North Stars bounce back from first loss by blanking Tigers

By Darryl Mellema

Two days after losing for the first time this season, St. Charles North faced another strong challenge, this time in the form of DuPage Valley Conference power Wheaton Warrenville South.

The least-worried bunch heading into Thursday's match in St. Charles were the North Stars themselves and they headed onto the field in a very determined mood.

But then they're that kind of a team. Stern faces and determined gazes are commonplace for Ruth Vostal's squad.

There were, however, plenty of smiles from the white-clad North Stars 80 minutes later after North’s comprehensive 4-0 nonconference victory.

"We came out with more fire today," North junior Sammi Gage said. "We were disappointed after the game against Waubonsie Valley. We were just ready to come back with a big win and we got that."

North (13-1-1) lost its unbeaten record following Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Waubonsie Valley. The North Stars took the lead in that match but were eventually tied and then defeated.

The North Stars again took the lead against Wheaton Warrenville South but this time there weren't any defensive letdowns.

"We kept rotating people to keep fresh legs out there," Vostal said. "I kept telling our bench players to support those people on the field.

"I kept encouraging vocal leadership on the field because that was lacking against Waubonsie Valley. Our goals weren't necessarily technical or tactical. They were more mental goals."

Leah DeMoss scored the opening goal after 19 minutes. Alyssa Peterson came up the right wing and sent the ball to Kelli Alderman at the far post 10 yards from goal.

Alderman beat her defender to the ball and sent a pass back to the center of goal from where DeMoss shot and scored.

Gage got the North Stars next two goals. The first came five minutes after DeMoss' opener.

The second arrived 19 minutes into the second half, by which time North was firmly in command of the match.

Meryl Behm completed the scoring 16 minutes from that time.

"Different people scored," Vostal said. "(Gage) stepped up. I think, overall, we were in the right spot at the right time."

That multi-talented aspect to the North Stars' attack has been a feature all season.

Whether DeMoss, Gage, Peterson, Paige Dusek or any of a number of other potential scorers, there are always options for the North Stars in the attack.

"That is so nice that you can have faith in every single person on the field," Gage said.

"We had one game where we had our goalkeeper (Kristen Manski) go out and play in the field and she scored two goals. You just have to feel that every single person out there on the field can score."

One of the key areas of the match was in midfield, where North won tackles and then sprung forward running players such as Alyssa Peterson and especially Paige Dusek to drive into the heart of the Tigers' defense.

By contrast, that sort of pass-and-move play never materialized for Wheaton Warrenville South.

The North Stars defense gave goalie Manski very little to do against South. That was a switch from Tuesday, when Manski was very busy keeper for her team in the game with Waubonsie Valley.

"Their offense was really dangerous," Manski said. "It was rough for me to keep everyone marked as play developed."

Defensive organization has always been a key for St. Charles North and it proved to be that way again on Thursday.

Manski never had to make a difficult save and much of that was due to the effectiveness of the defense in stopping the Tigers well before they reached the penalty area.

"It's really nice because I feel confident in their ability to do their job," Manski said. "When we all are communicating and telling each other where to go, we do a really good job with it."

The Tigers (13-3-2) are having a strong season and are on course to share the DuPage Valley Conference title.

But their loss to St. Charles North was the worst they suffered all year.

"Coming off our Waubonsie game, our biggest focus was just continuing to fight," Vostal said. "And I think you saw that from early on, the way we went into tackles strong."

North has a busy final week of the regular season. It plays Waunakee, Wisconsin, on Saturday in a rematch of a meeting between the two last weekend in Burlington, Iowa.

Next comes the team's Upstate Eight Conference finale against Lake Park, a tough nonconference battle at Evanston and a Saturday match against area-rival Batavia.

Kickoff time for the Batavia match, which will be played in St. Charles, has been changed to 11 a.m.

"We have a tough stretch," Vostal said. "We're still sort of in the mix. I think that's great. I want them playing at their best at the end of the season."

While some teams ease off their playing schedule prior to the start of the tournament, North will continue its usual playing schedule before starting the postseason.

In a way, this balances the opening of the season, where the North Stars are usually one of the last teams to start playing.

"I love playing, so the more games the better," Gage said. "I think we all feel that way on this team. But it does kind of hit you fast. Our preseason is always so long and you can't wait to get the games started.

"Then to think that you only have a short time left has kind of hit us. We want to make the most of the time we have to be together as a team."

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