Nothing goes Neuqua's way
The attacking style that New Trier's boys soccer team employs gets straight to the point - the Trevians are fast, they play quick to feet and they come right at you.
Neuqua Valley's 4-0 loss to New Trier on Friday was only the second time all season that a team scored more than two goals in a game against them. The Wildcats hit the crossbar twice and sent 11 shots on net but couldn't find the back of the net.
New Trier, on the other hand, finished on four of its 16 shots on frame. Has Neuqua seen a better attack than the Trevians' all season?
"No," said Wildcats senior Bryan Dosch. "Not even close."
"We have five or six kids that are really good with the ball at their feet," said New Trier coach Craig Fairbairn. "And we've got some guys up top that are quick."
The semifinal loss of the Class 3A finals sent the Wildcats to the third-place game against Boylan, to be played at 6 p.m. today at North Central College in Naperville.
Neuqua Valley (21-5-2) had the better of play through the game's first 15 minutes, hitting the crossbar with a shot and keeping the ball on New Trier's side of midfield.
"They were putting a lot of pressure on," Fairbairn said. "Defensively, we were really good. Then we got the goal, and everything relaxed for us a little bit.
New Trier (20-1-1) began playing faster and more cohesively, and the game turned in the 17th minute when Matt Strauss sent a shot in off the crossbar from 27 yards out. The lead held to halftime.
Two minutes into the second half, Kyle McCrudden scored on a head shot from 10 yards out. Neuqua Valley pressed forward after falling behind 2-0, but the Trevians went up 3-0 on another McCrudden goal in the 66th minute.
Neuqua's finishing struggles were epitomized in an exchange at the New Trier goalmouth in the 65th minute, with one shot hitting the crossbar and another cleared off the goal line by a defender.
"I think we hit the post or the crossbar three or four times," said Neuqua coach Jim Johns. "If one of those would have gone in, it would have changed the game a bit.
"But it was hard to play against them - that's an outstanding team."
New Trier scored a final time in the 69th minute and the Wildcats continued to push forward but came away empty-handed.
"They outplayed us," Dosch said. "They're a fast team. And once we went down 1-0, we went all out and tried to score, and we just got caught going for it all.
"But we'll come back and play hard tomorrow."