Drendel strikes against Neuqua Valley -- again
By Matt Le Cren

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There is something about playing Neuqua Valley that brings out the best in Naperville North forward Hunter Drendel.

Drendel scored the only goal in the Huskies’ 1-0 victory over the undefeated Wildcats in last year’s sectional final, a game which many consider to be the greatest upset in the history of girls soccer in Illinois.

The senior did it again Wednesday night, scoring on a long header with 16:48 left in the second half to give Naperville North an important insurance goal in a 2-0 victory over Neuqua in the nightcap of the Breast Cancer Awareness Night doubleheader at North Central College. Naperville Central beat Waubonsie Valley 2-1 in the first game of the evening, which raised money for the Edward Hospital Cancer Center.

“I don’t know [what it is],” Drendel said. “I guess I feel like I’ve definitely shown myself and proved myself [able] to help the team as an individual. [In] the games that matter you’ve got to get something in.

“Whether it’s me or Cora [Climo] or Christa [Szalach] or Zoe [Swift] or anyone else up top or in the midfield, you’ve got to make your mark and as an individual making your mark you’re helping out the team.”

Senior defender Jen Korn set up Drendel’s score by sending a corner kick from the right side to the far post to Szalach, who headed the ball back to Drendel, who was standing just to the right of the penalty spot. Drendel’s powerful nod sent the ball past Neuqua keeper Courtney Keefer and inside the right post.

“The corner was a great ball and I think it was Christa, I’m not 100 percent positive, but once Christa headed it back across I knew definitely that I could get it back in,” Drendel said. “I definitely had to get some hops on it to get it to back across and in, but it worked out. We needed that insurance goal and it definitely fulfilled our win and we wanted to keep our ranking.”

The game was much-anticipated by both teams and soccer fans in general. Naperville North is ranked third nationally by ESPN Rise, while Neuqua Valley is No. 5. The large crowd was not disappointed as both sides lived up to the hype.

The Huskies (4-0), however, were better, particularly after striking just 4:35 in. That’s when freshman forward Abbie Boswell slid a left-footed cross from the left end line into traffic in front of the Neuqua net. Climo met it there for a five-yard shot inside the left post.

“We were definitely motivated to come out and play,” Climo said. “Last year we had a great win against them when they were No. 1 in the state, so we knew they were going to come out hard so we tried to give it all we’ve got.

“I definitely thought we came out hard at the beginning. We’ve been focusing on keeping the ball and just trying to finish all the chances we get because against a good team like Neuqua you’re not going to get a ton, so we had to make sure we finished some of them.”

Climo’s finish set the tone for the entire match as the Wildcats (1-1) are not used to playing from behind.

“It definitely pushes our momentum forward to get an early goal,” Drendel said. “You’re figuring out, hey, this is it. We’re up, just relax and play simple. Just play as a team and I feel that once we got that goal, that second goal eventually would come.”

That it did come was not a surprise. What was surprising was that Neuqua wasn’t able to score.

The Wildcats had a decent amount of chances, but senior goalie Allison Hitchcock came up with six saves in recording the fourth straight shutout for the Huskies, who have yet to allow a goal. Several of the stops were spectacular, including lunges to parry a 19-yard free kick by Zoey Goralski over the crossbar three minutes into the second half and another punch that deflected a 30-yard shot from Gianna Dal Pozzo around the left post with 11:05 remaining.

“Allison made some great saves, some punches out that really saved us,” Climo said.

The Huskies also received stellar play from Korn, freshman Kayla Sharples and senior Anna Prescott on the back line, which limited Neuqua to a manageable 10 shots.

“This was by far our best game in terms of putting the pieces together,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “I thought defensively a shutout is always great. I thought it was a full team effort in the back.

“I thought Allison Hitchcock came up with some huge saves for us. She hasn’t been tested a lot in the first three games and Neuqua did a great job of testing her and I thought our back line held up pretty well. In games against teams that good you need your kids to step up and I felt my kids did today.”

The midfield also helped out, with Climo, Szalach and sophomore Abby Mangefrida especially sharp in the second half.

“They’re a very solid team,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “They’re going to get better as the season progresses. I thought their back line played solid and their midfield was a little stronger than I thought it was going to be and obviously they’ve got two of the better front-runners around.

“We were dangerous when we got the ball wide and then we started going inside. We’ve got to keep the ball wide.”

The Wildcats were playing without one of their top playmakers, junior midfielder Hope D’Addario, who was held out with a minor injury.

“We’re taking it easy on her right now,” Moreau said. “If this was a playoff game she would have been in there, but it’s not.”

But it was a unique atmosphere, especially between games when all four teams donned pink jerseys and joined hands in a circle at midfield to honor breast cancer survivors.

“It’s kind of nice to be able to work things in and let the young kids get a feel for the game and the excitement of it,” Moreau said. “It was a great crowd and two very good teams playing against each other. I thought the ceremony between games was pretty darn special, so it is a work in progress.”

Though the season is only a week old, this game provided a good measuring stick for two great teams that seemed destined to meet again in the state playoffs.

“I told the girls [that] regardless of the result, this is going to be a great test for them against a team as good as Neuqua, as well-coached as Neuqua with a ton of talented players,” Goletz said. “I told the girls it’s a tribute to them that they played their best game against the best team we’ve seen so far. This game feels good but obviously there is stuff to work on and we know down the road we may see each other again and it’s going to mean a lot more.”

Goletz is in his first year as head coach and Drendel feels he is doing a good job of pushing the Huskies to step up their game. It showed because Naperville North played much better in this contest than they did in the playoff win over the Wildcats last spring.

“I feel like this game was definitely a lot better,” Drendel said. “We graduated some great seniors last year, but I feel like the kids we’ve pulled in this year are just as good and we definitely feel with our new coach we’re still improving on our strengths.”