Huskies lock up DVC championship

Against top boys soccer teams you have to be on top of your game for a full 80 minutes.

Thursday night at Naperville North, Wheaton North was done in by a 44-second span in which the host Huskies scored a pair of goals. The two quick strikes gave Naperville North a 2-0 first-half lead and sent the hosts on their way to a 3-1 victory that locked up at least a share of the DuPage Valley Conference crown.

With 16:36 left in the first half, Sean Kuehne scored the game's first goal on a header set up by Brandon Gongorek, who kept the Falcons (8-4-5, 2-3-2) from clearing the ball entirely out of their end. Then, less than a minute later, Ediz Yorulmazoglu set teammate Emerson Beck up with a beautiful pass in front of the Wheaton North goal that left goalkeeper Matt Bauer out of position to stop Beck from making the score 2-0.

"That first one was tough because we got the clear and then they send it right back in," Wheaton North coach Bryce Cann said. "When you give guys space they're going to tuck it away, no doubt."

In a half in which the opportunities were not abundant - the Huskies had a 4-3 edge in shots on goal - the DVC frontrunners took command by taking advantage of back-to-back chances.

"(The 2-0 hole) took the wind out of their sails some, but they played very well," Huskies coach Jim Konrad said of the Falcons. "We were lucky to get a couple goals on restarts. It was not a pretty game by any means."

The results were pretty for Naperville North (13-3-2), which at 6-0 has locked up at least a share of its 17th DVC crown heading into its conference finale with Glenbard North. A win in that game would give it a perfect slate in the league and Konrad would claim his fourth DVC title in six years.

Wheaton North played a solid second half and got within a goal following Tony Fearon's header midway through the half. Huskies goalkeeper Mike Wiest, who relived Devon Moon in the nets for the second half, then had to make a diving stop of a Pat Langan free kick to preserve the lead.

That set the stage for Yorulmazoglu's clinching goal, a slicing cross with 4:46 left that soared outside the reach of Falcons goalkeeper Bauer and was deflected into the net by a leaping defender trying to cover up for his goalie.

"That was definitely a cross," the senior said. "But I think it was going to go in (before the deflection). Tonight we worked together. Our midfield clicked in and our back four and both goalies have been real solid."