Keepers shine as Huskies edge Redhawks in DVC finale

Anderson comes up big as North caps 7-0 league effort

By Eddie Burns

Please forgive Naperville North goalie Kevin Anderson for getting excited about seeing a lot of shots.

Naperville North has allowed 10 goals this season and Anderson is a big reason why North has allowed so few, but the fact of the matter is that the Huskies are pretty stout in the back and there are nights when Anderson does not see many shots.

Well, that certainly wasn't the case in the second half of Thursday's cross-town match between Naperville Central and Naperville North at Central's Memorial Stadium.

Anderson made several sparkling saves, including one with 10 seconds remaining, to help preserve the Huskies' 1-0 win in a DuPage Valley Conference match.

Central's AJ Seaman had a great chance to potentially tie the match, but Anderson pounced on the ball and smothered the ball before Seaman could get a good shot on the net in the final seconds.

"It was exciting – real exciting," Anderson said. "I saw the ball and didn't think it would get through, but it did and I just got right on it.

"I saw that (Seaman's) only option was to go for the far post and I got right on it. I don’t even know where the ball hit me. I got down and it hit me somewhere."

Seaman said it was an opportunity he had to convert.

"We swung the ball around and I saw Jimmy Altosino gain possession of the ball, I made a back-post run and he slotted me through and as soon as I looked up and saw how close (Anderson) was I knew I wasn't going to be able to get it because he was so close to me," Seaman said.

"(Anderson) got me. Credit goes to him. (Anderson) was amazing today."

It was one of several crucial saves that Anderson made for the Huskies (16-2-2) as they completed a perfect run through the DuPage Valley Conference at 7-0.

North coach Jim Konrad would have preferred a much smoother finish, but Anderson appreciated all the shots he saw in the second half.

"I have not had a sequence like that in a long time," Anderson said. "Sometimes it does get boring back there, but I guess with Lee (Grander) out that helped and I got some action."

Anderson denied Central's Conner Allen, Pat Flynn and Seaman on several occasions.

Konrad was pleased to get the victory, but he didn't praise his squad for their second-half effort and used it as a teachable moment.

"Anderson came up huge for us and saved the game for us," Konrad said. "I tore my guys apart after the game because that is absolutely ridiculous that we're giving up a chance like that with six seconds left.

"We lost our shape. We got lazy and in a tournament game that's it."

Meanwhile, Anderson's counterpart sophomore Mike Pavliga was every bit as good as Anderson, if not better.

Pavliga made eight saves during the second half as the Huskies created several excellent scoring chances.

"Mike. Wow. I don't even the words to describe how well he played," said Seaman about Pavliga. "He really kept us in the game."

Konrad agreed.

"(Pavliga) did well," Konrad said. "I thought everything we put on him he handled well. He gobbled everything up."

North did manage to slip a shot past Pavliga during the second half and it provided the Huskies with the winning margin.

The Huskies' scoring play emerged out of a three-versus-two situation when Austin Maggard played the ball to Evan Trychta, who carried possession away from the Central goal.

As Trychta slid away from the goal and drew the attention of the Redhawks' defense, teammate Joe Sullivan ran in toward the net behind the play.

Then Trychta, with his back turned to Sullivan, dropped the ball back to Sullivan, who struck a perfect shot past Pavliga for the game's lone goal in the 57th minute.

"Everyone was on the other side of the field and Evan had his back turned to me and I was like screaming for him," Sullivan said.

"Then he was able to get a touch on the ball and instincts took over and I put it right underneath the goalie. It was awesome."

Konrad lauded Trychta's efforts.

"Trychta is so clever to take the ball away and then slide it back to Joey," Konrad said. "Trychta was unbelievable tonight. Trychta was just turning people all night and it was incredible."

Central coach Troy Adams said the difference between the two teams was noticeable at times.

"We're still not there (at North's level)," said Adams, whose team dropped to 10-6-1 overall and finished 4-2-1 in DVC. "We don't play strong enough. We don't play hard enough and we don't play tough enough, at times.

"When we do play with those attributes, we're with every team, but when we don't. we're not that good that we can get away with it."

Adams was very pleased with the second-half effort he received after North dominated the first half.

"The kids got after it," Adams said. "I thought we, again, started slow and it's been a trick with us -- how well we will start the game.

"They were faster, stronger and worked harder than we did – especially in the first half. North does a good job of that – they really get after it. I told our kids at halftime that we needed to do a better job of matching that and we did."

The Huskies enter the postseason next week having gone unbeaten in 13 straight matches.

"We want to keep our streak going – we're kind of hot right now," Sullivan said.

If both North and Central win their first two postseason matches, they will meet again in the sectional semifinals, but first things first as both sides must successfully navigate difficult regionals.

The Huskies are in a regional featuring West Aurora and West Chicago at West Chicago while the Redhawks have Batavia, Benet Academy and Metea Valley in their own regional tournament.