AURORA -- Waubonsie Valley senior Ceci Galarza said that her team knew they had been thoroughly outplayed by Neuqua Valley in the first 40 minutes Tuesday.

“We had our heads down at halftime,” she said. “Everyone was a little bit discouraged.”

The visiting Wildcats, led by freshman midfielder Gabrielle Smith, dominated play before the break.

They did just about everything right except find the back of the net. In the end, that cost them dearly.

Waubonsie Valley, which found itself lucky to be locked in a 0-0 deadlock at intermission, made a big-time rally in the second half. 

The Warriors tallied four times in half number two to come away with a 4-0 DuPage Valley Conference win.

The final score was shocking considering how well Neuqua Valley played prior to the halftime intermission.

“It was a rough first half,” said Galarza. “They (Neuqua Valley) definitely owned us.

“In the end, I think we just wanted it more. We really brought it when we went into the shed (the Warriors meeting area) at intermission.

“We told each other ‘This is Neuqua. This is our rival, and we need to bring it’. And that’s exactly what we did.”

Wildcats coach Arnoldo Gonzalez was impressed with his team’s effort in the first half. Second half? Not so much.

“I just hope (in the future) that we can play both halves the way we played the first half tonight,” said Gonzalez.

“We just need to stay focused for 80 minutes.”

Neuqua Valley was aggressive from the get-go and almost took the lead with just four minutes gone in the game.

Senior defender Kate Wohlfeil sent a long ball to teammate Alessandra Russo, who drove toward the Warriors goal.

She fired a shot that just twisted past the far post.

Neuqua Valley kept the pressure on with more scoring opportunities.

In the 17th minute, Smith found space and curled a shot that skipped along the ground and looked like it was headed for the far corner of the net.

But Warriors keeper Lauren Bornhoff got there for the save.

Smith kept leading the Wildcats charge in the 24th minute. She found Russo with a great pass about 10 yards away in front of the Warriors net.

Russo’s shot bounced off the crossbar.

In the 26th minute Russo, who was outstanding in the first half, settled a pass from teammate Addison Guskey 10 yards off the line and launched a shot.

It hit the post and bounced away in the field of play, again denying the Wildcats a goal.

Just before halftime, Waubonsie Valley had a chance, but a shot from senior Zoe Evans just missed.

That sent two unhappy teams to their respective benches tied 0-0 at the break.

“In the first half, we were composed,” said Neuqua Valley’s Smith, a freshman. “We were able to connect our passes.

“Then as the game went on, we got flustered. We were more focused on scoring that first goal than connecting our passes and calming the game down.

“Eventually we had turnovers, and then we got goals scored on us.”

Coming out for the final 40 minutes, it was again Neuqua Valley that almost got on the board first.

In the opening seconds, Smith took possession of the ball and drove straight down the field.

She crossed to Russo at point-blank range. The shot skittered toward the left corner of the net from just a couple yards away.

But somehow, Bornhoff made the save of the game, diving to get a hand on it and knock it away.

“It could have been us with the 1-0 lead instead of them,” lamented Gonzalez. “We had that cross but couldn’t put it in the net.”

Waubonsie Valley counterattacked, and Galarza notched an inspirational first goal of the game that put the Warriors on top for good.

In the 42nd minute, the senior chased down the bouncing ball near the box, settled it and turned.

She drove forward and fought her way past three Neuqua Valley defenders before scoring from 14 yards to make it 1-0 for the home team.

“I mean, honestly, it was just crazy,” said Galarza. “I was just bodying through the whole thing past a few girls and I wound up getting a lucky goal. It really just happened."

The senior said she realized that the squad that broke through first would have a big advantage.

“I thought it (the opening goal) really brought the momentum for our team,” she said. “The moment was just awesome.”

Gonzalez said that the quick second half score was disappointing for his club.

“It’s a very unfortunate episode to get scored on three minutes in,” he said. “It just kind of deflated everyone, but we needed to stay focused.

“That is not the way we wanted to start the second half.”

Again, Neuqua Valley (4-9-1, 0-4-0) put itself in a situation to score. Just a minute after the goal, Smith had a great chance in the middle of the field, but a strong defensive play by Waubonsie Valley backliner Chloe Shaffer diffused the situation.

With 21 minutes left in the match, the floodgates opened for the Warriors.

Galarza, who earned Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honors, led an end-to-end dash down the pitch.

The ball was flared out to sophomore McKinley Ladd in the right corner. Her cross found the foot of senior forward Eleanor Oster, who delivered a bend-it-like-Beckham blast from 32 yards to the left corner of the net to make it 2-0.

Two minutes later, it was Oster who played helper.

She passed to Thanya Castelan, who sped down the right side of the pitch to just about the end line.

From 15 yards, the junior sent what was meant to be a cross to the front of the net, but the ball nicked the foot of a Neuqua Valley and went in for a goal.

Castelan was exhilarated by the moment, though not totally surprised.

“We’ve basically been practicing this a lot, this drill,” said the junior. “Tonight, we saw it on the field.

"Eleanor passed me the ball, I dribbled it up, crossed it, and it went in. It was awesome.”

The final score from Waubonsie Valley (10-4-2, 3-0-0) tally came in the 69th minute, when junior Katie Chapman outfought a defender and fired in a rocket from 22 yards.

Neuqua Valley had a few chances to spoil the shutout, especially in the 68th minute when Guskey hit the crossbar.

But a couple more stops by Wildcats’ defender Shaffer, who was strong the entire contest, kept the visitors off the scoreboard.

“We wanted this game,” said Castelan. “We’ve been training so hard.

“We pumped up our energy in the second half, and we were there to support each other. We all work off of each other. Once our energy is built up, it just keeps going.

“We’re always there for each other no matter who (the opponent) is.”

Gonzalez said that Neuqua Valley had better be ready for this type of competitive game with the postseason approaching.

“The records go out the window in the playoffs,” said the coach. “It’s just a matter of who wants it more.

“It could be just one goal that knocks you out of the playoffs.”

His stellar midfielder, Smith, agreed. She added that the way the upperclassmen on her team have been accepting of the younger players makes Neuqua Valley a dangerous team.

There are five freshmen and seven sophomores listed on the Neuqua Valley roster.

“Coming to this team has been very welcoming,” said the frosh. “We have really great team chemistry.

“The upperclassmen treat us with respect. That builds chemistry and helps us work hard on the field. We trust each other.”

Starting lineups

Neuqua Valley:
GK: Quinn Sigal
D: Mollie McBrayer
D: Alessandra Russo
D: Lauren Milani
D: Addison Guskey
D: Kate Wohlfeil
M: Gabrielle Smith
M: Chloe Orlow
M: Victoria Jaimes
F: Alexis May
F: Safa Jeffery

Waubonsie Valley
GK: Lauren Bornhoff
D: Chloe Shaffer
D: McKinley Ladd
D: Zoe Evans
M: Ava Kus
M: Thanya Castelan
M: Macy Evans
M: Taylor Ahmadian
M: Katie Chapman
F: Ceci Galarza
F: Eleanor Oster

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Ceci Galarza, sr., F, Waubonsie Valley

Scoring Summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
WV: Galarza (unassisted), 42’
WV: Oster (Ladd), 59’
WV: Castelan (Oster), 61’
WV: Chapman (unassisted), 69’