Oswego, Neuqua Valley seek
reversals of fortune at Naperville Invitational
By Steve Nemeth
Group play didn’t exactly go as both Neuqua Valley or Oswego hoped, but both sides are optimistic that Thursday’s consolation bracket for the 19th annual Naperville Invitational can be a springboard for success.
Coach Joe Moreau’s Wildcats boast first-hand experience with an 0-2-0 to start last year’s tourney. Their next loss came in the class 3A state championship game against New Trier. That’s one heck of a turnaround.
Oswego boss Kelsey Champion certainly believes in the value of the invite when it comes to preparing a team for the remainder of the regular season and beyond.
“I was reading on Chicagoland Soccer that if Barrington was to win the title, it would have to beat a series of teams that could be potentially harder than taking the state series,” Champion said. “This tourney is just spectacular, seriously, 24 good teams. We played two good ones, and we’ve got two more just like those.”
Champion is referring to Thursday’s match-up against the Wildcats and a follow-up against either Lyons or Conant on Saturday. Despite each squad falling short of the championship bracket, they are heavy hitters in the local girls soccer community. Lyons is ranked no. 10 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 and Neuqua Valley, Conant and the Panthers all currently reside in the honorable mention section.
For Neuqua Valley, the struggle this year is all about scoring. The Wildcats (4-6-1) find themselves on a four-game losing streak, and they’ve been kept off the scoreboard seven times this season.
“We’re playing okay but simply struggling to score goals,” Moreau acknowledged. “Not scoring a goal in our last four games is not a good thing. We’ve simply got to finish the chances we’re creating. It’s not so much missing, it’s the finishing that we haven’t been doing.”
It’s a reality that the players are acutely aware of.
“Since the St. Louis tourney (early April), we progressed in terms of learning to play as a team, but lately it’s just that we need to score more goals,” Alyssa Bombacino said. “It’s just a tough time to be struggling because the Naperville invite is such a really competitive tournament that there is never a blow-off game.
"In some ways it seems like we just started the season the other day, but it is getting later in the year, and our goal is always to do better than the last year. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“Thursday will be a good challenge in terms of facing a team we haven’t played much in the past,” Hayley Singer added. “We were disappointed with our first two results, but the key is to start winning more balls all over the field as we’ve done before.
"Since the start of the year, I believe we improved a lot off the field, worked harder in practice and got better in learning how we move. The problem isn’t opportunities, it’s finishing the crosses or through-balls.”
Singer tops the squad with five goals, including three game-winners. Bombacino is next with three goals.
However defense has always played a role in Neuqua Valley enjoying seasons with double-digit victories under Moreau. Granted the 2015 unit had more offense, but after losing two group play matches last year, the 11-match win streak the Wildcats enjoyed until the state championship loss to New Trier included seven shutouts and a mere five goals allowed.
As much as Neuqua would like an encore to its 2011 Naperville invite crown, another trophy from the Class 3A state tourney would be even more welcome.
Under Champion’s guidance, Oswego (8-3-2) is developing the kind of balance between offense and defense that makes them a program to be reckoned with. Only two teams have managed two-goal triumphs over Oswego -- a 3-1 defeat against Waubonsie Valley (3-1) early in the year; and a 2-0 loss to invite co-host Naperville Central on its home turf. That group play opening loss, and a 0-0 draw with Wheaton North, are the only two occasions the Panthers haven’t scored.
“We’re doing the right stuff to score on a regular basis, and we’ve figured out how to do what we’ve planned on defense,” Champion noted. “Our overall chemistry from end to end has improved and the more we put it all together, the closer we are to maximizing our potential.”
Senior midfielder Erin Marchert realizes the challenge ahead of her squad.
“We have all the respect in the world for Neuqua, they’re well coached, have a lot of talented players, some we know from club play. But you play the games for a reason,” Marchert said. “We don’t back down from any challenge even if we’re considered an underdog. Overall our grit is our biggest asset.”
Combining experience with that determination is what makes Maggie Pagone a believer in her fellow Panthers.
“With a lot of juniors and sophomores, we’re still learning to use more and more of our skills. Finishing with a couple more wins against quality teams not only would prove we can score, but would make a statement,” Pagone said. “A lot of these teams in the invite we don’t get to see, so it really benefits us as we prepare for the stretch run and sectionals. However, we’re truly taking each game as it comes.”
