Naperville Central beats Glenbard East in OT

Naperville Central had way more scoring chances than Glenbard East during Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference girls soccer opener for both squads, but the Redhawks still found themselves deadlocked in a scoreless battle with the Rams and heading into overtime.

With just one minute remaining before a second and final sudden-death overtime, Naperville Central sophomore Abby Joyce flicked the ball to junior Autumn Muckenhirn, whose header finally forced the scoreboard to change while also keeping the Redhawks perfect on the season with a 1-0 victory.

“Honestly, it was just a great way to finish and especially after having so many chances,” Muckenhirn said. “At that point it was just about having to finish. It was just there for me to finish.”

Naperville Central (6-0, 1-0) came up empty-handed on its first 20 shots of the match. The Redhawks were playing for the first time in 12 days after taking some time away from the field during spring break. Their lack of scoring wasn’t necessarily due to being rusty, as they certainly had their share of chances, but the Glenbard East defense contested most of their shots while Rams goalkeeper Veronica Fairbairn came up with several big saves.

“We definitely think that she’s one of the best goalies around,” Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said. “We got to see our keeper showcased in this match making diving saves to keep us in the game.”

Naperville Central all-state goalkeeper Jill D’Amico didn’t have to showcase her skills as the Redhawks were rarely tested in the 89 minutes of action. D’Amico did make one big save in the first half, but the ball was situated on the other half of the field most of the evening.

“That save Jill made in the first half goes partially unnoticed because so much of the game was played on their end of the field,” Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. “That’s a mini-breakaway that she shuts down on the kid’s foot. If she doesn’t make that, then we’re trailing and it’s a different dynamic.”

The Redhawks nearly won the game in regulation when Joyce shot just wide right with under a minute remaining.

“I’d seen Glenbard East play and knew we were up against a very disciplined team,” Watson said. “I’m happy with the win. The girls kept going at it and finally got one through.”