Hinsdale Central's precision strikes down Neuqua Valley – 4/18/24
By Matt Le Cren
 
NAPERVILLE – Hinsdale Central’s backline got the job done at both ends of the field Thursday night.

Defenders Julia Marinaccio, Addisyn Krogstie and Adriana Giannini limited Neuqua Valley to five shots, and Giannini tallied the game-winning goal as the Red Devils opened the Naperville Invitational with a 2-0 victory at Naperville Central’s Memorial Stadium.

The game was played entirely in a steady rain, but the storms that struck southern Illinois stayed away.

Giannini, though, delivered a lightning bolt of a free kick to break a scoreless tie. The sophomore center back teed it up from 35 yards on the right wing.

“I’ve been practicing for a while,” Giannini said. “I kind of just wanted to get this one to help the team and get us motivated for the rest of the half.”

Giannini delivered a beauty. Her shot struck high on the inside of the left post and went in with 33:07 to go in the second half.

Giannini is one of two lefties who take free kicks for the Red Devils. The other is junior midfielder Camila Leal, who attempted a 20-yard free kick with 14 minutes left in the first half, but put it over the crossbar.

Senior defender Ryann Knapp had a good view of the goal.

“I knew that was going in from the second that I saw her take it,” Knapp said. “She’s left-footed, so it had some nice spin on it.”

The tally sent the Red Devils (10-2-0) soaring toward another impressive victory, and stuck Neuqua Valley (2-6-1) with another hard-luck defeat.

“I felt the momentum shift, and it fed our tempo,” Giannini said. “I feel like we totally sped it up, and we had more of a fight to try and score again.”

Hinsdale Central, which is ranked 21st in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, did exactly that 20 minutes later when Emily DiTomasso received a long pass from senior Cate McDonnell just on the right edge of the box. The freshman got a slight edge on a defender and finished inside the left post with 13:11 remaining.

As they say in tennis, that was game, set and match.

“It was a great first half,” Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said. “Second half, it was unreal the way we were playing.

“It almost reminded me of how we played Saturday versus (then-unbeaten and 12th-ranked) St. Charles North (in a 1-1 tie). Then all of a sudden, there’s a goal. and it takes the wind out of you. I really did feel that. There was a goal and we lost our mojo.”

That’s become a recurring theme for the Wildcats, who have competed well against a tough schedule but don’t have the results they would like.

“We had our moments,” Gonzalez said. “I think we’re just not ready for that, not ready to accept that challenge when we go down. When we go down, the game’s not over, and yet we can’t seem to bounce back.”

The Wildcats were outshot just 7-5 but came up empty on their few chances. Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Emeline McClenahan made three saves to record her fourth shutout.

McClenahan stopped a 20-yard shot from Victoria Jaimes with 2 minutes left in the first half. Then with under 30 seconds to go before intermission, she leaped to tip a 23-yard drive from Gabe Smith over the crossbar.

The Wildcats had two near-misses after the break. Lauren Milani fired a 22-yard shot that skimmed the top of the crossbar at the 22:15 mark and five minutes later a bouncing ball got behind McClenahan, but Claire Snodgrass cleared it out of the six-yard box before Alaina Chandola could get a foot on an open-net attempt.

“We said they are going to be well-structured,” Hinsdale Central coach Tony Madonia said. “They’re going to be well-organized by Gonzo. They will be technical and physical. They bring it every time.

“It’s Neuqua Valley, so we try to not look past anybody, especially a powerhouse like Neuqua Valley. A lot of their games could have gone either way. Hats off to coach Gonzo, and hats off to our goalkeeper and backline.”

That defense included co-captain Knapp, who came off the bench after missing six games due to health reasons. She’s slowly easing her way back into action.

“She’s is picking up a role,” Madonia said. “She’s saying, ‘I’ve been here. I’ve been in a supersectional game. This is what it’s going to have to look like.’”

Knapp refused to take credit for the Red Devils’ success. They’ve kept winning without her and junior forward Olivia Healy for multiple games.

“I think it’s all about the team, and obviously our opponents are all very good too,” Knapp said. “We just have a really good group of girls who encourage each other and bring each other up.

“I think there’s a lot of communication between the backline, and that starts off the field and carries on to the field. Same with our goalkeeper organizing everyone.

“It’s just checks and balances, keeping everyone in line and helping each other out, whether it’s the forwards talking to the backline or the backline talking to everyone else.”

Neuqua Valley has a terrific crop of young players, including six freshmen. But three of their top offensive players from the 2023 season are not playing this season.

Saginaw Valley State-bound senior forward Brie Clasen and senior midfielder Grace Petrina, a Wisconsin-LaCrosse commit, are out with torn ACLs. Junior forward Selma Larbi elected to play club soccer.

“If you do look at that comparison from last year, we’ve lost a lot on offense because Petrina added a lot of defense recouping balls and then going up the field. With Bri, we lost a lot of speed and depth there,” Gonzalez said. “So, we have a lot of possession, but we are having trouble creating some quality chances. It’s a bright future, but for now, it’s not helping.”

Group B play continues on Friday with Hinsdale Central hosting Sandburg at 7 p.m. Neuqua Valley and Sandburg will square off at 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
 

Starting lineups

Hinsdale Central
GK: Emeline McClenahan
D: Julia Marinaccio
D: Addisyn Krogstie
D: Adriana Giannini
M: Emily DiTomasso
M: Avery Edgewater
M: Tegan Steines
M: Peyton Rohn
M: Piper Bingham
F: Cate McDonnell
F: Claire Snodgrass
 
Neuqua Valley
GK: Quinn Sigal
D: Molly McBrayer
D: Alessandra Russo
D: Lauren Milani
D: Addison Guskey
D: Kate Wohlfeil
M: Victoria Jaimes
M: Chloe Orlow
M: Gabe Smith
F: Alexis May
F: Safa Jeffery
 
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Adriana Giannini, so., D, Hinsdale Central
 

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring
 
Second half
Hinsdale Central: Adriana Giannini (free kick), 47’
Hinsdale Central: Emily DiTomasso (Cate McDonnell), 67’