Lindberg, Naperville North defeat Waubonsie Valley
Kyle Lindberg might have found himself a new position.
Moved to forward from defensive midfielder late in the first half of a scoreless game at Waubonsie Valley on Saturday afternoon, the Naperville North junior scored his first two goals of the season and added an assist in the Huskies' 3-0 victory in Aurora.
Lindberg got his first goal just 30 seconds before halftime when teammate Joe Sullivan sent a through ball to him down the middle of the field. Lindberg held a defender off with his hip, then turned and fired from the top of the penalty area.
"We're sitting there thinking at halftime we'll be giving the same speech we've given every other game this year," Huskies coach Jim Konrad said. " 'It's 0-0 guys, let's make sure we start doing something.' Then we decided, aw, forget it, let's put Kyle up top."
"Joe Sullivan just played a really good ball to me and I just ran on to it," Lindberg added.
It was the second time this week Waubonsie Valley (2-6-1) had allowed a goal just before halftime. It also happened Tuesday in a loss to Neuqua Valley.
"I think this one had more of an effect on us, a negative effect, than the one against Neuqua," Waubonsie Valley coach Angelo DiBernardo said.
The Huskies (5-1-1) scored again in the 47th minute when Lindberg returned the favor to Sullivan, feeding him the ball with a stylish back-heel flick-on pass.
"I just saw him running and I felt the guy on my back, so I just flicked it to him," Lindberg said. "He was wide open. It was a good finish."
With the Warriors pushing forward on a corner kick four minutes later, the Huskies scored their third goal on a counterattack. Bob Ren fed Evan Trychta on the left. Trychta dribbled in along the touchline and passed back to Ren, who fed a pass to Lindberg for the easy goal.
"We've been dominated up top physically all year because we have little guys," Konrad said of the Huskies' scoring problems. "They're young and they're not big. Kyle obviously is half-Sasquatch. He can hold guys off. He's obviously strong. He can run through guys, past guys.
"And you saw that. His first goal he had a great touch, but he just manhandled their center back, turns and fires the ball in. The second one he was able to hold the guy off and still be good enough to flick it on, and then to get where he was for that last goal. He may be a difference maker."
The only question for Konrad is can Lindberg be replaced in the center of his midfield.
Meanwhile, DiBernardo is looking for someone to make a difference for the struggling Warriors.
"It's the same old story. The first 20 minutes are decent, and then after that we can't match up with the competition," he said. "We just can't. We played down."
Maybe it's a fitness problem."