Neuqua Valley firing on all cylinders this season

There may have been some wide-eyed looks last week when Neuqua Valley trampled Pattonville, Mo., 7-1, and Parkway South, Mo., 6-1.

The Wildcats were playing in the annual Hazelwood Showcase and they devoured the two teams, both of which advanced deep into the postseason a year ago in Missouri.

Yep, this Neuqua Valley team is very, very good.

“We just played that much better than them,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “We were just clicking. One of the coaches on the other teams said they basically have not seen a team like us this year and right now we are playing a very tight-knit group that is playing real well together.”

Gianna Dal Pozzo, Allie McBride, Morgan Mulcahy and Alex Wilde both scored twice in Missouri, while Meghan Kelley, Zoey Goralski, Noelle Leary and Talise Romain also scored. Megan Oyster added 2 assists.

“We’ve been playing pretty well with real good midfield play from Alexa Wilde, Talise Romain and Hope D’Addario — and Zoey Goralski has been playing great on top,” Moreau said. “And Megan Oyster is one of the top players in the state.”

With Neuqua at 11-0 Moreau knows the team has a target on its back, but he doesn’t expect it to slow things down. Plus, he’s been in the limelight a bit himself. With a 7-0 victory against Larkin on Thursday, Moreau picked up career victory No. 300.

“I’ve told the girls not to worry about the attention but to go out there and play the game,” he said. “If you do that, good things can happen.”

Plenty has already.

Strong start for West Chicago: There hasn#146;t been a stronger team than Neuqua Valley this season, but there#146;s another group of Wildcats playing very well right now #8212; West Chicago. The team had a 7-2-2 record through April 15 with senior Meagan Radloff and sophomore Andie Lazzerini leading the way.#147;This is my fourth year here, and it#146;s taken awhile but they#146;re finally buying into what we are trying to sell them,#148; West Chicago coach Cesar Gomez said. #147;The main thing is to work hard first and we#146;re unique in that we don#146;t do the kick and chase, and they finally get it. We#146;re possessing the ball.#148; Bianca Navejas has done a nice job in getting the ball to Radloff and Lazzerini, while Jenny Amaro has gotten off to a fantastic start in controlling possession and feeding Navejas. Shelly Molskow and Sarah Opel have also been playing very well. It has resulted in the excellent record, and one far superior to the 4-6-1 mark the Wildcats had after 11 games a season ago. #147;We have sound people at every spot now and we rely on them,#148; Gomez said. #147;We tell them for it to work they have to take ownership of each spot and make everyone work. We do a tough workout so it#146;s been a lot of hard work, but it#146;s paying off.#148;West Chicago has beaten St. Francis, Wheaton North, Oswego, Crystal Lake South, South Elgin, Larkin and Glenbard North. The Wildcats have been in every contest, except for a 4-1 loss to Schaumburg on March 23 #8212; but even in that match Gomez saw some positives.#147;We held them scoreless in the second half and then we scored,#148; he said. #147;You#146;re going to have some good days and some not so good, but you try to find a bright spot. That#146;s where we#146;re at right now. We#146;re content but not satisfied and each game is a new learning experience.#148;Three-game stretch:So far, so good for Naperville North. The Huskies began a brutal three-game stretch of tough matchups with a 1-0 victory over Waubonsie Valley on Friday. The Huskies face cross-town rival Naperville Central on Monday, followed by Lyons Township next Wednesday.#147;I think this is a great test for us at the right time of the year,#148; Naperville North coach Brent Terada said. #147;It gives us enough time to find things to work on and let#146;s us know if we#146;re going in the right direction against the best teams in the state.#148;With Jamie Meno leading the defense and speedy Zoe Swift on the attack, the Huskies have a formidable 1-2 punch with plenty of talented players surrounding them.#147;I think Jaime#146;s the best defender in the state, or one of the best,#148; Terada said. #147;She keeps us organized.#148;Team contributions up and down the roster have paid the strongest dividends for the Huskies, as well as the players being able to adapt to position changes.#147;After the Neuqua Valley and Barrington games we made some changes, because some of what we were doing wouldn#146;t work against the elite teams in the state,#148; Terada said. #147;So some center mids are now outside mids and one striker is now a center back. They#146;ve really been great.#148;Swift has been selected as a finalist for Gatorade Player of the Year.No Slowing DiBernardo:Those who follow high school soccer in Illinois will never forget what kind of player Waubonsie Valley#146;s Vanessa Dibernardo was. Now those who follow the Big Ten know.DiBernardo, the honorary captain of the 2010 Daily Herald All-Area girls soccer team, led the University of Illinois to a 13-5-1 record. She finished her freshman season with many accolades, including Big Ten freshman of the year. DiBernardo was also named to the All-Big Ten first team, Big Ten all-Freshman team, a two-time selection for Big Ten offensive player of the week, a three-time choice for Big Ten freshman of the week, NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region first team, Top Drawer Soccer all-rookie second team and Soccer News Net Women#146;s player of the year finalist.As a freshman at Waubonsie Valley, DiBernardo led the Warriors with 21 goals. Last fall, for the Fightin#146; Illini she scored 11 of the team#146;s 32 goals.Under .500:It#146;s certainly not often that Waubonsie Valley finds itself under .500, but the Warriors dropped to 3-4 after a 1-0 loss to Naperville North on Friday night. The Warriors, winners of three state titles in the past four years, have dropped four 1-goal games. But don#146;t let the record fool you. This is a very talented team that has fallen fell just short against Lyons Township, Neuqua Valley, St. Charles North and Naperville North #8212; schools which boast a combined record of 30-5-1 through Friday.14th annual Naperville Invitational: Games in the Naperville Invitational begin Wednesday. Teams are guaranteed at least four games, with the two finalists playing five games. Participants in the tournament have historically enjoyed a great deal of success in the state series. Since 1988, there have been 20 occasions where the state champion also competed in the Naperville Invitational. Area teams scheduled to participate include Benet, Downers Grove South, Hinsdale Central, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South. 22773504Alexa Wilde, left of Neuqua Valley and Trisha Donion, right, of Bartlett gets tangled up in girls soccer action Monday in Naperville.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 17851556Nicki Noreen of Bartlett, passes the ball in action against Neuqua Valley during girls soccer Monday in Naperville.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 17452568Meghan Kelley of Neuqua Valley moves the ball as Lyndsay Bruzzini of Bartlett defends in girls soccer action Monday in Naperville.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 18482596Surrounded by Neuqua Valley, Bartlett goalkeeper Natalia Grodzki goes up to save a ball in girls soccer action Monday in Naperville.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 16762128Katie Ciesiulka celebrates a goal by Megan Oyster, left of Neuqua Valley in action against Bartlett during girls soccer Monday in Naperville.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 13422112Megan Oyster of Neuqua Valley girls soccer.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 20562166Megan Oyster of Neuqua Valley girls soccer.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 39242603Katie Ciesiulka, left, congratulates coach Joe Moreau and assistant coach Sue Soderberg. The coaches received plaques commemorating Moreau on his 300th careeer victory.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com 40001931Neuqua Valley girls soccer team put on t-shirts that spell out “congrats on your 300th win!” for coach Joe Moreau and assistant Sue Soderberg on Monday in Naperville.Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com