Naperville Central silences St. Charles East

Birthdays are supposed to be occasions where people give you presents - especially important birthdays like your 16th.

Gina Maddy got the "giving and receiving" thing a little backward on Thursday, though no one associated with Naperville Central's girls soccer program was complaining.

Maddy scored the only goal of the Redhawks' 1-0 victory over St. Charles East when she converted a Kristin Adams pass with 14 minutes to play in the opening match for both teams in the St. Charles East Invitational.

"I passed it back and (Adams) played it again to me when I screamed for it," Maddy said. "I saw the goalie coming and I slid it under her and it went in. It was good teamwork."

The Redhawks serenaded Maddy with "Happy Birthday" during their cool-down after the match.

"She gave us the gift and it should be the other way around," Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. "Actually, (Maddy) got the gift because Kristin Adams laid a great ball off."

Watson said his team, which is 4-0-2 for the season, is going to have to win matches this season by keeping its defense solid and then scoring what goals it can - exactly what the Redhawks did on Thursday.

"We didn't have a lot of opportunities," Watson said. "Sometimes when you don't have a lot of opportunities, it's difficult to make the one you should make. It was a great finish."

St. Charles East (2-2) opened more brightly than Naperville Central and nearly scored in the opening moments of the game. The hosts created other solid chances - whether through Hannah Ketterling crosses or Liz Drennan long drives. But none reached the back of the net.

"We had a couple of opportunities, but you're not going to fault anyone," St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said. "It was a great game. It was end-to-end stuff and the girls gave 80 minutes of effort. As a coach, you can't ask for any more than that."

Naperville Central's chances were also limited. Katherine Short headed over in the first half and Julianna Nania had a shot saved by Zoe Samaan in the second half before Adams and Maddy hooked up for the goal.

"It was pretty much back and forth and then back and forth," Maddy said.

Jennison admitted the key difference between the two teams was that the Redhawks "took their chance and scored. It was about 50-50 possession and it was one of those types of games where it came down to someone being able to score a goal."