Mom sees Ciesla's 'special' goal

Tammy Ciesla hadn't been able watch her daughter Lauren play soccer this spring.

But Tammy got to see Lauren score an amazing and unforgettable game-winning goal to lift Neuqua Valley to a 3-2 victory over Naperville North in Tuesday's Class 3A Metea Valley sectional semifinal in Aurora.

Ciesla connected on a 35-yard free kick into the wind, which landed untouched in the back of the net with only 55.8 seconds remaining.

"The plan was to get it on goal and I think I did a good job of getting it on goal," she said. "I'm so speechless right now. I've been waiting for that for four years and am at a loss for words."

Her mother wasn't at a loss for words. Recovering from brain surgery and finally well enough to see her daughter play, Tammy Ciesla sat in the press box during the game and erupted from her seat to let the press know that her daughter just scored the go-ahead goal.

"It is the most special thing," Lauren Ciesla said. "This is the second game my mom has seen my play in a year. She had her second brain surgery so just to be able to score that goal and have her be watching was the most special thing I've experienced, especially for my senior year."

Neuqua Valley (16-3-2) looked like it was the team whose season was going to end. The Wildcats fell behind early in the first half and then again just 56 seconds into the second half.

"We did fall behind, which was kind of a bummer, but I'm really confident in this team," Ciesla said. "We're a group of hard workers, so it was really nice to come back."

Naperville North (17-3-0) struck early, getting a goal from Alexis Dandridge with 33:12 left in the first half.

Ciesla knotted things at 1-1 with 10:13 left in the half, though.

Dandridge made the Wildcats pay again to open the second half, showing a nice move through a crowd and then a successful shot off a corner kick from Morgan Krause.

"It was a little frustrating because we worked at practice on defending that play," Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. "It's amazing that 3 of the 5 goals were into the wind."

Once again, though, the Wildcats battled back, drawing even nearly midway through the second half on a Jamie Goralski shot from just outside the penalty area.

The teams appeared destined for overtime with less than a minute left, but Ciesla connected on an improbable shot that will be talked about for years by the Wildcats. The Huskies had eliminated the Wildcats from the postseason the past four years, but not this time.

"It was hard to see from our vantage point on the bench what happened," Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. "She hit it and hit it well and the next thing you know it's in the back of the net.

"You look up at the clock and with a minute left you're hoping for a miracle and it didn't happen."

But it did. Just ask Tammy and Lauren Ciesla.