Boys soccer: Naperville North's Konrad wins No. 300
Naperville North's Alex Barger is only a sophomore but with the way he's been playing his first two seasons, he may eventually go down as one of the program's all-time greats.
During Tuesday's crosstown clash against Naperville Central, Barger made the kind of play that's a thing of legend and it helped his legendary coach reach a special number as the Huskies' 1-0 DVC victory was also coach Jim Konrad's 300th.
The Huskies have now beaten the Redhawks five consecutive times.
"It's pretty cool and I love (former coach Dave) Bucher and he's (at 367 wins), and when I first started coaching it was my goal to chase that, but it just seemed so far away," Konrad said. "If you hang around long enough you're going to get wins, it's an age thing and a great program here. I feel fortunate. It's the school I went to, my kid is on the team so I got to share it with him, (and) it was against Central. "
It also allowed the Huskies (5-2-0, 2-0-0) to snap a two-game slide.
"It was neat all around," Konrad said. "And after two losses it helps us get on the right track."
Barger's free kick was a beauty, a blast from about 35 yards away with 40 seconds remaining in a scoreless game. The kind of play a special player like him finds a way to make.
"During our pregame, the speech was about expectations and embracing expectations and we talked about Michael Jordan," Konrad said. "I'm not comparing him to Michael, but he is someone who competes offensively and defensively at such a high level. He's one of those guys like (Colin) Iverson, Sully (Chris Sullivan) and Ty (Konrad) and when the game is on the line they're calm and keep their cool and don't get into their heads. In big games, special kids make a difference."
After getting the ball from midfielder Nikhil Javeri, Barger dribbled up field and got fouled. Seeing the clock and under a minute remaining, he decided to put it on goal.
"With the conditions being windy and rainy outside I was just looking to get it on target and see what happens," he said. "I got the better side of it and was able to flip it past the keeper and it found the net."
Talk about a special moment.
"Definitely," Barger said. "I think it was textbook for Huskies soccer and a lot of hard work."
Prior to Barger's game winner, each team was held in check.
"North probably had the better of play for the last 30 minutes," Redhawks coach Troy Adams said. "They pressed us at the end. I think we counted six corner kicks so they kind of took it to us. They outplayed us. They did a good job of winning balls and they were good in the air and able to find their forwards deep up the field. Things we tried to do but they did better."
The Redhawks dropped to 2-2-3, 2-1-0.