Neuqua Valley makes sure of victory against Benet
Not gonna happen again.
Nationally ranked Neuqua Valley let a 2-goal lead slip away in a tie with Naperville North on Tuesday night and learned a lesson or two in the process. Thursday night in third-round action of the Best of the West Tournament the Wildcats had their hands full all night long against Benet but managed to counter each and every time the Redwings looked poised to draw even.
Despite a very strong effort from Benet (2-1-1), Neuqua Valley used a pair of goals from senior Scott Davis to win 4-2 and put itself in position to reach Saturday's tourney title game.
The Redwings had a 3-2 edge in shots on goal in the first 40 minutes of play but trailed 1-0 after Nate Freed scored on a header off a pass from Patrick Doody. When Davis scored on a rebound 15 minutes into the second half, the Wildcats (4-0-1) found themselves with another 2-0 lead in the tourney, and it didn't last very long.
Benet forward Sean O'Hara scored on a well-lobbed shot just beyond the reach of Neuqua keeper Jack Turanchik and it was 2-1 with just more than 21 minutes left to play.
Instead of getting tight, however, the Wildcats kept the pressure on - thanks at times to the long-range flip throws by Tom Terlep - and finally Davis notched a big insurance score on a goal that left most people shaking their heads.
Racing stride for stride with a Redwing defender while controlling the ball, Davis nailed a blast from the right wing that sailed just inside the upper left corner of the goal. Benet goalkeeper Anton Auerbach could not stop the perfectly placed rocket.
"His first goal was a hustle goal," Neuqua coach Tony Kees said. "His second goal was the goal of a marksman. Wow."
Benet coach Henry Wind was equally impressed.
"They have an excellent team and I think we really played with them," he said of the Wildcats, who can advance to the tourney final with a win over Lincoln-Way Central on Saturday morning. "We made a couple mistakes at the end, and every time you made a mistake you got buried. On their (third) goal, the kid was running 100 mph and he strikes the ball perfectly."
Benet still had some fight left even after Davis made it 3-1 as Connor Miller answered with a penalty-kick score to make it 3-2 with 2:46 left, but the Wildcats sealed the win when Bryan Ciesiulka scored in the final minute to make it 4-2.
Davis was impressed with Benet's play and was also impressed with the way his team held up down the stretch.
"Benet came out real hard and they flat-out had more intensity than us in the first half," he said. "Benet was the most aggressive team we've played by far.
"When it was 3-1 I thought it was over, then they got the penalty kick. But I was proud of our defense. We were not going to let this one get away."
The Redwings' O'Hara didn't care for the outcome much but did like his team's showing.
"Any time you stay with the eighth team in the nation most of the game you have to feel pretty well," he said. "I think we were happy we didn't get blown out like some people expected but we're disappointed we lost."
In the earlier game at Naperville North, the host Huskies played to their second straight 2-2 tie, but unlike Tuesday against Neuqua, this time the Huskies won the shootout, which is used to determine teams' standings in the Best of the West even though each team technically receives a tie in terms of their season record.