Neuqua Valley can't triumph over E'ville
Wildcats play to scoreless draw vs. downstate power Edwardsville
By Joe Lyons
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- After a five-hour bus ride that featured plenty of napping as well as the early stages of a bonding weekend, the Neuqua Valley turned in a solid effort Friday evening in the Parkway College Showcase.
The Wildcats, ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, played to a scoreless draw against Edwardsville, which checked in at fifth in the website's Illinois 10 poll.
The event, held at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex in suburban St. Louis, is in its 16th edition and continues to grow. This year, it includes 90 teams from all over the Midwest and featured 40 high school games Friday and 39 more Saturday. In addition, there were college matches featuring the women's teams from Culver-Stockton, Lindenwood, Maryville and William Woods from Missouri, Quincy from Illinois and Southern Indiana.
“We've come here every year of my career, and it's always been a highlight of the season,” said Neuqua Valley senior defender Nicole Mondi, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors for her performance. “It's always been a really good team-bonding experience. Tonight, we'll do skits, making fun of each other, and tomorrow we'll get to play again against another top team.”
Neuqua Valley fell 2-1 to St. Louis-area power St. Joseph's Academy on Saturday. The Angels are ranked third among large schools in St. Louis.
“We ask (tournament director Mike Skordos) to give us the best two teams he can find,” Wildcat coach Joe Moreau said. “Iron sharpens iron, and that's always been the approach we try to take with the nonconference schedule. We're always looking to play the best available competition, because that is what will help us most as the season goes on.
“Unfortunately, that means we sometimes have a tough time getting some of the girls on the bench as much time as we'd like. But they were very supportive today and that's good, too, because in the end it's all about being a team.”
Both Neuqua Valley (0-1-2) and Edwardsville (3-2-2) came away from Friday's draw feeling less than satisfied.
“It's really frustrating, because I thought we dominated much of the game,” Mondi said. “We played a decent first half and then came out a little shaky after halftime. But at the end, we created some really good chances and just couldn't finish.”
Junior midfielder Erin Sweda saw things similarly: “We seemed to control things everywhere but in the final third of the field. The movement and spacing was good and when we were able to keep the ball on the ground, we created some good chances. Late in the game, we had a couple that we probably should've put away. We just needed a finish, and that's something we've been working on a lot in practice. It'll come.”
The Wildcats, who've managed just one goal in their first three games to start the season, seemed to create a decent opportunity just seconds into the game when Allie Fullriede split the Edwardsville defense with a run down the middle. But a heavy touch at the edge of the box gave Tigers goalie Regan Windau a chance to come off her line to end the threat.
Not long after that, Windau punched away a dangerous corner from the Wildcats' Shannon Tagler. Later in the half, Neuqua Valley's Schylar Kingsley and Mondi tested Windau with shots -- Mondi's came on a long-range free kick.
Edwardsville created some of its best chances off corners early in the second half. Yanel Ortiz, the Wildcats' second half keeper, punched away a dangerous cross on one; on another during a scramble off a corner, the Tigers' Sydni Stevens shot over the top of the goal.
“The corners were dangerous; any time you get into scrambles like that, anything can happen,” Moreau said. “But besides the corners, I felt like we did a great job of limiting their chances. Defensively, I thought we did a nice job of containing 16 (Allysiah Belt) and 18 (Abigail Crabtree).
“Early in the second half, a lot of the game was played in the air and, with our skill, that's not our strength. As the half went on, we were able to keep the ball on the turf and string together a few more passes. And that's when we created our best scoring chances.”
Like Mondi, Crabtree has signed with Purdue University.
“It was a fun, getting a chance to play against a future teammate,” Mondi said.
Neuqua Valley finished the night with the game's best scoring chances. Alyssa Bombacino made a strong run through the Edwardsville defense on the left side of the box but pushed her shot past the far post.
