Redhawks' trio of keepers keeps shining

By Casey Callanan
Photos courtesy of Bret Richter

Naperville Central showcased another reason why it is such a force in the DuPage Valley Conference, with twenty minutes to play in the Redhawks’ 3-0 road win at Glenbard East on Tuesday.

Central starter Mike Pavliga came out after playing sixty minutes of shutdown goalkeeping and senior Sean Harrington entered to preserve the shutout. Harrington also proved just how blessed the Redhawks are this season at the position.

Harrington made three saves in the closing minutes of the game when Glenbard East’s offense began to attack the net harder than it had all game. East senior Sam Dennis sparked the late attack and had an opportunity robbed away on a diving save by Harrington.

Naperville Central also has the luxury of junior goalie Zach Richter in its lineup.

“It’s a great situation as a coach to have three goalies that could be starters,” said Central coach Troy Adams.

According to Adams, aside from the depth that Pavliga, Harrington and Richter bring are contributions they make in practice.

“They help our field players to finish their opportunities with precision,” Adams said. “They know when they’re in practice there is three goalies that will help them improve.”

Redhawks sophomore Connor Allen showed he’s benefiting from practicing against the goalies after scoring midway through the first half. Allen gained possession and  beat two defenders to make the score 1-0. 

“I saw the ball was coming down and I got a little chunk of it,” Allen said. “It was just enough to create a nice open lane to shoot.” 

The next Redhawk goal came five minutes later when freshman Sam Reskala’s crossing pass to the weak side created enough room for Adam Hamielec to score. Central led 2-0 at halftime.

Two minutes into the second half Central scored the final goal off of senior A.J. Seaman’s corner kick. Seaman’s kick was accurate enough to allow junior Greg Burdett to connect on a quick shot.

“I was just trying to hit it in immediately and finish the game off,” Burdett said.

The loss drops Glenbard East (2-5-1) to 1-1 in the Dupage Valley Conference after a tie against West Chicago last Friday.

“In the final twenty minutes of the game our guys asserted themselves a lot more,” said coach Josh Adler. “I also thought our back three did a better job keeping the game in front of them in the second half.”

The best scoring opportunities during the Ram’s aggressive second half came on near misses from Dennis.

“Today’s performance was sub-par at best,” Dennis said. “Not everyone was on the same page as far as what our goal is. Our primary goal is to not give up the first goal. We have to be able to put the ball in the back of the net consistently.”

As a vocal leader and one of the loudest Rams on the field, no one is more eager to get back on the winning track then senior goalie Andres Guerrero. Guerrero finished the game with four saves.

“We still can rebound from this. We still have a lot of games left,” Guerrero said. “We have to show up at the field and fight for it.”

The Redhawks move to 2-0 in the Dupage Valley.

Both Adams and Adler agree nothing is ever a guarantee in a conference like the Dupage Valley.

“It’s a stellar conference and it will punish you if you don’t show up every night,” Adler said. “Central plays solid and smart possession soccer and that’s what you see from elite teams in this conference.”