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.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