A minute or so later, after receiving a pass from Bombacino, Kingsley went to the end line on the right side and delivered a cross that went through the Edwardsville goal mouth. Then, with time running out, Bombacino slotted a pass for Julia Rushing. But Edwardsville defender Ava Walls managed to block the shot and clear the ball from danger.
“Our defense has been solid all season,'' said Edwardsville coach Abby Comerford, whose team is ranked eighth among St. Louis-area large schools. “We defended well and stayed composed for pretty much of the game. There were some minor breakdowns there at the end, but we managed to keep Neuqua Valley from scoring.”
Like the Wildcats, Edwardsville has struggled to score this spring.
“It's definitely something we're working on,'' Comerford said. “We're working hard and moving the ball, but you have to score to win and so far, I'd say it's a work in progress. It's still early and we're confident it'll come eventually, but I think we'd all feel better if we'd start finding the back of the net more.”
Following its St. Louis trip, Neuqua Valley returns to action at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts rival Metea Valley in the Wildcats' DuPage Valley Conference opener. Metea Valley (3-0-2) is undefeated in two conference matches. The Mustangs, who also competed in the showcase, beat Visitation, of St. Louis, 1-0 Friday and tied 3-3 against Illinois 2016 Class 3A runnerup Collinsville 3-3 Saturday. The Kahoks are ranked fourth in Chicagoland Soccer's Illinois 10 poll.
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Kasey Gillespie
D: Shannon Tagler
D: Kailey Serna
D: Kayla Monis
D: Nicole Mondi
M: Alyssa Bombacino
M: Erin Sweda
M: Danielle Hopkins
M: Allie Fullriede
F: Julia Rushing
F: Schylar Kingsley
Edwardsville
GK: Regan Windau
D: Sarah Kraus
D: Hannah Bielicke
D: Allysiah Belt
D: Taylor Hansen
M: Paityn Schneider
M: Ashlin West
M: Megan Bowman
F: Abigail Crabtree
F: Jocelyn Wagner
F: Danielle Greathouse
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nicole Mondi, sr., D, Neuqua Valley
Wildcats play to scoreless draw vs. downstate power Edwardsville
By Joe Lyons
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- After a five-hour bus ride that featured plenty of napping as well as the early stages of a bonding weekend, the Neuqua Valley turned in a solid effort Friday evening in the Parkway College Showcase.
The Wildcats, ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, played to a scoreless draw against Edwardsville, which checked in at fifth in the website's Illinois 10 poll.
The event, held at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex in suburban St. Louis, is in its 16th edition and continues to grow. This year, it includes 90 teams from all over the Midwest and featured 40 high school games Friday and 39 more Saturday. In addition, there were college matches featuring the women's teams from Culver-Stockton, Lindenwood, Maryville and William Woods from Missouri, Quincy from Illinois and Southern Indiana.
“We've come here every year of my career, and it's always been a highlight of the season,” said Neuqua Valley senior defender Nicole Mondi, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors for her performance. “It's always been a really good team-bonding experience. Tonight, we'll do skits, making fun of each other, and tomorrow we'll get to play again against another top team.”
Neuqua Valley fell 2-1 to St. Louis-area power St. Joseph's Academy on Saturday. The Angels are ranked third among large schools in St. Louis.
“We ask (tournament director Mike Skordos) to give us the best two teams he can find,” Wildcat coach Joe Moreau said. “Iron sharpens iron, and that's always been the approach we try to take with the nonconference schedule. We're always looking to play the best available competition, because that is what will help us most as the season goes on.
“Unfortunately, that means we sometimes have a tough time getting some of the girls on the bench as much time as we'd like. But they were very supportive today and that's good, too, because in the end it's all about being a team.”
Both Neuqua Valley (0-1-2) and Edwardsville (3-2-2) came away from Friday's draw feeling less than satisfied.
“It's really frustrating, because I thought we dominated much of the game,” Mondi said. “We played a decent first half and then came out a little shaky after halftime. But at the end, we created some really good chances and just couldn't finish.”
