It's Neuqua vs. Naperville North in a sectional title game

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By Matt Le Cren

Just how much of an underdog will Naperville North be when the Huskies take on Neuqua Valley in Friday’s Waubonsie Valley Sectional championship game?

Let’s get an assessment from the Huskies themselves.

“It’s going to be another tough game,” said North midfielder Christa Szalach, who scored the only goal in the Huskies’ 1-0 semifinal defeat of cross-town rival Naperville Central on Tuesday. “We’re definitely going to have to work hard.”

Naperville North coach Brent Terada was equally realistic.

“From here on out it’s just a matter of doing the best we can,” Terada said. “We take advantage of everything we can take advantage of and if we play our best, that’s all you can ask for. We’ve got to play like there’s no tomorrow.”

Those comments were made BEFORE Neuqua Valley demolished defending state champion Waubonsie Valley 5-1 on its home field, a stunning tour de force that demonstrated why the Wildcats (24-0) are ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPNRise.

The Warriors (17-6), who came in having won their last 10 matches and 14 of 15, had allowed only 12 goals this season, never more than two in one game. But Neuqua got off 28 shots and could have scored several more goals if not for the play of Waubonsie goalie Jordan Myers, who made nine saves, several of them spectacular.

Neuqua’s dominance was a far cry from the last meeting between the two teams, when the Wildcats actually trailed before beating the Warriors 2-1 on the same field on April 5.

“We’re saying we took the torch from them,” Neuqua Valley senior defender Megan Oyster said. “It means a lot. We put it out on the field today and we’re really proud of what we did. 5-1 is a pretty good game and we’re really happy about it.”

The Wildcats led 1-0 with time winding down in the first half when Neuqua’s Zoey Goralski was dumped in the box. Oyster drilled the ensuing penalty kick past Myers to make it 2-0 with 13.3 seconds left and the air seemed to go out of the Warriors.

“It was an intense moment and I just had to put it away and I think that was a start to the rest of our (performance),” said Oyster, who earlier had hit the crossbar with a 45-yard shot. “I think it definitely topped off the first goal.”

The visitors attacked from the start and drew first blood at the 33:24 mark of the opening period on a goal by sophomore Hope D’Addario. D’Addario’s corner kick from the left side was headed out by the Waubonsie defense, but she raced back to track the ball down and quickly sent a 28-yard shot curving through the box and past Myers before rolling inside the right post.

“It was a bomb,” Oyster said. “She has a great shot and we know what she can do. She did it again.”

The Wildcats did it again and again in the second half. Goralski scored twice and Olivia Schmitt made it 5-0 when she buried a rebound of a Shannon Pimmel shot with 1:43 remaining.

Oyster said her squad was more focused than in the first meeting.

“We calmed down a ton,” Oyster said. “We played our game this game and we really showed them what kind of team we are.”

Even with a 2-0 lead at intermission, the Wildcats weren’t taking anything for granted.

“At halftime we talked about just playing our game,” Goralski said. “We just came out with a lot m ore heart. We knew it was (still close) so we knew they would play up to us, so we just tried to do our best and we definitely finished.”

If Neuqua continues to play at this level, every opponent will soon be finished. But the Wildcats vow to not lose focus against Naperville North, a side they beat 1-0 March 23 at North Central College.

“We definitely played really well today but we’re just going to keep going and not take our foot off the pedal,” Goralski said. “We’re not done yet. We never want to be thinking of the next game after this one. We just want to focus on winning this game and we definitely did that tonight.”

After avenging last year’s double-overtime regional final loss to Naperville Central, Naperville North (15-5-1) celebrated like it had won the state title.

“They recognize at this sectional that any win you get in the sectional playoffs is an accomplishment,” Naperville North coach Brent Terada said. “Let them celebrate, enjoy tonight and tomorrow we’ll turn our focus to what we have in front of us.”

Szalach saw that she had some space in front of her when she rifled a 25-yard shot past diving Central goalie Jill D’Amico and inside the right post with 30:51 to go in the first half.

“Honestly, I didn’t know where (D’Amico) was at the time,” Szalach said. “I was just aiming to the right. Terada always tells me to take that shot if I have it because I’m a center mid., so I was just focusing on that. I thought I had the open shot so I just took it.”

Hunter Drendel set up the score when she got control just outside the top left corner of the Redhawks box and passed into the middle to Szalach.

“Hunter made a great decision there,” Terada said. “Rather than force a tough turn, she did the unselfish thing, laid it off to (Szalach). She made the right run and we were fortunate to beat Jill with one.”

That’s because D’Amico is hard to beat from long range.

“It was a good shot,” Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. “We didn’t do a real good job of stepping out on her, but it was well-struck.”

The Redhawks (14-7-3) didn’t lack for opportunities to equalize. After struggling against the stiff wind in the first half, Central turned the tables in the second half, out shooting the Huskies 9-1.

But the Redhawks couldn’t take advantage of four corner kicks, one of which was headed wide by Krissy Many, and were unlucky on some other chances, including a 20-yard shot by Katherine Short that hit the crossbar and bounced over with 10:15 left in the second half. That drive was similar to the one Short made to beat Plainfield North in Saturday’s regional title game.

“We had a couple of really good long-range shots and then I think we had a couple opportunities when composure, or lack thereof, played a role,” Watson said. “The fact of the matter is we don’t have a big-time, No. 1 attacking player, so we do it by committing and certain girls had good stretches.”

Central’s last chance came with 4:20 remaining when freshman Abby Joyce targeted the lower left corner with a 15-yard shot, only to see North goalie Abby Green dive to knock it around the post.

“Last year we lost to them off of a free kick and it was terrible,” Szalach said. “This team is amazing. They always bring great competition to the table so it’s a good feeling to know that we defeated them.”