Vikings finish difficult stretch with loss to Huskies

By Eddie Burns

One key component that was lost during Naperville North's stunning three-goal loss to Waubonsie Valley earlier this week was how the Huskies were unable to make any of their direct restarts dangerous.

That responsibility belongs to North senior co-captain Rycke Guiney. Twice in the second half against the Warriors, Guiney had opportunities to put restarts on the Waubonsie net but both times the ball sailed well out of play.

Guiney made working on restarts a point of emphasis in practice and her hard work paid off during the Huskies' 4-0 win at Geneva on Thursday.

She started the scoring in the sixth minute when she sent a restart from approximately 30 yards out past Vikings' goalie Jenny Lienau.

Then Guiney made her second restart from almost the same area count as teammate Christa Szalach ran under it and flipped the ball with her head in the Geneva net to make it 2-0 in the 26th minute.

"I spend a lot of time before and after each practice working on restarts and it paid off tonight," Guiney said.

North coach Brent Terada said Guiney has to deliver if she's going to be the person taking those important kicks.

"It is her responsibility as a senior and one of our captains to put the ball on frame and make sure it is dangerous," Terada said. "She takes that responsibility very serious and she works every day after practice.

"After a couple of missed opportunities in the Waubonsie game, she was very disappointed with herself and she's been putting the time in to make sure that doesn't happen again.

"She put the ball right on the money two times in a row and we were able to finish on those. All of the credit has to go Rycke and her work ethic."

Freshman Zoe Swift is another key element to North's success this season and she delivered by scoring North's final two goals – one in the 37th minute and the other in the 55th minute.

Swift said the Huskies (5-1-2) were put in their place against Waubonsie.

"We came back into practice and we were totally serious," Swift said. "We didn't joke around. When we got here tonight we were focused and ready for what we needed to do and we got the job done."

Terada promised changes after the Waubonsie match and there were several different players in new positions and new formations against Geneva (4-4-1).

"We were just tinkering," said Terada, who also substituted liberally. "We're preparing for more than just this game. It was a nonconference match against a team that is not in our sectional and there were no seeding implications, so we tried a bunch of different things.

"Certainly after Waubonsie we got exposed and we knew that we had to change stuff. It was good to play against a good team and still be able to do what we wanted."

One noticeable difference was in goal where sophomore Allison Hitchcock received her first varsity start, shutout and win.

"We just felt like we wanted to give her a chance," Terada said. "She's been working hard and deserved the chance to play.

"Geneva was a tough team to put her up against, but we put her under fire and she proved that she was phenomenal. She came off her line and was very decisive and shut things down before they even became dangerous."

For Geneva, the game marked the end of a difficult stretch. Since April 8, the Vikings have played Schaumburg, Naperville Central, St. Charles East, Wheaton Warrenville South and North. Geneva went 1-3-1 during the stretch.

"We play a tough schedule to get us ready for the postseason and in the last week we've played a lot of teams that are ranked highly in the state – some real phenomenal teams," Geneva coach Megan Owens said. "We held our own for the most part. Today wasn't our best effort."

The Vikings were without starting sweeper Stephanie Davison, who tore a ligament during Saturday's win at St. Charles East.

"We kept our heads up and played hard until the end," Geneva freshman Amanda Lulek said. "We have really have to connect as a team and use this experience to make us better."

Terada said he knew the Huskies caught a break facing the Vikings at this particular time.

"We know that is not the same Geneva team that will be there in the postseason," Terada said. "They are at the end of a really tough stretch that would be brutal for anybody. When Geneva is healthy -- they are as good as anyone around."

One encouraging sign for Geneva, which trailed 3-0 at halftime, is that the Vikings continued to play hard throughout the match. The Vikings did generate scoring chances in the second half.

Alexa Loebel had a great opportunity in the 48th minute when she sent the ball past Hitchcock, but North defender Jillian Van Kampen managed to get back and clear the ball off the line.

"We had no choice but to come out and finish strong and play our hearts out and we did," Lulek said. "We learned a lot and we need to do a better job staying with our marks."

Owens thought her team finished stronger than it started.

"It's promising that we competed all the way until the end," Owens said. "We didn't give up and we played hard. We've learned a lot and it will really help us learn and improve in the future and middle stretch of our season.

"We're still playing strong, but we need to fix up the little things – especially in the back."

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