Huskies shut out Neuqua with a sectional title on the line

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By Bill Scheibe

On a curvy corner kick from sophomore midfielder Cora Climo, Naperville North’s Hunter Drendel went leaping to leave Neuqua Valley weeping as she headed the soccer ball down toward the far-right corner.

As one of Neuqua’s defenders, stationed on that post, tried to clear the attempt off the goal line, the linesman instantly thrust his flag into the air. Play continued momentarily, with the Huskies in control, before the referee blew his whistle, stopped the clock and ran over to consult with his fellow official.

The suspense started to worry Drendel.

“I thought the call was going to be for pushing,” she shrugged afterward, with her teammates screaming in the background. “I didn’t think it was going to be a goal at all. I wanted it to be a goal, but with them talking, it could be anything. And with the way things were in the game, there was so much pushing.

“I thought maybe one of our girls on the back post pushed someone, and I thought that we were going to get called for something bad in that situation. I didn’t think it was going to be anything like that.”

It turned out to be anything and everything to Naperville North on Friday night. The header by Drendel, a dandy junior forward, was ruled a goal and the Huskies held on for the upset of the spring season with a 1-0 victory over Neuqua Valley in the Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Sectional championship game.

Again, Climo came up with the key assist for Naperville North (16-5-1), which took its second sectional title in the past three years under coach Brent Terada. Senior goalkeeper Abby Green also notched her third straight shutout with 11 saves as the Huskies avenged a 1-0 loss to the Wildcats on March 23.

In front of a standing-room-only crowd, North ousted a Neuqua team ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN Rise three days after the Wildcats eliminated defending 3A state champion Waubonsie Valley by a 5-1 count in the sectional semifinals. Waubonsie had won three state titles in the past four years.

If ever there was a classic letdown-trap game, this was it. Drendel’s goal and a resilient defense allowed North to post its seventh consecutive win – including three successive by 1-0 scores – in advancing to Tuesday night’s Benedictine University Supersectional at 7 vs. York (21-4-1), a 2-1 winner over Lyons.

Good times.

“We were very, very fortunate,” Terada said with a smile. “We ran a corner, we got on the other end of it, and we hung on for the rest of the game. I’m not saying we’re the better team. If we play them 10 times, they probably beat us eight. But we were good enough today and that’s all that really matters.”

“That could be,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said of the possible letdown scenario. “Or maybe Naperville North is just a very good team. They defended extremely well, and I felt in the first 40 minutes, we were very flat. We had more chances in the second half, but we didn’t crack them.”

The great soccer philosopher Confucius once said “a great half does not a game make.” But with 8 minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the first half, Drendel delivered on the Climo corner and Naperville North headed into halftime with hearts pounding to the beat, and momentum, of a 1-0 advantage.

“It definitely made an impact on us,” Climo said. “We wanted to score first and that calmed us down. We struggle mentally if the other team scores first, and that was a big thing for our confidence.”

Especially since this was Neuqua Valley. Senior sweeper Megan Oyster, Illinois’ Gatorade Player of the Year, is a UCLA recruit. Senior midfielders Alexa Wilde (Baylor) and Noelle Leary (Illinois) and senior defender Lauren Noonan (NIU) are among the Wildcats’ Division I signees. And that’s not all, at all.

For one, sophomore forward Zoey Goralski showed the world-class speed of a U.S. junior national team player. Sophomore forward Gianna Dal Pozzo , junior midfielder Meghan Kelley, sophomore midfielder Hope D’Addario and junior stopper Sydney Tappin meant the Wildcats were dangerous, start to finish.

Even without the finish.

“It’s unbelievable,” Climo said. “They’re an amazing team and they have so many amazing players. They were undefeated, the best team in the preseason, and it’s awesome to be able to beat them. We knew coming in it would be an extremely hard game, but we just went out and played our hearts out.”

Specifically, Terada mentioned his goalkeeper, Green, and the Huskies’ back line of glue-like defenders in seniors Adrienne Schertz, Jamie Meno and Kirsten Anderson and sophomore Angela Widlacki.

Green was called upon in the final 30 minutes to make save after save – a flurry that became an avalanche. The shutout by Green and her defense marked the first time that Neuqua Valley was held scoreless this season.

“Abby stepped up huge for us,” Terada said. “They constantly put us under pressure, tons  and tons of pressure, and for us to withstand that and stay organized, I give all the credit to our seniors. Our senior leadership in the back was amazing the entire game and they kept us focused on the task at hand.”

The handy Green punched away a D’Addario free kick at 27:49 left, stopped a shot toward the left post by Dal Pozzo on a spectacular feed from Goralski and then smothered the point-blank rebound shot of Wilde. She could only watch as Goralski’s pass to Oyster resulted in a booming shot off the crossbar.

“It was important for us to defend and play solid with the lead we had,” Green said. “And overall, our defense stayed solid. I did whatever I could to stop the ball, and I trust my defense. They know when I call for the ball to let me go and get it. We had great communication in back and all over the field.”

In the end, it would be all over for a Neuqua senior group that went undefeated during the regular season and closed with a 24-1 record. The Wildcats graduate the aforementioned Oyster, Leary, Noonan and Wilde, plus defenders Shannon Pimmel and Lisa Nuccio and forwards Morgan Mulcahy and Allie McBride.

“It is a little cruel,” Moreau said of the how Neuqua’s season came to an abrupt halt. “But hat’s off to North. They’re a good team. They fought hard and played with a lot of energy. We knew they were dangerous on their set pieces, with the long throw-in, and we just didn’t finish off any of our chances.”

One chance. One curving, leaping chance.

While Naperville North did force freshman goalkeeper Courtney Keefer into making eight saves for Neuqua, a Schertz through-ball feed to Drendel and a run by senior forward Alex Wernette set up the lone corner opportunity the Huskies would need. And as Drendel fretted, an upbeat Climo beamed.

“I was running back toward Kirsten and I thought it was in,” Climo said. “I tried to place it in there and it was an awesome header by Hunter. She jumped up there and got it and that was pretty amazing. And when the referee went over to the linesman and came back and made the call, we all went crazy.”

“Obviously, I wasn’t so sure,” Drendel said. “I wanted to it go in, but if it’s a goal, it’s a goal. I’ll take it.”

As will Green, one of eight seniors on the Naperville North roster. The Huskies were the decided underdog against Neuqua, which was seeking its first sectional title since winning the Class AA state championship in 2005, and the extra-large magnitude of this moment in time did not escape.

“It’s huge … huge,” Green said, nodding in exhilaration. “I’m so excited and my team is excited, too.”