Benet soars but Neuqua Valley rallies for draw
Wildcats erase 2-goal deficit vs. Redwings
By Steve Nemeth
Viewing Thursday’s non-conference 3-3 draw from Benet’s visit to Neuqua Valley is like the eternal optimist-pessimist debate: is the glass half-full or half-empty?
Yes, Neuqua scored first but the visitors not only took a 2-1 halftime lead, they went on to build a two-goal lead. However, the host Wildcats came through in crunch time for the tie.
“This really was two quality teams with different styles going at it hard,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “We believed we had the better of it for most of the game, but they had the better beginning and end. I just believe we have a lot of positives to build on.”
Challenging schedules may be the primary reason neither team appears in the Chicagoland Soccer Poll at present, but that could certainly change before the post-season arrives.
Even with the stalemate, Benet sports a 5-1-2 record, including a perfect 2-0 mark in East Suburban Catholic Conference play, which comprises six of the Redwings’ next seven outings. All of which should give Benet a leg up when returning to the Class 2A state tourney.
Despite a 5-4-1 overall ledger, Neuqua is 1-1 in the rugged DuPage Valley Conference with six league games remaining.
The Wildcats got the early jump, 8:17 into the match, when Calum Nettleton’s textbook assist enabled Josh Kolzow to drill a 14-yarder from the left wing.
“Cal had a great ball played through to me where I had a great look to get us off to a good start,” Kolzow said. “Unfortunately, we’re still make some mistakes defensively and it put us behind. Coming back from a two-goal deficit says a lot about our fight.”
Wildcat starting goalie Jonathan Kesler stretched high to grab a rushed chip shot by the Redwings’ Ben Kelly. But three minutes later, with 23:52 left in the opening half, Kelly raced past a Neuqua defender to catch up to a set-up from Franklin Rutkowski.
The Redwing senior scored from 12 yards out to make it 1-1.
“The keeper was too far back on his line, giving me a good chance to either side, and I decided to go left and it was good,” Kelly recalled.
That led to some back-and-forth play, with the Wildcats’ Michael Hammond blasting a shot from distance that saw Benet keeper Brian Gould yield a brief rebound before covering it. The Redwings’ Nichalos Trakszelis was wide left before another Benet attack resulted in a Neuqua defender heading the ball so that Kesler had to punch it wide.
A Wildcats corner led to a Spencer Wiese header sailing a little too high, before a Redwings breakaway for Kelly ended with Gould making a huge save.
Unfortunately for the Neuqua goalie, he wasn’t so fortunate with 1:47 left before halftime. That’s when Kelly collected the ricochet from a scramble in front of the Wildcats’ net, and knocked in a 13-yarder for his team-high ninth goal of the year.
“On that second goal, Franklin made another good pass ahead and Connor (Mote) was there to back me up in a scramble and the ball swung my way, and I was able to put it in,” Kelly said.
Just 9:07 into the second half, Benet led 3-1 thanks to Mote’s assist on a Rutkowski goal, his fifth of the season to go with a team-best six assists. It was Mote’s third assist.
“I was just trying to contribute any way I could, hustling is the way I try to play,” Rutkowski said. “I thought I could have done more defensively, especially at the end.”
That frustration with the final tally was evident by the Redwings’ post-match body posture.
“It is very frustrating,” Kelly admitted. “Even if it’s a non-conference game, give up a lead is something we don’t ever want to do. They’re a good team, but we let up some.
And especially on the third goal, Neuqua took advantage of that.”
Wesley felt Kelly’s pain.
“Ahead 3-1 we were looking good but giving up those last two goals was tough to swallow,” Wesley added. “At the same time, they may be in many ways the best team we’ve played. They’re organized, big, strong, and clearly they don’t give up.”
Neuqua put together a series of offensive rushes, starting with a miss-played clear that was put back on net but sailed wide, and a header that was too high, before Billy Heniades got the rebound of an Antonio Magno rocket to score with 22:52 remaining.
Heniades had a breakaway shortly after, but lacked any support and the Wildcats had to regroup. The clock ticked down to 2:55 when Nettleton once again found Henaides, this time for a stellar eight-yard header inside the right post.
“We had switched to more of a 3-5-2 to keep the ball in their half, and I saw the ball go to Calum. I knew he’d be crossing it and I needed to get a head on it. Fortunately, it had a little inward spin that helped me,” Heniades said. “Coming off the field on a high note definitely makes it feel like we won.”
Pointing to the quality of the passes plus the importance of finishing, Neuqua coach Arnoldo Gonzalez made a strong case for Henaides and Nettleton to share Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match accolade.
“No question, Henaides was in the right place at the right time, but that speaks to how he plays inside the 18. He always gets into position to make things happen. His work ethic is never to be questioned,” Gonzalez said.
