central, and LT by a combined score of 9-0.

"Every game that has gotten progressively better," Turanchik said. "It's not just the back four. We're focusing the entire team on defending."

"We believe we can make a great run this year. But staying disciplined is the main key, staying focused, and not getting ahead of ourselves. Our downfall will be if we get too cocky against any of the teams in the Naperville area."

The Wildcats open play in the Best of the West tournament on Tuesday, taking on host Naperville North at 5 p.m.

"We started the season with the goal to score as many goals as possible and give up as few as possible," Balle said. "So far, three games in, we've just been working real hard and haven't given up a goal."

Kees was happy to see his squad defending hard all over the field.

"We had more contributions from our forwards, defending," Kees said. "When they had the ball wide we had a center mid, a left back, and a left wing converging. Every time a guy had a ball, I think he was rushed."

LT found the attacking third with more regularity in the second half, but Neuqua's back line stayed on its toes.

A defense that features Balle, Alex Karkazis, Pat Kaindl, Ricky Marton, and Will Butler has been outstanding thus far. "Credit my defense for all three shutouts. I haven't had that much to do," Turanchik said. "They've played amazing."

When you play net behind a team that possesses the ball as well as this year's Wildcats, you don't always have to field a lot of shots on goal. Turanchik was ready late in the contest, tipping a laser over the crossbar.

"Look at the free kick he saved," Kees said. "That was a rocket, and that was his first test of the game."

"You have to stay mentally tuned in, the whole game, every single play. Staying loud and concentrated is the key," Turanchik said. "The key is just communicating with your defense, and if you have to make one or two saves you have to step up to the game."

Player of the match: Keegan Balle

By Gary Larsen

After his squad's 4-0 win over LT, Neuqua coach Tony Kees could have singled out any one of a dozen players that came ready to play on Saturday.

"It's like splitting hairs but in a game like this, I look at the organizers," Kees said. "A guy like Keegan."

Central defender Keegan Balle has done his job with steady consistency since joining the team this year. Balled transferred to Neuqua Valley from Lincoln-Way Central before the season.

"Tony's a great coach, I love hangining out with my friend from the Fire, and the school is great," Balle said. "Great education, great academics, and great athletics."

Balle's presence on Neuqua's back line has paid dividends since Day One.

"He's the vocal guy in back, pushing guys here and there, so that when opposing players have the ball they don't have anywhere to go," Kees said.

"He's one of the best communicators of any kid that I've ever coached. He's real good at organizing, at what we call the other team's outlets."

Balle has embraced his role as a chief communicator in back.

"It goes back to practice. Every day we'll work on our back four and the two holding mids in front of them."

"We try to have as many people talk as possible, and certain guys in the back have certain roles. Outside backs talk and organize and me and Rick (Marton) and Jack (Turanchik) just kind of control the back."

The senior's field intelligence keys his game in back.

"When we have the ball we're already trying to sort out where they're going to go with it when we lose it," Kees said. "He's anticipating that and pushing and pulling guys where they need to go."

"He's very good at that and he's very articulate. He doesn't speak in genereal terms. He's very specific, which is a rare quality for a defender."

"He can hit balls over the top, or he can play short balls in the pocket. He's a pretty complete player."