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 to 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.
