Heads-up play lifts Naperville Central

A couple of Big Ten recruits used their heads on Wednesday night to please the Naperville Central faithful.

Senior Meredith McEniff (Iowa) and junior Veronica Ellis (Indiana) both scored on headers to lead the Redhawks to a 2-1 victory over Waubonsie Valley at North Central College's Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

Naperville Central (5-0-0) took the lead for good with 32:41 remaining in the second half when sophomore Abby Joyce sent a cross from just inside the box to Ellis.

“We got it down in the corner and Abby Joyce undressed the defender,” Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. “As long we score two and they score one, we'll take it every time.”

Ellis, who was making her first appearance after recovering from an ACL injury, didn't take long to make a huge impact.

“I made the turn backside and was just shuffling between far post and near post,” Ellis said. “I didn't know exactly where (Joyce) was going to put it and I saw her lift her head up and look to me and she played it right to me.”

Waubonsie Valley (2-1-1) didn't create much in the first 20 minutes of the opening half but was able to take the lead with 18:40 remaining when sophomore Kristen Brots located senior Shannon Donelson.

“Kristen's done a great job all season so far in placing the ball,” Donelson said. “We seemed to fight more and pick up the intensity then for the rest of the half.”

Such intensity didn't allow the Warriors to maintain their lead, though. Naperville Central answered just a little more than three minutes later when Katherine Short hooked up with McEniff, who snuck a header past Warriors freshman goalkeeper Emma Rigby at the 15:30 mark.

“I think it was the power of the pass. I didn't have to do much, just get a head on it,” McEniff said. “Katherine played a perfect ball. I wasn't really marked in the middle and just kind of got on the end of it.”

Watson couldn't remember the last time the Redhawks began a season 5-0. The team has already totaled 10 goals this spring and is showing signs of growth on offense, an area of concern a year ago.

“Once you get to the final third you have to start to learn how to handle it,” he said. “We still have some pieces working their way back, but I thought the girls played pretty well together.”