North Stars use fast start to defeat Wego in regional finals
By Steve Nemeth
Just like the North Star is ever present on a clear night, St. Charles North is indisputably part of the mix when it comes to contemplating state finalists for the 2013 IHSA Class 3A finals.
The evidence was irrefutable Saturday as North cruised to a four-goal halftime lead and the reserves answered a second-half goal quickly to account for a 5-1 conquest over West Chicago in the championship of the DeKalb Regional – the 11th consecutive such plaque for St. Charles North.
The North Stars now take a 17-3-1 ledger into Tuesday’s 5 pm semifinal of the Hoffman Estates Sectional against a Conant program that came out on the empty end of a 2-0 season-opening match-up between the two schools back on March 14.
Success in that contest would mean the opportunity to play for a third sectional trophy in four years with the opponent being either of two other earlier 2-0 victims: Geneva or Batavia.
Much to the delight of numerous SCN alumnae, parents, friends and students in attendance, the North Stars gained the lead just 4:04 into the match and then the margin grew as would be expected for a program coming off a runner-up finish in the 2012 state championship.
The four-goal triumph was a mirror image of Wednesday’s semifinal win over host DeKalb in that five different players contributed to the scoring, a feat not lost on coach Ruth Vostal.
“We created a ton of awesome chances and having different people step up offensively was great to see,” Vostal noted. “We’ve been working on our mental game and maintaining focus, so even after they scored, we produced a quick response.”
Of course that was long after the North Stars’ quick start when the No. 1 seed made the most of the first of what would be a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Alyssa Brandt’s boot from the far right side was followed by a head flick from Jorie Clawson that set up Alex Gage for a six-yard shot into the right half of the net.
“When Alyssa played the ball in I knew Jorie would flick it toward the back post so I made my run for that space and just volleyed it home,” Gage said in regard to her team-best 16th goal.
“That goal gave us a lot more confidence that we could execute our offense, everyone got their heads into the game and whether it was finding feet or leading a teammate into space, it all began to click for us.”
Indeed it did as the lead double after 14:42 when Kelly Manski’s service turned into a four-yard header by Natalie Winkates.
Manski’s team-high 12th assist enabled Winkates to score what would become her fourth goal of the year and second match-winner. The strike also visibly crushed West Chicago’s spirit.
“After that first goal we just panicked and after the second, we were so nervous we didn’t play our game at all in the first half,” Wildcat coach Cesar Gomez admitted.
“Give them credit, they have so many more experienced players and they wanted it more than us; every early 50-50 ball went their way.”
One of those bounces up for grabs led to a 3-0 North advantage as Brandt got into position for an eight-yard blast from the right side that slipped inside of the left post with 11:20 remaining before intermission.
“I saw that Hanna (Durocher) got up higher for a header to advance the ball, so I came in on a diagonal and got enough of a touch on the ball to get it over their defender and then it was just a matter of slotting the ball between the far post and their keeper,” explained Brandt in describing her ninth goal.
Yet another highlight effort came with just over 10 minutes prior to intermission when Clawson boomed a 65-yard direct free kick that necessitated a tip save from West Chicago keeper Gaby Navejas.
The Wildcat goalie wasn’t quite so lucky when Hanna Durocher lasered a 21-yard attempt. Durocher’s eighth goal of the season came from Ashlyn Walter’s seventh assist, both of which produced the 4-0 halftime tally.
With a lineup listing nine seniors – including five starters – plus 10 freshmen – five of whom started along with a sophomore – West Chicago can be viewed as a program on the rise with designs on improving on its season-ending 11-10-3 record.
“If we could have gotten an early score or even a near goal earlier in the match, we might have settled down like we did in the second half,” Gomez said.
“We connected some passes and got a few chances in the second half. I credit (senior Andie) Lazzerini, (sophomore Kayla) Kirkwood, and (freshman Stephanie) Mata for the way they stepped up and kept encouraging their teammates to keep fighting.”
The Wildcats did avoid falling into the predominant roll call of regional shutout victims which numbered 70 out of the 110 contests deciding the state’s sectional qualifiers.
That occurred with 6:13 left to be played when Lazzerini sent the ball to the middle for an 11-yard goal by Maddie Aguilar against North Star back-up keeper Alexa Lievrouw, who took over the net for the final 13 minutes from starter Shelby Stitz.
“At first I just wanted to control the ball and then shoot, so I thought the keeper had my attempt but it got by her. It was a good feeling to avoid being shut out and to prove we played better in the second half,” Aguilar said.
“As a freshman, this experience really pushes me to improve and to see that we go further in future tournaments.”
But that’s when Vostal’s earlier reference to producing “a quick response” came into play. Melissa Bronke’s third assist led to a Rachel Michieli shot that ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar. In the post-match huddle, Vostal described Michieli’s third goal of the year as “an unbelievable shot.”
Perhaps it was, or simply another example of a North Star starting to shine brighter.
