Naperville North spoils Metea’s first senior night
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Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com Abbie Boswell, left, of Naperville North takes control of the ball from Hannah Thayer, right, of Metea Valley during girls soccer action on Tuesday in Aurora. |
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Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com Cailin LaRocque of Metea Valley, left, tries to get control of the ball from Cora Climo, right, of Naperville North during girls soccer on Tuesday in Aurora. |
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Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com Hunter Drendel, left of Naperville North and Alyssa Fox, right, of Metea Valley in girls soccer action on Tuesday in Aurora. |
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Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com Cora Climo, left, of Naperville North and Alyssa Fox, right, of Metea Valley go up for the header during girls soccer on Tuesday in Aurora. |
Metea Valley was hoping to hand Naperville North its first loss of the season while also hosting senior night for the first time in program history.
The Mustangs battled for 80 minutes but surrendered a goal to Zoe Swift midway through the first half. It was all the Huskies would need in a 1-0 victory.
Swift's shot at the 21:10 mark didn't completely elude Metea Valley goalkeeper Megan Geldernick, who partially blocked it, only to see the ball continue onward with a great deal of English into the back of the net.
"She was reading that I was going to go right so I forced herself more right," Swift said. "I put it left and she just got a hand on it and it slipped in."
Geldernick was brilliant throughout the match, but the goal proved to be too much for the Mustangs to overcome.
"It was an awkward spot to save the ball," she said. "(Swift's) a very good forward and knows where to place the ball. I would've liked to have made the save — I was there, but I just needed to get my footwork down and move to get my hands there."
Naperville North (13-0-0) never scored an insurance goal, but it certainly wasn't because of a lack of opportunities.
"We knew going into this game we'd have to get as many shots off as possible because (Geldernick) is going to save a lot of shots," Huskies senior Jen Korn said. "We were just fortunate to be able to get one in."
Metea Valley (13-3-0) only had a few chances to score the equalizer while it struggled on the final third.
"It was almost like we froze in the attacking third," Mustangs coach Pat Feulner said. "We had some runs on some balls that we didn't have a runner on because we were standing. I guess it was a little bit about them being worried of getting countered. I thought we did a better job in the second half, but we just have to finish."
Swift now has more goals this season, 14, than her team has wins. Senior Allison Hitchcock wasn't overly busy in goal for the Huskies but did make a couple diving stops, including a save of a Tina Tomaras shot attempt seconds before Swift scored.
All three losses for the Mustangs this year have been 1-0 decisions.
