Naperville North blanks Batavia for sectional title

Batavia hadn't been shut out all season.

Naperville North goalkeeper Riley Wiest hadn't started all season.

Those two elements made Saturday afternoon's Class 3A Bolingbrook sectional championship all the more captivating.

Behind strong play in the midfield and its back line, Naperville North did its best to protect Wiest, who only had to make a handful of saves, but made all of them to help the Huskies earn a 2-0 victory.

Naperville North (16-4-3) advances to Tuesday's Lewis University supersectional against Hinsdale Central at 7 p.m.

Wiest was thrust into action fairly early in the second half during the Huskies' 2-1 win against Naperville Central on Tuesday in a sectional semifinal game after starting goalkeeper Christian Robert sustained a blow to the head.

Those minutes, and that experience with the season on the line, helped Wiest prepare for Saturday.

"That was a massive moment to come in against (Naperville Central) and have a clean sheet in that kind of atmosphere," Wiest said. "It was nerve-wracking but it gave me a lot of confidence for today."

While inserting a young, less experienced goalie in a sectional title game might not be for the squeamish, it didn't upset Naperville North coach Jim Konrad's stomach in the least.

"We're very fortunate to have two top-notch goalkeepers and I've felt bad for Riley all year because as good as he is, he hasn't had a chance to play because of Christian," Konrad said. "At most schools, Riley is a starter. He was just waiting in the wings and he looked good tonight and managed the game, getting the shutout in his first start, a sectional final."

Batavia (19-3-3), which was vying for its first sectional title since 1993, may not have scored, but that didn't mean it didn't create its fair share of opportunities. Like they have done all season, the Bulldogs were dangerous at times, getting some scoring threats from Erik Faessler and Ian Larson, among others, but they just proved unable to finish.

"We missed a couple of those chances on long serves and when you don't finish those at this level against quality teams it's going to be tough," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. "We had some chances that we usually finish that we didn't finish today."

Senior Matty Sylvester scored on a penalty kick with 7:38 remaining in the first half to give the Huskies all the offense they would need. They would get that comforting insurance goal early in the second half, with 28:18 remaining, on a successful rebound conversion from Connor McBride.

That would be more than enough for the Huskies, who were able to hold Larson and the rest of the Bulldogs in check.

"I think the boys were aware of who their studs were and we talked about their special players, especially Larson," Konrad said. "When a team plays as hard as our guys play, it limits other teams' options because we're going to pressure you and get into your flow."