Naperville North, Neuqua Valley keep it even

Everything but goals.

That's what Wednesday night's girls soccer showdown between Naperville North and Neuqua Valley had. You had plenty of Division I talent on the field, two area rivals squaring off in a physical battle, and a boatload of newcomers who are already proving they're worthy of their varsity spots.

But with a pair of solid goalkeepers and two defensive backfields playing as if it were midseason, the Huskies and Wildcats had to settle for a 0-0 tie at North Central College as Naperville North (3-0-1) stayed unbeaten in four contests and Neuqua opened its season with an impressive showing against their highly regarded neighbors from the north.

"We came into the game knowing they had a great offense, and we wanted to do whatever we could to keep the ball out of the goal," said Neuqua midfielder Megan Oyster, after the scoreless draw followed a 1-1 tie between Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley in Wednesday's opener. "All of us are rivals. It's a great game."

The Wildcats' Alexa Wilde, who has earned a scholarship to Baylor as a midfielder, played in goal and recorded 5 saves against the Huskies, who also hit a couple posts in the game. With speedy freshman Zoe Swift all over the field and senior Rycke Guiney creating her share of chances, the Neuqua defense had its hands full, but still managed to blank Naperville North.

"It's frustrating, but we played a great game," Guiney said. "Neuqua is so good. I'll think about what I could have done. -I had so many opportunities. You've got to put your opportunities in."

The Wildcats also had some threats thwarted as Huskies goalie Ellie Flessner made 6 of her 8 stops while Neuqua had the better of the play for the first 40 minutes. Defenders Caroline Casas, Emily Janecek, Jamie Meno and Kristina Dolak all were sharp against Neuqua's aggressive attack.

"It's a typical match between Neuqua and North," said Huskies coach Brent Terada. "There were moments when both teams were dangerous, but the backlines were always organized."

Ten minutes into the match Guiney unleashed a long shot that sailed just high of the goal, while midway through the half she set up Swift with a perfect outlet only to have Swift nailed the right post with a shot and Hunter Drendel shoot wide with the rebound. Neuqua, meanwhile, threatened a few times late in the half with Oyster sending a free kick deep in traffic that Flessner corralled, and Courtney Ksiazek blasting a shot on goal in the waning seconds that was handled by the sophomore keeper.

Both defenses tightened in the second half, but Gianna Dal Pozzo helped create a pair of chances for the Wildcats and Guiney set up Adrienne Schertz deep in Neuqua territory with less than three minutes to play only to have Schertz's shot hit the right side of the net as the game remained scoreless.