“Unfortunately for us there was a stretch when we really needed to be better as a team. Calum was the key to trying to bring the team together. He works his tail off and demonstrated the difference communication makes.
“Considering the quality of the opponent, to fight back for a draw does feel like a ‘W’. I’d also want to credit guys like David Kuhn and Amish Gupta who came in and made big contributions with the 10 to 15 minutes they gave us.”
Neuqua welcomes Lakes Forest for Saturday’s high-noon contest that will serve as the Wildcats’ Senior Day recognition outing. Then comes six DVC matches within the last eight games of the regular season slate.
Benet remains on the road for its next two games, against ESCC rivals. The Redwings play at St. Patrick on Monday, and travel to Joliet Catholic on Wednesday.
Starting lineups
Benet
G Brian Gould
D Matt Long
D Bennett Curtis
D Charlie Kane
D Devin Martini
M Nick Renfro
M Connor Mote
M Juan Pinto
F Ben Kelly
F Franklin Rutikowski
F Nicholas Trakszelis
Neuqua Valley
GK Jonathan Kesler
D Daniel Laverde
D Ben Mark
D Spencer Wiese
D Bill Provost
M Josh Kolzow
M Michael Hammond
M Parker Domschke
M Emerson Beinhauer
F Billy Heniades
F Calum Nettleton
Men of the Match: Billy Heniades, F, and Calum Nettleton, M, Neuqua Valley
Referees: Michael Moore (center), Jen Wegner, Doug Neufeldt
Game summary
Neuqua Valley 3, Benet 3
Benet 2 1 -- 3
Neuqua Valley 1 2 -- 3
Scoring
NV - Kolzow 14-yarder from left wing (Nettleton assist), 9th minute
B - Kelly races past defender for 12-yarder right of center (Rutkowski), 17th minute
B - Kelly 13-yarder inside right post following loose ball (unassisted), 39th minute
B - Rutkowski 15-yarder from far right side (Mote assist), 50th minute
NV - Heniades follow-up 9-yard finish off block (Magno assist), 58th minute
NV - Heniades 8-yard header inside right post (Nettleton assist), 78th minute
Shots
B 6 - 3 -- 9
NV 8 - 8 -- 16
Shots on goal
B 4 - 2 -- 6
NV 4 - 4 -- 8
Saves
B (Gould) 3 - 2 -- 5
NV (Kesler/Hartsock) 2 - 1 -- 3
Wildcats erase 2-goal deficit vs. Redwings
By Steve Nemeth
Viewing Thursday’s non-conference 3-3 draw from Benet’s visit to Neuqua Valley is like the eternal optimist-pessimist debate: is the glass half-full or half-empty?
Yes, Neuqua scored first but the visitors not only took a 2-1 halftime lead, they went on to build a two-goal lead. However, the host Wildcats came through in crunch time for the tie.
“This really was two quality teams with different styles going at it hard,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “We believed we had the better of it for most of the game, but they had the better beginning and end. I just believe we have a lot of positives to build on.”
Challenging schedules may be the primary reason neither team appears in the Chicagoland Soccer Poll at present, but that could certainly change before the post-season arrives.
Even with the stalemate, Benet sports a 5-1-2 record, including a perfect 2-0 mark in East Suburban Catholic Conference play, which comprises six of the Redwings’ next seven outings. All of which should give Benet a leg up when returning to the Class 2A state tourney.
Despite a 5-4-1 overall ledger, Neuqua is 1-1 in the rugged DuPage Valley Conference with six league games remaining.
The Wildcats got the early jump, 8:17 into the match, when Calum Nettleton’s textbook assist enabled Josh Kolzow to drill a 14-yarder from the left wing.
“Cal had a great ball played through to me where I had a great look to get us off to a good start,” Kolzow said. “Unfortunately, we’re still make some mistakes defensively and it put us behind. Coming back from a two-goal deficit says a lot about our fight.”
Wildcat starting goalie Jonathan Kesler stretched high to grab a rushed chip shot by the Redwings’ Ben Kelly. But three minutes later, with 23:52 left in the opening half, Kelly raced past a Neuqua defender to catch up to a set-up from Franklin Rutkowski.
The Redwing senior scored from 12 yards out to make it 1-1.
“The keeper was too far back on his line, giving me a good chance to either side, and I decided to go left and it was good,” Kelly recalled.
That led to some back-and-forth play, with the Wildcats’ Michael Hammond blasting a shot from distance that saw Benet keeper Brian Gould yield a brief rebound before covering it. The Redwings’ Nichalos Trakszelis was wide left before another Benet attack resulted in a Neuqua defender heading the ball so that Kesler had to punch it wide.
A Wildcats corner led to a Spencer Wiese header sailing a little too high, before a Redwings breakaway for Kelly ended with Gould making a huge save.
