Girls soccer: Martin, Naperville North knock out Neuqua Valley

Hannah Martin expects scoring chances to come her way, and she's had a knack of putting them away when Naperville North needs them most this season.

Friday afternoon was no different regardless of the magnitude of the game - the Class 3A Plainfield North sectional championship against Neuqua Valley.

Martin scored twice in the first half and the Huskies denied any of the limited scoring opportunities the Wildcats had to earn a 3-0 victory.

Naperville North (19-3-4) will play Normal Community next in the Lewis University supersectional in Romeoville at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

"It felt great to not only score twice but to know that our defense can stop them," Martin said. "They played great keeping them out, which was a nice confidence booster going into the second half haven't not given up any."

Her team's defense certainly did its job, but it was Martin who provided the biggest boost going into halftime when she scored with just four seconds left to make it 2-0.

"I didn't know that there was that little time left," she said. "I just saw their goalie wasn't coming out so I thought I could put it in the back corner. That was a great ball that Katie (Murphy) played to me and it was great to get that momentum and take it into the second half."

It was especially frustrating for Neuqua Valley (14-6).

"I thought we had much better of the play, but that was a killer goal and deflating," Wildcats coach Joe Moreau said. "To try to come back down 2-0 to them was going to be a challenge, and then they did what they needed to do in the second half to just clear the ball."

The Wildcats also lost to the Huskies 1-0 on April 24, and Martin once again was their nemesis as she scored the game-winner midway through the second half.

Martin also scored the game-winner on Friday, netting the only goal the Huskies would need when Shaina Dudas sent a cross her way and she buried it with 7:10 remaining in the first half. She now has 14 goals, 8 which have won games.

"We practice a lot of those patterns," Dudas said. "When she was dribbling I knew to get wide and I just saw her in the middle and crossed it and she finished it."

Humbly, Martin said she was kind of lucky to be right in the front of the net when Dudas found her and that all she had to was redirect the ball. Naperville North coach Steve Goletz saw much more than that from her and the team.

"Hannah was fantastic again today and I just thought the team was fantastic," he said. "Tonight was exactly what we needed to do. We were opportunistic when we had chances and those were two great goals early from Hannah."

Dudas helped the Huskies begin celebrating early when she scored with 1:33 left.

"Those are team goals and Hannah is finishing them and then Dudas was there to put the cherry on top at the end with a great finish," Goletz said. "We're coming into our own. The girls are hard to beat, they have a great mindset, they play together as a group and do everything I ask as a coach."