Latest news with #NeuquaValley
Chicago Tribune
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Neuqua Valley freshman Asha Kikama ensures ‘no one's going to get past her.' Not even Naperville Central.
Neuqua Valley's Asha Kikama was given a difficult assignment on Tuesday. The freshman defender had to mark Naperville Central star senior forward Callie Tumilty and had to move slightly out of position to do it. 'There's always nerves, but you gotta remember she's just a girl,' Kikama said. 'She goes to school like everyone else. So I have to bring the same intensity to her, keep her in front of me. 'As long as she doesn't shoot it, she's not going to score.' The Ohio State-bound Tumilty didn't score, mustering only two off-target shots, and neither did Naperville Central, which was shut out for the only time this season. The efforts by Kikama and other defenders like senior Chloe Orlow, plus a great goal by junior forward Alexis May, allowed the third-seeded Wildcats to upset the second-seeded Redhawks 1-0 in the Class 3A Naperville North Sectional semifinals. Neuqua Valley (16-3), which is in the sectional championship game for the first time since 2018, will play fourth-seeded Naperville North (14-5-3) at 5 p.m. Friday. 'I want to work as hard as I can for my whole team,' Kikama said. 'I have a good feeling, given that I gave everything I could have out there for my team and left everything on the field.' It's been that way all season for Kikama, who plays center back alongside Orlow. On Tuesday, though, Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez had Kikama play defensive midfielder, slightly in front of Orlow. 'It was almost going back to my days and that stopper-sweeper position,' Gonzalez said. 'We just wanted that extra body in the middle playing a little bit high up. But if she needs that help, she can still tuck in.' The Redhawks (20-2-1), who had won 14 straight games since losing 2-1 to the Wildcats on April 8, nearly tucked away a goal 10 minutes after kickoff when senior midfielder Rebecca Ruggiero's header hit the crossbar. But they had few chances after that as Neuqua Valley defended vigorously all over the field, starting up top with Yale-bound senior forward Selma Larbi. 'Defensively, our plan was to just be extremely aggressive, to just go to every ball,' Larbi said. 'Then offensively, I knew I might have been outnumbered, so I just had to continue to run at them and try to force like a bad ball or like a bad kick.' The tactic disrupted Naperville Central's rhythm, and the Wildcats' confidence soared when May received a pass from freshman midfielder Caitlin King and ripped a 20-yard shot inside the right post with 37:32 left in the second half. Kikama and her teammates then held off every rush by the Redhawks. 'She was playing out of position tonight,' Orlow said. 'She stepped into the midfield, and she showed that she could play anywhere on the field. 'She's going to work her heart out out there so that we can keep the ball. Callie got nothing on her.' Larbi was impressed but not stunned. 'Asha is extremely consistent,' Larbi said. 'She's a very good player. It's not just this game. She's done well in almost every single game that we played this season. She's extremely, extremely aggressive, and it's really, really hard to get past her. 'As you can see tonight, a lot of the central attackers had a really hard time getting past her. She's just a wall, and she has the mindset that no one's going to get past her.' This mindset was even more prevalent down the stretch, when Kikama made two clean slide tackles in her box. That's a tactic rarely used at the high school level due to the risk, and Gonzalez sometimes warns her to be careful. 'But she's very confident,' Gonzalez said. 'She really reads the game well, so she's anticipating for the most part. She is never really getting stuck committing fouls. 'She plays on the edge, keeps you on the edge of the seat. But she's really good at what she does, which is anticipating and recovery.' Soccer talent runs in Kikama's family. Her father, Kividi, played at SIU-Edwardsville. Her brother Ayel, 20, played for Neuqua Valley, and her brother Aton, 16, plays club soccer. But playing great defense also requires confidence. Kikama said that comes from experience and supportive teammates. 'The bench is always cheering on everyone, and especially Chloe was telling me, 'You got it,'' Kikama said. 'Everyone is building you up together. That gives you a lot.'
Chicago Tribune
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Superstitious Ava Drehs can amaze with K's for Neuqua Valley. Her new feat: All 18 outs by strikeout.