Junior midfielder Erin Sweda saw things similarly: “We seemed to control things everywhere but in the final third of the field. The movement and spacing was good and when we were able to keep the ball on the ground, we created some good chances. Late in the game, we had a couple that we probably should've put away. We just needed a finish, and that's something we've been working on a lot in practice. It'll come.”
The Wildcats, who've managed just one goal in their first three games to start the season, seemed to create a decent opportunity just seconds into the game when Allie Fullriede split the Edwardsville defense with a run down the middle. But a heavy touch at the edge of the box gave Tigers goalie Regan Windau a chance to come off her line to end the threat.
Not long after that, Windau punched away a dangerous corner from the Wildcats' Shannon Tagler. Later in the half, Neuqua Valley's Schylar Kingsley and Mondi tested Windau with shots -- Mondi's came on a long-range free kick.
Edwardsville created some of its best chances off corners early in the second half. Yanel Ortiz, the Wildcats' second half keeper, punched away a dangerous cross on one; on another during a scramble off a corner, the Tigers' Sydni Stevens shot over the top of the goal.
“The corners were dangerous; any time you get into scrambles like that, anything can happen,” Moreau said. “But besides the corners, I felt like we did a great job of limiting their chances. Defensively, I thought we did a nice job of containing 16 (Allysiah Belt) and 18 (Abigail Crabtree).
“Early in the second half, a lot of the game was played in the air and, with our skill, that's not our strength. As the half went on, we were able to keep the ball on the turf and string together a few more passes. And that's when we created our best scoring chances.”
Like Mondi, Crabtree has signed with Purdue University.
“It was a fun, getting a chance to play against a future teammate,” Mondi said.
Neuqua Valley finished the night with the game's best scoring chances. Alyssa Bombacino made a strong run through the Edwardsville defense on the left side of the box but pushed her shot past the far post.
A minute or so later, after receiving a pass from Bombacino, Kingsley went to the end line on the right side and delivered a cross that went through the Edwardsville goal mouth. Then, with time running out, Bombacino slotted a pass for Julia Rushing. But Edwardsville defender Ava Walls managed to block the shot and clear the ball from danger.
“Our defense has been solid all season,'' said Edwardsville coach Abby Comerford, whose team is ranked eighth among St. Louis-area large schools. “We defended well and stayed composed for pretty much of the game. There were some minor breakdowns there at the end, but we managed to keep Neuqua Valley from scoring.”
Like the Wildcats, Edwardsville has struggled to score this spring.
“It's definitely something we're working on,'' Comerford said. “We're working hard and moving the ball, but you have to score to win and so far, I'd say it's a work in progress. It's still early and we're confident it'll come eventually, but I think we'd all feel better if we'd start finding the back of the net more.”
Following its St. Louis trip, Neuqua Valley returns to action at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts rival Metea Valley in the Wildcats' DuPage Valley Conference opener. Metea Valley (3-0-2) is undefeated in two conference matches. The Mustangs, who also competed in the showcase, beat Visitation, of St. Louis, 1-0 Friday and tied 3-3 against Illinois 2016 Class 3A runnerup Collinsville 3-3 Saturday. The Kahoks are ranked fourth in Chicagoland Soccer's Illinois 10 poll.
Starting lineups
Neuqua Valley
GK: Kasey Gillespie
D: Shannon Tagler
D: Kailey Serna
D: Kayla Monis
D: Nicole Mondi
M: Alyssa Bombacino
M: Erin Sweda
M: Danielle Hopkins
M: Allie Fullriede
F: Julia Rushing
F: Schylar Kingsley
Edwardsville
GK: Regan Windau
D: Sarah Kraus
D: Hannah Bielicke
D: Allysiah Belt
D: Taylor Hansen
M: Paityn Schneider
M: Ashlin West
M: Megan Bowman
F: Abigail Crabtree
F: Jocelyn Wagner
F: Danielle Greathouse
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Nicole Mondi, sr., D, Neuqua Valley
