Lancers and Neuqua stay tied atop UEC Valley
By Bill Hupp

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One team on the field has been a soccer powerhouse in recent years; the other, a program long-built on grit that had battled and scrapped its way to the top of its conference.

On a beautiful Tuesday night at Krupke Field, Neuqua Valley and Lake Park traded punches and counterpunches in a game filled with importance and excitement. As both teams shook hands after the final whistle, however, little had changed – the scoreboard still read 0-0 and the pair remained tied with East Aurora atop the Upstate Eight Valley Division with identical 4-0-2 records and 14 points.

Unlike some 0-0 draws, this contest featured corner kicks, crosses and chances galore. It also required some heroic defending to remain scoreless.

In the first half, each team traded a few 5-7 minute spells of extended possession and momentum. Neuqua struggled to defend the long throws of junior midfielder Joe Keane to his 6-2 teammate, senior fullback Dillon Hock. Keane’s throws have yielded several goals this season, and the Wildcats struggled to clear them at times as the ball ping-ponged around in the box.

Near the end of the first half, Lake Park’s Riker Tithof-Steere had a clear header at the far post from a beautiful corner kick that had to be saved off the line and headed out by Neuqua’s Manushe Nyamunduru. Neuqua’s tenth foul of the half resulted in a free kick and the attempted Wildcats clearance required a diving save by goalie Zach Goldstein to prevent an own goal.

Neuqua Valley started the second half on the front foot and stayed there for the most part. They had more shots (7-3) and corners (4-1) as they battered Lancers keeper Stephen Mack in net.

There were several occasions where a Wildcat striker dribbled the ball deep to the end line and played a low cross to the near post, only to see it smothered comfortably by Mack.

But the Lake Park defense led by Keane, Hock, Dom Azzolin and Joe DeSario held strong, blocking many shots and pressuring the ball all over the pitch. Lake Park’s best scoring opportunity might have been when James Proctor ran on to a long pass and tried to chip the keeper from a tough angle after Goldstein came off his line and froze, but he blasted it well over the net.

With about six minutes left in the second half, Mack made the play of the game. Neuqua’s Jake Loncar was able to shake his marker in the box and thunder a header from a beautiful corner kick by Ryan Ross toward the top right corner of the goal. Mack was up to the task, however, going full stretch to make a spectacular diving save.

“It felt good when it hit my head and I thought it was going in,” Loncar said. “But the keeper made an awesome save and he held on to that tight.”

Both senior keepers were equally solid and steady on Tuesday night. Ultimately, Goldstein relied on the defensive discipline and solid efforts of his backline - Jim Kotowski, Paarth Joshi, Lucas Shaller and Jalen Watkins – to help record a third straight clean sheet (fifth of the season).

“Lake Park is big and strong and they play for the throw-in restart,” Neuqua Valley Coach Skip Begley said. “You can’t be disappointed when your guys play hard and get a 0-0 result against a quality team, but I thought we had a few more chances and put some good balls in the box. We just have to do a better job making that decision in getting that ball pulled back out to six or 12 for somebody to run on to.”

After the game, Lake Park Coach Anthony Passi was proud of the heart and grit of his team and wants to see that kind of intensity brought to every game.

“To the kids, this meant something,” he said.  “They believed in themselves and if they can bring [the effort] every single game like this, [we can play] with everybody. We’re a team that needs to grind it out and play physical.”

That Lake Park (8-9-2, 4-0-2) was even competing for a conference title after being decimated by graduation losses, club defections and a transfer is a testament to the team’s character.

The Lancers might have been able to sustain more offensive pressure up top, but junior Sean Lang left with what Passi fears is a stress fracture in his leg, and sophomore forward Oliver Horgan remains out from a concussion suffered last week against Glenbard West. It’s too soon to know for sure, but Passi believes both players are likely lost for the season.

“Yeah, we miss him,” Passi said of Horgan. “He has a concussion and he’s losing fitness while he has to sit out.”

After a rocky start to the season, Neuqua Valley (9-6-2, 4-0-2) has lost just once in their last nine games. The Wildcats are building toward regionals, where they play West Aurora and – assuming they win – would likely face conference rival East Aurora in the regional final.

“We started off [the season] 1-4 and everybody thought, ‘Oh my gosh!,’” Begley said. “But the four teams we lost to were Morton, Lyons Township, Naperville North and Benet. We were just finding our feet with a new team and new coach. I think that wasn’t a real reflective start of how hard they’ve worked. We just need a little bit better execution because we’ve got a tough road to hoe if we want to advance to sectionals.”