Neuqua Valley ace Ava Drehs claims there is superstition behind her superpower. The Creighton-bound senior has a list of pregame routines she must follow. One of them involves catcher Krista Waldusky. 'Me and Krista split a piece of gum and share it for the first inning until we're on the same page,' Drehs said. It doesn't take long for Waldusky, a senior leader for the Wildcats, to figure out she and Drehs are good to go. 'I can honestly tell in warmups,' Waldusky said. 'Like, as soon as she throws the first pitch, you can either know, like, 'Oh, we're on the same page,' or, 'Oh, we need a little bit more connection there.'' If it's the latter? 'We need a new piece of gum,' Waldusky said. 'There's been multiple times where we have spit out the first piece. 'We're a little bit superstitious, to say the least.' Indeed, the chewing gum isn't the only piece of Drehs' schtick. 'We also have another tradition with the game ball,' Neuqua Valley coach Danielle Asquini said. 'Whenever she's starting, I have to open it for her and give her the wrapper, and she puts it in her back pocket. 'Interesting superstitions around here. There's always something that keeps us locked in, that keeps us ready to go.' Drehs actually didn't feel ready to go before facing Metea Valley in a DuPage Valley Conference game in Naperville on Wednesday. 'When we warmed up, I was talking to Krista,' she said. 'I was like, 'I actually don't feel good today.' 'We were both like, 'Oh, it's hot, and we're tired from a long day and stuff. But then, I don't know, we just got out there and…' Dominated. In the final home game of her career, Drehs threw a three-hit shutout and recorded all 18 outs by strikeout in the Wildcats' 10-0 win in six innings. Waldusky and freshman Savannah Charlton had two hits and two RBIs apiece to back Drehs, whose strikeout feat was a first for her. 'I have not done that before,' Drehs said. 'It's exciting. My teammates are excited for me, too, and everyone's happy.' It was quickly apparent that Drehs and Waldusky wouldn't require a second stick of gum. Drehs knew after the first pitch of the game to Metea Valley's leadoff hitter, senior Grace Feeley. 'The first batter swung and missed the first pitch, and I was like, 'OK, wait, I think we'll be OK,'' Drehs said. 'Because she's pretty good. She's awesome.' Drehs was awesome throughout. Senior Sydney Eakin and freshman Maielle Ernser were the only batters to get hits for the Mustangs, who had only one runner reach third base. 'In warmups, she was throwing pretty hard today, and she was hitting her spots, spinning the ball,' Waldusky said. 'When she does, when she puts it all together, she's a pretty hard pitcher to hit.' The Wildcats (13-14, 9-3) had no such problems and the Mustangs (6-18, 3-9). They led 5-0 after five innings before scoring five runs in the sixth, with junior Hannah Toomey clinching the game with a bases-loaded walk. The ending was a bit anticlimactic because it prevented Drehs, who holds Neuqua Valley's single-season and career strikeout records, from going for 21 strikeouts. Her career high is 19, but that was in a seven-inning game. She has 610 career strikeouts 'I was hoping we'd have another inning,' she said. 'But it's all right.' For those wondering what type of gum Drehs chews, it's a minty concoction called Extra Polar Ice. She's stocked up and is hoping more wins are in store for the Wildcats, who are tied for the DVC lead with Naperville Central (17-12, 9-3) with three games remaining. 'We set a goal to win the conference, and we have to win all of our upcoming games in order to tie with Central,' Drehs said. 'So I think having this game, like, in the books and it being a well-played, well-pitched game puts us in a better note for the rest of the week and next week.'
Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Marquette commit Allessandra Russo's powerful kicks give Neuqua Valley a leg up. Against Naperville North too.
