Neuqua Valley puts nerves at ease
You couldn't blame Alyssa Bombacino if she felt a butterfly or two in her stomach on Friday night.
It's not very often that you get to play in a Class 3A semifinal game, let alone do it as a freshman.
Bombacino looked far from nervous. In fact she played like a seasoned veteran and star, dishing out a pair of assists to help Neuqua Valley cruise past Collinsville 3-1 at North Central College in Naperville.
“I was a little bit nervous coming into it because of knowing how they did this season and how we would have to play against them,” she said. “We were definitely excited to come into this game.”
Neuqua Valley (19-3-2) won its 11th straight and has outscored its opponents 41-5 during the streak.
“It was nice to get an early goal and then the other team has to play catch-up,” Wildcats coach Joe Moreau said. “To be honest with you, I thought they had the better of the play to start. Our back line didn't play as well as it has. They were kind of playing on their heels.”
Collinsville (21-4-1) nearly stunned the Wildcats less than 30 seconds into play when it immediately got a good open shot from Andrea Frerker, but she misfired.
About a minute later the Wildcats countered with a goal from Lauren Ciesla. It was Bombacino who set her up perfectly, sending the ball her direction for a 1-on-1 battle against Kahooks goalkeeper Morgan Lerch.
A 2-0 deficit against that defense seemed to bury Collinsville's hopes.
“I think the first two goals they scored were on us. They were preventable and it was our breakdown in the back,” Kahooks coach Clayton Smith said. “Credit Neuqua, though, for pushing up and confusing our back line a little bit.”
The third goal once again involved Bombacino. This time she sent a pass back to Anna Toersloev, who sent a perfect shot from about 30 yards away, making it a 3-0 game with 4:56 left in the half.
The Wildcats had hoped for some early offense to help settle any jitters caused by playing in a game of this magnitude. They certainly got them early and often.
“I was talking to (defender) Sophia Moreau about it and she said to get an early goal and help them out in back because they don't want a lot of pressure out there,” Czerwinski said. “It's always good and (goalie) Hannah Parrish loves it when we score early and it's good for us because we want early offense.”
Parrish made 12 saves, although the team fell short of its 14th shutout of the season They would've shut out their seventh opponent in their past eight games, but senior Mikayla McCarthy took advantage of a failed clearance with just 3:03 left in the game.
Collinsville was dealt a major blow early in the second half when its leading scorer, Sophia Sharos, left with an apparent broken leg after colliding with Parrish. Her absence was certainly a key, even though the Kahooks were already down three goals when she departed.
Next up for Neuqua Valley is the state championship game. The Wildcats will play for their first since 2005 at 7 p.m. Saturday against New Trier (26-1-1), which needed two overtime periods to defeat Barrington 1-0 in the other semifinal Friday.