Girls soccer: Naperville North shuts out Metea Valley again
Naperville North has produced some incredible scorers over the years.
For the past couple of seasons, though, the Huskies have relied heavily on their defense.
That defense came up huge during Friday's Class 3A Lockport sectional championship against Metea Valley, shutting out the Mustangs 1-0.
Naperville North (20-2-3) frustrated the Mustangs from start to finish. They minimized any of their scoring chances by controlling possessions for the majority of the 80 minutes. The Mustangs had their best chance on a cross that just eluded senior Jade Eriksen-Russo in the first 10 minutes, but they didn't have any other solid chances thanks to dominant play from Naperville North's midfield and back line.
Defensive midfielders Ashley Santos and Katelynn Buescher and the back line of Emily Wilhelm, Morgan Lockridge, Alyssa Siebers and Jessica Siebers in front of goalkeeper Elizabeth Cablk helped the Huskies tie and record a program-record 19th shutout, which they also accomplished a year ago.
They also shut out the Mustangs for the second time this season and are the only team that's been able to keep Metea Valley scoreless this spring, beating them twice 1-0.
"We've hung on our back line all year, which is no secret," Huskies coach Steve Goletz said. "We're such a tough group to break down and we've struggled at times to score, but it's a testament to the back four and that group, which has been able to withstand the pressure even sometimes where we haven't been as good as we should be. They've kept us in games and to be rewarded with not only a win, but another shutout, that's something the kids should feel great about."
Metea Valley (16-4-4) was denied its first sectional title, despite advancing to the title game for the fourth straight season.
"We had girls that gave their best every day, which was awesome for us," Mustangs coach Chris Whaley said. "These kids really do play with everything they have because they love the program so much and I couldn't ask for more. You hope for the result but it's never guaranteed. Work hard, play hard and do your best and these girls did that every day, so I'm super proud of them."
The game-winning goal came with 26:31 left in the second half. Santos took a pass from Lockridge and had her shot slip out of the hands of Metea Valley goalkeeper Amy Ahern in a hard rain during a restart.
"I got behind my runner and knew I had to just try to put it on goal and that's what I did," Santos said. "Amy bobbled it and that was the end of the story there."
It was the second straight game where Santos netted the game-winner for the Huskies, and both came against two huge DuPage Valley Conference rivals.
"Metea Valley is a heck of a team to make it to four straight sectional finals," Santos said. "I can't respect them any more. They were a great opponent. It obviously feels good to get the win. I have a lot of respect for them."
The Huskies advance to Tuesday's Lewis University supersectional against Downers Grove North. Last year the Huskies were stunned on the same stage against Glenbard East.
"We had a huge letdown, but none of the seniors want to feel that way again," Cablk said. "We'll be ready to come out and play."