McCabe's save, Naughton's shot get Sockers FC past NSA Premier

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By Gary Larsen

A shootout can be a mental chess match, with goalkeepers aiming to read players’ hips and eyes and shooters being as deceptive as they can before striking a shot.

During the shootout that occurred in this year’s U-16 girls’ State Cup title game, shooter after shooter walked up calmly from midfield before setting up a shot. But Katie Naughton of Sockers FC United took a different approach.

“I decided to run up, to get my nerves out as ran,” Naughton said. “And then I didn’t really think about it. I just kicked it.”

Naughton’s kick finalized the deal for the Sockers, after teammate Megan McCabe made the lone save of the shootout against NSA Premier Fury. The teams tied 2-2 through regulation play and two overtime periods before the title came down to penalty kicks.

“It’s the best group I’ve had, boys or girls,” Sockers coach Oleg Vatchev said when it was over. “We’ve always been close but then someone will smack a long ball and take advantage of us. I’m happy for them because they deserve it.”

“(NSA Premier) has been the dominant team the last few years and they already qualified for the nationals. In the fall we lost 5-1 to them. We’ve been working on keeping the ball, we don’t want to kick it, and that’s how our club in general wants to play.

When they’re younger that means they’re going to make a lot of mistakes but as they’ve gotten older it has started to pay off.”

NSA Premier played without the services of a pair of injured national team players, but coach Radoslav Martinovic saw good things from his girls on Sunday. NSA Premier got goals from Jessica Bronke and Corrine Harris, with Harris assisting on Bronke’s goal.

NSA had not given up a goal in the three State Cup wins that put them in the title match.
 
“I’m happy with the effort they put forth,” Martinovic said. “They showed good energy, kept going, and showed good play. It was a good game, a clean game, and both teams showed respect for each other. I was really happy with everybody today.”

For the Sockers, defender Naughton and goalkeeper McCabe were particularly happy to play such a prominent role during the shootout, and the chance to atone for sins they felt they committed during the run of play.

“I think in the first half we had our chances and didn’t put them away, and the same thing in the second half,” Naughton said. “And our defense broke down a couple times, and I’m guilty.”

“A couple goalkeeping mishaps that I should have handled, and I didn’t,” McCabe said. “But it doesn’t matter. We kept fighting and we didn’t give up, even when we were down one.”

One of the Sockers’ creative forces on the field, Courtney Raetzman, scored her squad’s first goal on a feed from Kelli Hubly. Raetzman was forced to leave the game due to injury but her squad stayed strong despite losing one of its top players.

Naughton, Hubly, Rhianna Krutz, and Crystal Thomas were all prominent in Sunday’s title game. Hubly scored to tie the game at 2-2, with assists going to Thomas and Krutz, and Vatchev was particularly pleased with the job Olivia Stasiuk did stepping in for an injured starting defender.

After 6 NSA shooters converted their p-k kicks, McCabe was able to deny the 7th shot and set up Naughton’s winning boot.

“It’s just a big guessing game. I try to see which way they’re going but it’s a guess,” McCabe said. “I kind of judge the players based on how they play in the game and I thought maybe she’d go to her strong side. It was a guess and it went well.”

 The Sockers’ U-16 team reached the title game with a 5-1 win over FCX South Black, followed by a 3-1 win over Chicago Internationals of Homer Glen. Sockers then beat Eclipse Select 4-1 in a semifinal match to reach the title game.

NSA Premier reached the title game with a trio of 4-0 wins, over Darien Dynamo Select, Hoffman United FC Rockets, and Strikers Fox Valley Premier.