Girls soccer: Naperville North, Naperville Central fight to draw

Sometimes soccer is as much about perspective as the final score.

Tuesday's 0-0 DuPage Valley Conference draw left Naperville Central feeling better about how it played than Naperville North.

The host Redhawks (10-4-4, 3-1-2) were happy to see improvement after losing to the Huskies 3-0 on Saturday in the Naperville Invitational championship game.

"Definitely," Redhawks senior Amanda Murphy said. "I think we competed really well. I think Saturday, it shocked us a little bit because we haven't been outplayed like that before, but I think my team and I did a great job (Tuesday) of competing with them and staying with them and believing in each other."

The Huskies (13-1-1, 5-0-1), ranked No. 1 in this week's Daily Herald Top 20, one spot ahead of their cross-town rivals, felt lucky to get away with the draw.

"An escape is a great word," Huskies coach Steve Goletz said. "That's a great team over there. I told the kids before the game they were going to get a much better effort and they did. The first half was the worst half of soccer we've played all year."

"Today was not our best game by any means," Huskies junior Ashley Santos added. "The first half they gave it to us. It was definitely a rude awakening for us, but I'm glad we got it now."

Neither team got many scoring chances in an evenly played game, but the Redhawks came close to scoring a couple of times. They nearly ended the game late in the second overtime on a counterattack. Sophomore Madison Redeker played a great ball into the Huskies penalty area from the right wing, and Murphy beat the defense and goalkeeper to the ball, getting just enough of it to push it toward the empty net.

Santos came to the rescue, however, ending a 70-yard run by clearing the ball just before it reached the goal line.

"Literally it was inches," she said.

"I'll never question Ashley's effort," Goletz added. "I'll never question how hard she plays and she'd do anything for this team. That right there summed it up. To track 70 yards back as a defensive mid and slide that off the goal line was a great play."

Murphy didn't see Santos clear it.

"I touched the ball and then I went down, so I didn't quite see it. I thought it was going in, and then the defender got it," she said. "It was close, but they did a really good job of backing up their goalie."

The draw ended Naperville North's winning streak at 13 games, but Santos' save kept alive the Huskies' unbeaten streak, now at 14 games, and advanced their shutout streak to 11 games.

Naperville Central's scoreless streak is three games, but the Redhawks have a shootout win and a draw since Friday's invitational semifinals.

The teams could play each other again this season in the Class 3A Metea Valley sectional final. They are the sectional's top two seeds.

"I hope people that watched tonight recognize that both of these teams have kids that just don't want to lose," Redhawks coach Ed Watson said.

Follow Orrin on Twitter @Orrin_Schwarz