Neuqua Valley's scoring burst buries Waubonsie Valley

By Gary Larsen

Bang, bang, bang.

Teams may keep Neuqua Valley from scoring for long spells of play this year, but the three lightning cracks the Wildcats threw at Waubonsie Valley Saturday showed how much damage they can do in a short span of time.

With a 1-0 lead in the title game of the Best of the West tournament, Neuqua Valley scored three goals in four minutes in the second half, erasing Waubonsie’s hopes in one fell swoop.

“I saw a lot that I liked,” Neuqua coach Tony Kees said. “We played with style and class tonight. It’s nice to win, but it’s nice to win a certain way, too.

We played the way we can play. We eventually wore (Waubonsie) down and found a way in.”

Neuqua Valley (4-0-1) won 4-1 over rival Waubonsie Valley (3-3) at Naperville North, beating the Warriors for the second time this year and winning a tournament title in the process.

“It was a good night. We were disappointed that we let up a goal at the end, but overall it was a good night,” Neuqua’s Jacob Brindle said.

Brindle scored twice during the second-half burst that buried Waubonsie, giving him a team-leading seven goals this season.

Through 40 minutes Waubonsie Valley’s Johnny Akl fed the attacking third up the right side, resulting in a few chances on net for the Warriors that came up empty. Neuqua’s Scott Davis forced Waubonsie keeper Sean Elvert to a diving save mid-way through the first half.

Davis broke the ice in the 33rd minute, scoring on a head shot at the goalmouth. The senior forward’s hard play stood out on Saturday.

“What’s funny is that we have that element mixed in with this possession-oriented game, where (Davis) is flying all over the field,” Kees said. “He’s like this whirlwind of fury amongst the calm.”

Davis’ combination of skill and energy in the final third is prominent in every game.

“We move the ball around so well I have to pick my places on where to strike,” Davis said. “Sometimes we’ll pass the ball fifteen or twenty times and I won’t make a single run.

I just have to wait for certain moments where I see I can get the ball and make a play.”

Davis sent Brindle the feed for first goal, which kicked off Neuqua’s second-half scoring spree in the 49th minute.

“The first one was a good one-two combination, got a little dummy in there, and I just tucked it away,” Brindle said. “The second was a good attack by Will (Butler) off the crossbar, and I just followed it up.”

Neuqua topped Waubonsie 1-0 last week in a game played on Waubonsie’s practice field, where smaller dimensions felt claustrophobic to a Wildcats team that likes to use every bit of space on a big pitch.

The new field at Naperville North allowed Neuqua to play a different game against Waubonsie the second time around.

“We felt like we had something to prove, coming to play on a very nice turf field like this,” Neuqua’s Scott Davis said. “And we came through.”

“Jacob Brindle stepped up tonight, and (Ciesiulka) quietly had a good game,” Kees said. “It was the same with Patrick Doody, and I thought Will Butler really came in and had a nice game. He did a great job on the left and the right. He was fantastic. He was a spark for us.”

Butler assisted on Cale Brown’s goal in the 51st minute of play, Brindle’s second goal followed, and Waubonsie’s Reuel Erastus scored in the 75th minute after a Warriors’ corner kick.

“We didn’t like tying (Naperville) North, and we gave up too many restart goals in the tournament,” Brindle said. “We’re going to work on that. But I think we played pretty good overall.”

Kees also sees room for improvement for a team carrying a top ranking and extremely high expectations both inside and outside the program.

“There are chinks in the armor and we’ve got things to work on just like everyone else, and try to improve on the things we do well,” Kees said. “The late goal spoiled the party a little bit.”

Man of the match: Jacob Brindle

By Gary Larsen

When you watch Neuqua Valley play it seems like any one of a dozen or so players are capable of scoring on a given day.

On Saturday, Jacob Brindle stepped into the spotlight.

Brindle scored his team-leading sixth and seventh goals of the season in Saturday's 4-1 over Waubonsie Valley, in the title game of this year's Best of the West tournament.

Brindle scored first on a Scott Davis assist to give his squad a 2-0 lead in the game's 49th minute.

Brindle's second goal came when he crashed net and finished on a ball after Waubonsie keeper Sean Elvert made a diving redirection of a Will Butler shot, sending it off the crossbar.

“He’s a center midfielder and he picks his spots,” Neuqua coch Tony Kees said of Brindle. “He’s good in the air, he gives us rebounds. He gives us a lot.”

Brindle was glad to see his squad in action on the large and true new artificial surface at Naperville North.

“It was better to play them on a bigger field because we’re a possession team,” Brindle said. “We got to knock the ball around on the turf so it was nice to play them here.”