Wildcats settle down for win

With seven first-time varsity starters on Wednesday, Neuqua Valley's girls soccer team figured to start a little slow in their season-opening game against Naperville North.

"We were a little panicky and nervous in the first 15 minutes, which is understandable," said Wildcats sophomore Courtney Ksiazek. "But once we settled down, we started to play our game."

The Wildcats (1-0) had the better of play to halftime, scoring twice and hanging on for a 2-0 win over the Huskies (0-1).

"We had first-game jitters, but then I thought we worked the ball around pretty good," said Wildcats coach Joe Moreau. "We played the ball real well to feet in the first half, and then in the second half they controlled the ball a lot more and had us on our heels a little bit.

"But I was very pleased with the effort we had out there, for our first game."

The Wildcats broke the ice in the game's 15th minute on a free kick from 25 yards out, courtesy of Ksiazek. Ksiazek's shot sailed in under the crossbar over the outstretched arms of Huskies goalkeeper Roxanne Croxall.

"I just wanted to get it to the far post, because I knew one of my teammates would be there," Ksiazek said. "Even if I mis-hit it, I knew someone would be there."

Junior Shelbi Johnson set up the Wildcats' second goal with a drive up the right side in the 35th minute. Johnson cut it back near the end line and laid the ball off across the box, and freshman Megan Oyster swooped in and buried it from 12 yards out.

"That was a great run by Shelbi," Moreau said. "She's just a hard-nosed player, she's solid right- or left-footed, and she's going to pressure the ball."

The Huskies answered the bell in the second half with better attacking pressure, earning their first shot on net on a Jessica Arabia free kick early on, and a blast hit just high from 8 yards out shortly thereafter by Elise Landiak.

Huskies coach Brent Terada was pleased with the more cohesive attacking effort put forth by his squad in the second half, spearheaded by Arabia and Rycke Guiney.

"No one got hurt, no one has hypothermia -- it was a good day," Terada said. "We were disorganized in the first half, but those are things we can work on.

"We showed in the second half that we were finally playing together, and we just got more comfortable."