Oswego follows the tournament with a visit to a seventh-ranked St. Charles East followed by a pair of Suburban Prairie foes the Panthers must deal with before a regular season finale at no. 8 Plainfield North that is expected to decide the Suburban Prairie Crown.
reversals of fortune at Naperville Invitational
By Steve Nemeth
Group play didn’t exactly go as both Neuqua Valley or Oswego hoped, but both sides are optimistic that Thursday’s consolation bracket for the 19th annual Naperville Invitational can be a springboard for success.
Coach Joe Moreau’s Wildcats boast first-hand experience with an 0-2-0 to start last year’s tourney. Their next loss came in the class 3A state championship game against New Trier. That’s one heck of a turnaround.
Oswego boss Kelsey Champion certainly believes in the value of the invite when it comes to preparing a team for the remainder of the regular season and beyond.
“I was reading on Chicagoland Soccer that if Barrington was to win the title, it would have to beat a series of teams that could be potentially harder than taking the state series,” Champion said. “This tourney is just spectacular, seriously, 24 good teams. We played two good ones, and we’ve got two more just like those.”
Champion is referring to Thursday’s match-up against the Wildcats and a follow-up against either Lyons or Conant on Saturday. Despite each squad falling short of the championship bracket, they are heavy hitters in the local girls soccer community. Lyons is ranked no. 10 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 and Neuqua Valley, Conant and the Panthers all currently reside in the honorable mention section.
For Neuqua Valley, the struggle this year is all about scoring. The Wildcats (4-6-1) find themselves on a four-game losing streak, and they’ve been kept off the scoreboard seven times this season.
“We’re playing okay but simply struggling to score goals,” Moreau acknowledged. “Not scoring a goal in our last four games is not a good thing. We’ve simply got to finish the chances we’re creating. It’s not so much missing, it’s the finishing that we haven’t been doing.”
It’s a reality that the players are acutely aware of.
“Since the St. Louis tourney (early April), we progressed in terms of learning to play as a team, but lately it’s just that we need to score more goals,” Alyssa Bombacino said. “It’s just a tough time to be struggling because the Naperville invite is such a really competitive tournament that there is never a blow-off game.
"In some ways it seems like we just started the season the other day, but it is getting later in the year, and our goal is always to do better than the last year. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“Thursday will be a good challenge in terms of facing a team we haven’t played much in the past,” Hayley Singer added. “We were disappointed with our first two results, but the key is to start winning more balls all over the field as we’ve done before.
"Since the start of the year, I believe we improved a lot off the field, worked harder in practice and got better in learning how we move. The problem isn’t opportunities, it’s finishing the crosses or through-balls.”
Singer tops the squad with five goals, including three game-winners. Bombacino is next with three goals.
However defense has always played a role in Neuqua Valley enjoying seasons with double-digit victories under Moreau. Granted the 2015 unit had more offense, but after losing two group play matches last year, the 11-match win streak the Wildcats enjoyed until the state championship loss to New Trier included seven shutouts and a mere five goals allowed.
As much as Neuqua would like an encore to its 2011 Naperville invite crown, another trophy from the Class 3A state tourney would be even more welcome.
Under Champion’s guidance, Oswego (8-3-2) is developing the kind of balance between offense and defense that makes them a program to be reckoned with. Only two teams have managed two-goal triumphs over Oswego -- a 3-1 defeat against Waubonsie Valley (3-1) early in the year; and a 2-0 loss to invite co-host Naperville Central on its home turf. That group play opening loss, and a 0-0 draw with Wheaton North, are the only two occasions the Panthers haven’t scored.
“We’re doing the right stuff to score on a regular basis, and we’ve figured out how to do what we’ve planned on defense,” Champion noted. “Our overall chemistry from end to end has improved and the more we put it all together, the closer we are to maximizing our potential.”
Senior midfielder Erin Marchert realizes the challenge ahead of her squad.
“We have all the respect in the world for Neuqua, they’re well coached, have a lot of talented players, some we know from club play. But you play the games for a reason,” Marchert said. “We don’t back down from any challenge even if we’re considered an underdog. Overall our grit is our biggest asset.”
Combining experience with that determination is what makes Maggie Pagone a believer in her fellow Panthers.
“With a lot of juniors and sophomores, we’re still learning to use more and more of our skills. Finishing with a couple more wins against quality teams not only would prove we can score, but would make a statement,” Pagone said. “A lot of these teams in the invite we don’t get to see, so it really benefits us as we prepare for the stretch run and sectionals. However, we’re truly taking each game as it comes.”
Oswego follows the tournament with a visit to a seventh-ranked St. Charles East followed by a pair of Suburban Prairie foes the Panthers must deal with before a regular season finale at no. 8 Plainfield North that is expected to decide the Suburban Prairie Crown.