On a sunny afternoon, Neuqua Valley junior Allessandra Russo was ready to unleash the thunder. The Marquette commit changed a DuPage Valley Conference game with one swing of her powerful left leg, sending a free kick nearly 50 yards into Naperville North's penalty area. 'I was just really hoping to get it far post,' she said. 'I saw that we had our runners stacked on that side, so I was just kicking and hoping someone got on it.' Russo's serve landed in a crowd. Yale-bound senior forward Selma Larbi pounced on it and scored with 19:28 left in the second half. Larbi's goal was all the host Wildcats needed to win 1-0 and claim a share of the DVC championship in Naperville on Tuesday. It was their first victory against Naperville North since 2015. Larbi, who has returned to the team after playing club soccer last year, knew Russo had the strength to get the ball to her despite the long distance. 'She hit it, and I knew that it was going to bobble in the box a little bit,' Larbi said. 'I realized that it was going up, and the defender that was on me was probably a little bit taller, so I didn't want to risk heading it. 'So I kind of waited for it to settle at my feet, and I just picked it. It was kind of just like timing.' Timing played a crucial role in Russo's transformation from standout defender to leading scorer, a shift that has coincided with the Wildcats' reemergence as an elite team. Russo had always played defense, including as an outside back on her Galaxy club team that won back-to-back national titles. But an ankle injury caused her to miss a few weeks at the beginning of last season. While she was out, Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez found an adequate replacement for her on the back line. But the Wildcats needed offensive help. 'Gonzo talked about moving me up to forward and getting me chances in front of goal,' Russo said. 'So I was excited about that, and then this year especially, I've played a lot of forward.' The move has paid dividends. Russo has 11 goals and seven assists, leading the Wildcats (13-3, 4-1) in both categories. 'Even her freshman year, we knew she could be that winger because she has it in her,' Gonzalez said. 'She has the endurance to do it, so we tried that a bit last year. 'We knew right off the bat she was going to be our winger. We had our left back, and it just worked out beautifully. You know, sometimes injuries happen for a reason, right?' Russo will most likely play defender in college. But she's enjoying the chance to create goals rather than prevent them. 'It's definitely different, and I had to learn, like, to keep my composure in front of goal and make sure I didn't just sky it over,' she said. 'But I think the more I've played it, the more comfortable I've gotten on the ball in those kinds of spaces. And I think that's really helped.' Russo's play has given Neuqua Valley a confidence that had been missing in recent years. The Wildcats began DVC play by stunning Naperville Central 2-1 on April 8 and finished it by beating Naperville North (11-5-3, 3-2) for the first time since the Class 3A sectional semifinals in 2015, when they lost to New Trier in the state championship game. 'It's been so fun, and she's just helped our team a lot, especially being a left-footed threat,' Larbi said. 'You don't get a lot of left-footed players. 'I think a lot of defenders have a hard time defending her because they're not gonna realize that she can kick it with her left. So I think that makes her a really unique player.' Russo is left-footed, but her power is the result of hard work. 'I do a lot of weightlifting,' she said. 'I'll do that before school sometimes. I've weightlifted for the past two years, but I really picked it up this last two months. 'I feel like I have noticed a difference since I started that. I just developed a little bit more power.' But Russo hasn't sacrificed accuracy for that power. Gonzalez said that through 14 games, Russo had put all 28 of her shot attempts on goal. She also takes most of Neuqua Valley's corner kicks and free kicks, like the one Larbi scored on Tuesday. 'She's going to play that type of ball, and it's going to be a ball played with a purpose,' Gonzalez said of Russo. 'She definitely gets our offense going.'
Chicago Tribune
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
‘How did she do that?' Neuqua Valley's Alexis May, who seems to come out of nowhere, does it again.
Neuqua Valley's Alexis May knows that results matter more than methods. Which is why the junior forward has been emphasizing one particular thing during training. 'This season I've really been working on getting the ball in,' May said. 'I've just been focusing on getting any body part on the ball to get a goal.' Sometimes that means using her feet, and other times it means using her head. Sometimes it looks pretty, and other times it doesn't. Every once in a while, the result is spectacular. That was the case Saturday, when May met a laserlike cross from junior forward Allessandra Russo and powered a 12-yard header under the crossbar. May's goal, which came with 16:35 left in the first half, capped the scoring in Neuqua Valley's 2-0 victory over Fremd in a Naperville Invitational game at Naperville North. With the win, the Wildcats (9-2) advanced into the tournament quarterfinals to play Lane at Hinsdale Central at 6 p.m. Thursday. 'I saw Russo dribbling up, and I was like, 'I know I have to get in and get on it,'' May said. 'Before I know, it was in the goal, so it all happened so fast.' That's the thing with May. Things tend to happen fast. 'Sometimes we're on the bench, and we're like, 'Oh, how did she do that?'' Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said. 'You don't know what she's going to do because she is so calm, and all of a sudden she explodes and she's off to the races.' When May is at full speed, she's often looking for Russo, or Russo is looking for her. The three-year starters are perfect bookends on the wings, with Russo on the left and May on the right. Russo, a Marquette commit, also scored against Fremd (7-3-1). May's goal was her fifth of the season. Two have come on headers off Russo assists. The latest one was noteworthy for its distance. 'It was great,' Russo said. 'I was so excited, especially since it was far out for a header. It went top corner. 'She's someone that I know is always in the box. When I look up, I know that she'll be there for a cross.' It has been happening more frequently than ever, which has pleased Gonzalez. 'Sometimes when you have those whipped balls, all you really need to do is just get something on it,' Gonzalez said. 'But it was a great run beating the defender to the ball. 'It's good to see when we work on things like that in practice to see it executed in a game. It makes it a lot sweeter.' The Wildcats' success is a result of increased sweating by the players, particularly Russo and May, who has a lot of responsibility on the right wing. 'She's definitely hardworking,' Russo said. 'She's always running up and down the field, box to box. 'You'll see her on both ends, defending and obviously scoring. She's been good all three years, but this year especially it's been really great to see her get numbers on the board.' Yet May's impact goes beyond numbers. 'She's taking on a leadership role,' Gonzalez said. 'Even though she's not a captain, she understands that if there's going to be an attack, it's on her, and if there's going to be defensive work to be done on the right side, it also starts with her. 'She knows that the attack is going to start with her and anything defensively on that side is going to start with her.' May started playing soccer as a toddler in her backyard with her older brother, William. She has also played varsity basketball the past two seasons and played in the volleyball program as a middle hitter for two seasons. The 5-foot-9 May lacked height to be a dominant middle hitter. But she has always had a passion for soccer, which is her favorite sport. 'I just like how you can be more creative because in basketball, especially for Neuqua, we have a lot of plays that we have to memorize,' May said. 'But in soccer you can just play free and just be really creative on the ball.' May uses that creativity within the system. 'It does seem like she likes to freestyle it, but she keeps it within what it is we want from this formation,' Gonzalez said. 'She knows if we cut to the inside or cut to the outside, we find someone or we play that ball across. She's been doing that insanely.' Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Yale commit Selma Larbi returns for Neuqua Valley, which is winning too. ‘Definitely good to have her back.'
