Neuqua's Oyster gets leg up on Naperville Central

Neuqua Valley girls soccer coach Joe Moreau described junior midfielder Megan Oyster's right leg as a cannon.

Her free kick 20 minutes into Saturday's game against Naperville Central looked more like a laser.

Oyster's free kick blasted off the crossbar and directly to forward Allie McBride, who hammered it past Redhawks goalkeeper Jill D'Amico to give the second-ranked Wildcats a 1-0 nonconference victory over No. 6 Naperville Central.

"At practice I prepare a lot for that, and same with before the game," Oyster said. "Luckily that one was right where I usually kick it."

"We constantly have her working on that free kick. She has a cannon," Moreau said.

McBride's goal gave the Wildcats (10-0-1) all the support they needed, as Neuqua Valley kept the pressure and the action in the Redhawks half for a majority of the game - especially in the first half, with strong winds howling at their backs.

"We knew in the second half we didn't have the wind, so to get one in first half was awesome," Oyster said. "We wanted to get more than one, but we held them off, so that was good."

The strong winds - routinely gusting up to 30 mph - eventually altered the Wildcats' field positioning.

"It was really hard. We couldn't really clear the ball, and for our mids to keep checking back, that's not usually what they do," Oyster said. "It was really hard on them because there was only three of us in the middle."

The Redhawks (6-1-4) couldn't match the ball control Neuqua Valley displayed in the first half, failing to take advantage of the elements to help create chances on the offensive end.

"It was really hard to connect our passes, but I thought we could've done a better job in the second half," senior defender Alex Coon said.

Coon suggested Naperville Central kept pressing for a flawless opportunity, rather than simply taking what the Wildcats defense presented.

"Anybody who had a free shot should have taken something at least," she said. "We just couldn't get a shot off. I think we were trying to focus on getting the perfect shot, and we didn't get it.

"They gave us a lot of space, which helped us, but other than that, they jumped on us pretty quick when we got the ball. I still think we could've gotten a few more shots off than we did."