Warriors lose second straight 1-0 game to Naperville N.

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By Matt Le Cren

The shot from Zoe Swift got past the outstretched hands of diving Waubonsie Valley goalie Jordan Myers and skittered just wide of the right post with 37:15 remaining the first half Friday night.

For the longest time, that miss looked like it was going to be Naperville North’s best scoring chance.

It was, until the speedy Swift got an even better chance when fellow sophomore Emily Bromegen threaded a long lead pass up the left wing to Swift, who got the ball in stride and beat Myers with a 12-yard shot with 4:35 left in the second half. That was all the visiting Huskies (5-2) needed to beat Waubonsie 1-0 at Metea Valley.

“Big-time players score the big-time goals,” Naperville North coach Brent Terada said. “That’s just the bottom line and if you give a kid like that too many chances, she’s going to make you pay.

“[Swift] did a great job. She didn’t get frustrated with missing the first one and then she just kept working hard and then found a small hole. Against a team like Waubonsie you might only get two chances and you’ve got to put those away.

“You’ve got to be very efficient against the best teams in the state and they’re still one of the great teams. They’re awesome.”

The Warriors (3-4) have won three state championships in the past four years, but they've dropped four one-goal games so far this season.

 “It feels awesome,” Swift said. “We needed to beat them. We lost 3-0 last time and we were really tired of [losing to] them. So we just played hard, knew what we had to do. We focused on the bus and we came out with a win.”

Playing in her third game this season, Swift didn’t get down on herself after the early miss or after sending a 20-yard shot just over the crossbar at the 14:10 mark of the first half.

 “It was really frustrating but I had to keep my head in the game because [Waubonsie] is a good team and if you don’t stay mentally tough then you’re going to lose,” Swift said. “You have to stay mentally strong. That’s how I got my last goal.”

That goal, her second of the year, came as something of a shock as the two sides appeared headed for a scoreless tie after enduring high winds and pouring rain for much of the contest.

“Emily Bromegen just played me a great ball, right through the defense where it’s supposed to be and I just knew I had to finish that one because time was running out,” Swift said.

The Huskies had the better of the scoring chances but Waubonsie’s defenders, particularly Mary Wright and Michelle Filipek, were solid in holding Swift in check until late.

Where the Warriors had problems was in finishing up front, which has been a continuing problem for the defending champs, who have scored only seven goals in eight matches and have now been shut out three times.

Waubonsie had one golden opportunity with 18:15 remaining in the first half when Huskies keeper Abby Green, who had two saves to record North’s fifth clean sheet, made a kick save on a point-blank one-timer from Jenna Romano. Megan Green cracked the rebound on frame but it was deflected over the net by a defender.

“Any time you beat Waubonsie it’s something to be very, very proud of,” Terada said. “They’re the defending state champs.”