Selma Larbi's family heritage spans the Atlantic Ocean, and the smile she frequently flashes can seem just as wide. The Neuqua Valley senior forward is known for her sunny disposition as well as her prodigious talent on the field. The Wildcats missed both when Larbi opted to play club last year after shining on the varsity team as a freshman and sophomore. But happy times are here again. 'It's definitely a lot of fun, and it's definitely good to have her back,' Neuqua Valley junior forward Alexis May said. 'She's always creating chances, and it's just good to have a goal scorer back.' Larbi, a Yale commit, has produced four goals and two assists in her first eight games, spurring the Wildcats (7-1) to a surprising start. May, who scored twice during Neuqua Valley's 5-0 victory over East Aurora in Naperville on Thursday, said the team has benefited from Larbi's leadership. 'She always keeps the vibes up, and even if we're down, she's always pushing us to get back into the game,' May said. 'She always keeps the energy going.' That's been vital for a young team. Ten of the 20 players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores. Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said Larbi's efforts have helped bend the learning curve in the team's favor. 'That's the thing — her approach to the game,' Gonzalez said. 'She's a great student of the game because she's always looking to learn. She's always looking to improve what we can do. 'She got voted as captain by her peers, and that speaks volumes. So she's a great asset because if you're a good individual, most likely you're a good individual on the pitch as well and a great teammate, and they see that.' Larbi credits her parents, Michael and Stella, for her upbeat personality. 'I think my parents just raised me to always find the good in situations, even when it's tough,' she said. 'When tough things happen, you learn life lessons from it, so just always learn something from the things that may not always look good. 'There's always good in life and reason to smile.' Larbi's parents are from Ghana, where her father ran track and played soccer. She has many relatives in Ghana and has visited them often. 'My dad put me in soccer when I was 4 years old,' Larbi said. 'Like in most African countries, soccer is the only thing in Ghana. It's just huge. I did other sports, but I kind of just fell in love with that.' Larbi has developed a close bond with her teammates. 'Last year, we lacked a forward, so I'm glad that she's back,' Gonzalez said. 'She does add to the attack. She does add to keeping possession of the ball. She holds the ball well, and I think that gives everyone confidence.' It shows. The Wildcats, who last had a winning record in 2019, did not win more than seven games in any of the past three years. They've already reached that total this season, which includes a stunning 2-1 upset win against Naperville Central in the DuPage Valley Conference opener on April 8. Larbi scored the game-winner that day off an assist from May. 'We've just really focused on the fundamentals and sticking to our game plan,' May said. 'We've really been working on finishing, and obviously that's come into play this year because we've been getting goals and we've been competing really well.' Larbi also does well in the classroom. She has a 3.9 unweighted GPA and said her parents instilled a work ethic and love of learning. 'I would say my parents are really smart,' she said. 'But they worked hard for their grades, and I think that kind of inspired me to also work hard for my grades and study hard.' Larbi is passing that ethos down to her younger teammates. 'Being a captain is really fun, to just step into that leadership role,' she said. 'I'm really excited to kind of set an example for the lowerclassmen. 'As a team, I think we're doing really, really well. I think it's our chemistry that is really better this year, and because of that chemistry we're able to work off of each other a lot more compared to the other years.'
