Boys soccer: In the end, Naperville Central gets its goal
It took nearly 77 minutes but Naperville Central finally got the only goal it needed during Thursday's Best of the West Tournament boys soccer game against Sandburg.
Senior Zack Kokes delivered the game-winner with 3:28 remaining and the Redhawks didn't allow Sandburg any scoring opportunities the rest of the way in a 1-0 victory.
“Ryan (Coleman) was dribbling down the left side and shot it wide and then their defense got caught watching the ball,” Kokes said. “Rokas (Stadalninkas) put in a great cross and I had a wide-open header and I just buried it. I was lucky to be in the middle of the box there with no one marking me and just kept calm and composed and pushed it there with a header.”
Naperville Central (3-2) often has been plagued with an inability to find the back of the net. They were stymied once again by the Eagles, but their persistence and patience ultimately paid off.
“We're like at 5 or 7 percent of our scoring chances and I tell the guys that we're going to have games where we need to score on 25 or 30 percent of our chances or we won't win,” Redhawks coach Troy Adams said. “It's so frustrating and I've told kids every year to please find that back six and sit there because it's worth probably a half-dozen goals every year just doing that.”
With youth and the season still young, the Redhawks are still trying to find their identity, although the talent is there for them to compete, which they've shown.
“We've got to stay disciplined,” Adams said. “What do I need to do and what is my job and the guys need to understand and do what they need to do. They have to remain actively engaged and not watching the game only.”
Adams is stressing to his guys that it doesn't have to look pretty either. All that matters is a successful end result.
“It can be dirty out there and sometimes you just have to grind and find a toe to put on one,” he said “When you get a chance it doesn't matter, just pop it in when you have that chance. You can't go through a winning season without some dirty goals, but you work hard for them and take them.”
On the flip side the Redhawks midfield and back line were greedy, completely shutting down the Eagles, providing them with only a handful of scoring chances.
“We did a great job of really shutting them down,” Adams said. “They didn't have many opportunities and we did a good job of controlling the ball. We didn't allow them much rhythm and free time and our work rate was good, but we still need to work on figuring out that final third.”