Unfortunately for the Neuqua goalie, he wasn’t so fortunate with 1:47 left before halftime. That’s when Kelly collected the ricochet from a scramble in front of the Wildcats’ net, and knocked in a 13-yarder for his team-high ninth goal of the year.
“On that second goal, Franklin made another good pass ahead and Connor (Mote) was there to back me up in a scramble and the ball swung my way, and I was able to put it in,” Kelly said.
Just 9:07 into the second half, Benet led 3-1 thanks to Mote’s assist on a Rutkowski goal, his fifth of the season to go with a team-best six assists. It was Mote’s third assist.
“I was just trying to contribute any way I could, hustling is the way I try to play,” Rutkowski said. “I thought I could have done more defensively, especially at the end.”
That frustration with the final tally was evident by the Redwings’ post-match body posture.
“It is very frustrating,” Kelly admitted. “Even if it’s a non-conference game, give up a lead is something we don’t ever want to do. They’re a good team, but we let up some.
And especially on the third goal, Neuqua took advantage of that.”
Wesley felt Kelly’s pain.
“Ahead 3-1 we were looking good but giving up those last two goals was tough to swallow,” Wesley added. “At the same time, they may be in many ways the best team we’ve played. They’re organized, big, strong, and clearly they don’t give up.”
Neuqua put together a series of offensive rushes, starting with a miss-played clear that was put back on net but sailed wide, and a header that was too high, before Billy Heniades got the rebound of an Antonio Magno rocket to score with 22:52 remaining.
Heniades had a breakaway shortly after, but lacked any support and the Wildcats had to regroup. The clock ticked down to 2:55 when Nettleton once again found Henaides, this time for a stellar eight-yard header inside the right post.
“We had switched to more of a 3-5-2 to keep the ball in their half, and I saw the ball go to Calum. I knew he’d be crossing it and I needed to get a head on it. Fortunately, it had a little inward spin that helped me,” Heniades said. “Coming off the field on a high note definitely makes it feel like we won.”
Pointing to the quality of the passes plus the importance of finishing, Neuqua coach Arnoldo Gonzalez made a strong case for Henaides and Nettleton to share Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match accolade.
“No question, Henaides was in the right place at the right time, but that speaks to how he plays inside the 18. He always gets into position to make things happen. His work ethic is never to be questioned,” Gonzalez said.
“Unfortunately for us there was a stretch when we really needed to be better as a team. Calum was the key to trying to bring the team together. He works his tail off and demonstrated the difference communication makes.
“Considering the quality of the opponent, to fight back for a draw does feel like a ‘W’. I’d also want to credit guys like David Kuhn and Amish Gupta who came in and made big contributions with the 10 to 15 minutes they gave us.”
Neuqua welcomes Lakes Forest for Saturday’s high-noon contest that will serve as the Wildcats’ Senior Day recognition outing. Then comes six DVC matches within the last eight games of the regular season slate.
Benet remains on the road for its next two games, against ESCC rivals. The Redwings play at St. Patrick on Monday, and travel to Joliet Catholic on Wednesday.
Starting lineups
Benet
G Brian Gould
D Matt Long
D Bennett Curtis
D Charlie Kane
D Devin Martini
M Nick Renfro
M Connor Mote
M Juan Pinto
F Ben Kelly
F Franklin Rutikowski
F Nicholas Trakszelis
Neuqua Valley
GK Jonathan Kesler
D Daniel Laverde
D Ben Mark
D Spencer Wiese
D Bill Provost
M Josh Kolzow
M Michael Hammond
M Parker Domschke
M Emerson Beinhauer
F Billy Heniades
F Calum Nettleton
Men of the Match: Billy Heniades, F, and Calum Nettleton, M, Neuqua Valley
Referees: Michael Moore (center), Jen Wegner, Doug Neufeldt
Game summary
Neuqua Valley 3, Benet 3
Benet 2 1 -- 3
Neuqua Valley 1 2 -- 3
Scoring
NV - Kolzow 14-yarder from left wing (Nettleton assist), 9th minute
B - Kelly races past defender for 12-yarder right of center (Rutkowski), 17th minute
B - Kelly 13-yarder inside right post following loose ball (unassisted), 39th minute
B - Rutkowski 15-yarder from far right side (Mote assist), 50th minute
NV - Heniades follow-up 9-yard finish off block (Magno assist), 58th minute
NV - Heniades 8-yard header inside right post (Nettleton assist), 78th minute
Shots
B 6 - 3 -- 9
NV 8 - 8 -- 16
Shots on goal
B 4 - 2 -- 6
NV 4 - 4 -- 8
Saves
B (Gould) 3 - 2 -- 5
NV (Kesler/Hartsock) 2 - 1 -- 3
