Naperville Central celebration muted
Splashing into a pool with a sectional championship plaque is kind of cool, but Naperville Central senior Abbey Kerth has done that before.
That’s why Saturday’s celebration following an 18-3 defeat of host Metea Valley was not as loud and wild as many of these pool parties are accustomed to being.
Kerth has done this sectional splash four times, and she and her Redhawks teammates have even finished second and third in the state along the way. So knocking off the Mustangs to claim another sectional crown was cool, but it is not the biggest thing on the team’s mind right now.
“I love my team and we have had one goal throughout the year,” said Kerth, who notched four of her five goals while the Redhawks were storming out to a 10-0 halftime lead. “We’re really proud (today), but we know we have higher goals.”
Naperville Central’s first goal Saturday was to get off to a quick start against a Metea Valley squad (19-7) that was playing in its first sectional final and was riding a high after Friday night’s come-from-behind 8-6 defeat of Naperville North.
Mission accomplished as the Redhawks (31-2) took a 2-0 lead on goals by Gracie May and Madison Nervig and led 5-0 after one period following a pair of scores from Kerth, who entered the match with a team-leading 125 goals on the year.
“They had a real emotional win last night and so we thought if we could just come out and establish control of the game early,” said Redhawks coach Jeff Plackett, who has guided the program to six sectional titles in seven years. “I’m really proud of the girls going in there and putting in five in the first period and also keeping their girls out of the net.”
With Julia Campbell sharp in goal and Naperville Central’s defense also limiting the Mustangs’ chances, the favorites led 12-0 before Metea’s Katelyn Apple finally got her team on the board late in the third. Alex Conti and Leah Hummel tallied goals in the fourth for the Mustangs, but it was way too little way too late against the talented Redhawks.
“Last night was great,” Mustangs coach Lenny DePasquale said of his team’s win over the Huskies in the semis. “Our goal was to make it to the finals and to be a part of some of the elite teams in the area.”
For Naperville Central next up is the state quarterfinals, where its season ended a year ago. Plackett is hopeful this year’s team is prepared to make another trophy run.
“I think all eight teams in the tournament will make it their goal to win,” he said. “Our message is to finish, finish, finish.”