Girls soccer: St. Charles North makes it 15 straight regional titles
St. Charles North's girls soccer team lived up to coach Brian Harks' pregame challenge to be relentless.
That word could be used over and over in describing Friday's 4-0 North Stars victory over Class 3A regional host DeKalb.
It applied to the pursuit of regional hardware since it's a 15th straight such title. It certainly described the attack and pressure North applied in producing two goals while statistically dominating both halves. It fits the way the North Stars have worked to remain unbeaten at 17-0-3. It was another example of how four or more players contributed goals or assists in 12 of 20 games.
North, ranked No. 3 in this week's Daily Herald Top 20, advances to Wednesday's 6 p.m. Hoffman Estates sectional semifinal against No. 14 Batavia, a 2-0 victor over Bartlett in the West Chicago regional. The North Stars edged the Bulldogs 1-0 in a May 9 visit.
"The word of the day was relentless. We wanted to be that in our attack and to pressure them wherever the ball was," Harks said. "DeKalb is a very tough, defensive-minded team and they sure fought hard, but instead of getting frustrated, we kept at it and never lost heart."
Within the opening six minutes North had three shots go wide left and then came the first of eight corner kicks. DeKalb (13-6-1) goalie Meghan Hanson was deluged from the right, left and middle as the North Stars put 8 of 14 overall attempts on goal. But it wasn't until 8:56 prior to halftime that North got on the board.
"Finally getting that goal was more joy than relief because I believed we'd score," Jordan Karom explained. "Throughout the half and the game, we just kept pushing confident it would pay off."
Gia Wahlberg's assist led to Karom's go-ahead goal and fueled the North Stars' offensive hunger. Claudia Najera earned her seventh assist when Madison Kaufmann headed home a 7-yarder for her seventh goal.
"The way we kept getting to the end line for shots or crosses, I was just lucky to be there at the right time," Kaufmann said. "It was my turn to be in position to shoot it in. Give DeKalb credit, they held up for a long time, but they got worn down."
Unlike Tuesday's breezy conditions that made it difficult for Glenbard North to keep North from a 7-0 halftime lead and 8-0 win, Friday's wind made for a chill factor. Tack on the second half numbers and the North Stars finished with a 30-1 advantage for overall attempts and 16-0 edge in shots on goal.
At 50:39, Samantha Rydberg upped her goal count to four giving North a three-goal lead. Karom then nailed an 11-yard cannon shot at 66:03. That play began with a textbook cross which Gia Wahlberg expertly stepped over in full stride to reach Karom for her third goal of the year.
Having been elevated to Class 3A for the first time, DeKalb finished with double-digit victories for the eighth straight year. Coming into the game, the Barbs had give up only 12 goals in 19 outings, on par with the North Stars yield of 10 in their previous 19 matches. However, DeKalb averaged 2.5 goals on the offensive end while North averages 3.4.
Should St. Charles East manage to defeat regional host Conant on Saturday, the Hoffman Estates sectional will validate the seeding and create a UEC River Division reunion. Top seed and No. 2 Geneva would then meet the No. 4 seed and 16th-ranked Saints on Tuesday in the first semi. Wednesday would have No. 2 seed North facing No. 3 seed Batavia. The North Stars and Vikings shared the River title at 5-0-1 while the Bulldogs and East tied for third at 3-2-1.