Boys soccer: Naperville North withstands Wheaton North upset bid
Restarts have been a highlight for the Naperville North attack this season. They've been a struggle for the Wheaton North defense.
And that's how the top-ranked Huskies fended off the upset-minded Falcons in DuPage Valley Conference boys soccer action Tuesday afternoon.
Naperville North scored off two corner kicks and a deep throw-in to defeat Wheaton North 3-2 in Wheaton.
"Fortunately, restarts have been our best friend this year," said Huskies coach Jim Konrad. "I think that might have been our 20th goal on restarts this year. That's been the thing that's bailed us out a number of times like it did tonight."
"They played hard," Huskies junior midfielder Will Ritzmann added of the Falcons. "We came out pretty slow in the first half. We didn't play as well as we liked. But I felt the second half we started to get it together."
Colin Iverson's header off a Chris Sullivan corner kick gave the Huskies (9-2-2, 3-0) a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute.
"We came out wanting to go," Falcons coach Rob Stassen said. "I mean they embarrassed us last year, absolutely embarrassed us. They came out with something to prove and we went after them. When we went one-goal down early, our heads were like, Oh, here we go again, it's going to be another 4-0, 5-0 game."
Instead Wheaton North (1-8-2, 0-2) responded with Joseph Simon's 30-yard blast in the 14th minute to tie the game and Stefan Fleps' curling shot just inside the far post in the 23rd to give the Falcons the lead.
Those goals ended the Huskies' streak of five straight shutouts.
"Anytime in the DVC you know it's going to be a tough game," Konrad said. "Wheaton North has always given us trouble. They're always organized defensively. Their record is I don't think an honest indication of where they are as a team right now. So I thought we struggled in the first half to handle them in the middle of the field. Their kids were really slick on the ball. They kept finding gaps in the midfield. Second half we sorted that out and did a better job with it."
The Huskies evened the score just before halftime when Ritzman put the ball in the back of the Wheaton North net off another corner.
"The second goal was the killer, I think," Stassen said. "If we walk in 2-1 at halftime, that's different. We're coming in with our heads up, ready to roll. We walked in 2-2 having just given up a goal and we just couldn't pick our heads back up."
While Naperville North held possession most of the second half, it took a while to find the game-winning goal.
"We had a little bit of trouble scoring goals today in the second half, but we dominated play in the second half," Ritzmann said.
After an even first half, the Huskies took control in the second, outshooting the Falcons 10-1. It took until the 72nd minute for the Huskies to regain the lead following a scramble in the penalty box for a Naperville North throw-in. Jack Hill got the final touch to put the ball in the net for the Huskies.
"Coach got on us at halftime, but we knew we needed a better effort than we had in the first half," Ritzmann said. "As a group we came together and we knew we needed to come out better in the second half, and that's what we did. I'm proud of our team for that."
Still, the Falcons will remember those Naperville North goals came off set pieces.
"We know what we're doing tomorrow," Stassen said with a laugh.
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