Huskies blank Wildcats in Best of the West opener

By Matt Le Cren

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After Naperville North graduated a tremendous senior class that led the Huskies to an unbeaten run to the sectional title game last fall, some in the soccer community figured the team would struggle this fall.

That assessment may be a bit premature.

While the Huskies have plenty of holes to fill and much to work on, their offense has been just as potent as it was last fall.

That was evident Tuesday when Madisen Gonzalez recorded his first career hat trick and Connor Sharples dished two assists to lead host Naperville North to a 4-0 win over Neuqua Valley on the first night of the Best of the West Tournament.

Gonzalez and Sharples were starters last year but have taken on bigger roles. They are trying to fill the shoes of Kyle Lindberg and Evan Trychta, who are now playing for Illinois-Chicago.

This is Gonzalez’s third year starting at the varsity level, his first at forward after two seasons spent in the midfield. Sharples moved into the starting lineup midway through last season and has stayed up top.

“Those guys have to be big for us this year,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Connor has done an exceptional job of holding the ball for us up top and Madisen is such a freak athlete that he’s always dangerous because he’s fast.

“They’ve been a nice complement to each other. And then Joe [Sullivan] running around behind them is just terrifying. Joe is able to make everyone a lot better.”

That trio wreaked havoc on an otherwise solid Neuqua Valley defense. The Huskies (2-1) managed only four shots in the first half but scored on two of them.

Gonzalez, who connected on all three of his attempts, opened the scoring with 33:04 left in the opening period when he knocked home a cross from Sharples, who had run onto a long pass from Sullivan and dribbled deep into the left side of the penalty area.

Sullivan was the trigger man again when the hosts went up 2-0 seven minutes later. His pass from the midfield found Gonzalez stride-for-stride with Wildcats senior defender Jalen Watkins.

Gonzalez and Watkins took turns jostling each other as they sprinted up the field, with Gonzalez eventually breaking free and slipping a shot past onrushing Neuqua Valley goalie Zack Goldstein.

Goldstein had another great effort, making six saves, including a kick save on a point-blank attempt by Sharples, who had gotten free in front when Sullivan skittered a free kick past the Wildcats wall into space.

That was the main reason the gap remained 2-0 at halftime, which didn’t sit well with Konrad.

“I was furious with them after the first half tonight,” Konrad said. “Obviously the scoreboard looked good but we played horrifically. We weren’t doing anything right, but the second half the boys played far better, so I’m happy that they responded.”

And it didn’t take them long to do it, as Gonzalez and Sharples hooked up again for North’s third goal just 92 seconds after the break.

This time Sharples lofted a pass over the defense and Gonzalez fired an 18-yarder under the crossbar to complete his most-unexpected hat trick.

“We just came out and played,” Gonzalez said. “We didn’t expect much but we put four away. Me and Connor Sharples connected well. Second half we just looked for each other well.”

Incredibly, Gonzalez nearly had a fourth goal when Sharples played him another perfect cross in front. Gonzalez mis-hit the ball but it went to teammate Marek Jurkiewicz, who put it away to finish the scoring with 24:43 remaining.

Gonzalez has embraced his new role as co-captain and has five goals in three matches for the Huskies, who have played three big-name opponents thus far.

They defeated 2009 state champion Lyons Township 4-1 and lost to 2011 state champion Morton 3-1 in the first week.

“I carry that weight and I expect it on me,” Gonzalez said, “so I’ll do my best to score every game.

“I think we’re going to do fine this year. We’ve been scoring. We got a shutout today. It looks like we’re playing well.”

Konrad agrees.

“We’re off to a good start. After everybody’s been doomsday after losing all those guys, it’s obviously been a shift. We’re a much different team but they’re battling and I’m real proud of them so far.

“This has been a very interesting group of guys. They’re very unselfish, they move the ball well. Obviously having [senior defender Neil] Wiaranowski back in the back [is key].

“He’s been a big anchor for us and Sully has been special all year. He’s a game-changer all by himself and Connor and Madison did a great job up top.”

Goalies Jack Seifert and John Kimbrell combine on their first shutout. Seifert, a sophomore, got the start and made one save in the first half.

Kimbrell, a junior, relieved him at halftime and made three stops in the second half, thwarting long-range attempts by the Wildcats’ Xavier Ortiz, Eduardo Cruz and Jake Loncar.

“In the first 20 minutes I think they got two balls and they got them in the back of the net and we didn’t even know it and then we had one or two chances and we have not done well with our chances,” Neuqua Valley coach Skip Begley said.

“We just have to play harder, is all I think. We just need to find a combination that’s willing to work a little harder. I don’t think there was anything extraordinary that North did other than play some balls in the box and get to balls.”

Neuqua Valley (1-3) is a relatively inexperienced team and it has showed lately, with the Wildcats being outscored 7-0 in losses to Naperville North and Lyons.

“We’ll look at what we can do to get better,” Begley said. “I hope [it won’t be] too long, but it is a process. Not a whole lot of returning experience for us and we’re trying to find our way and we’re struggling right now.

“It seems like when we make a mistake somebody puts the ball in the back of the net and that makes our problems even more complicated.”