Boys soccer: Naperville North's new defenders hope to carry on tradition

As the lone returning defensive starter for a Naperville North team that also will have a new goalkeeper, Naperville North senior Keegan Flaherty recognizes the obvious, as well as what's obvious for anyone who follows high school soccer in Illinois.

"I'm the only one who played a lot last year, but I'm still really confident in our back line and our keeper," he said. "If there is one thing we have at North it's depth. They do such a good job around the program of just teaching defending and discipline."

Naperville North is coming off a 10-2-1 season that included an undefeated run through the DVC for the program's 28th conference title. You don't enjoy that repeated success without getting and continuing to develop players with the talent to dominate at such a high level.

"Coming in as a freshman, the biggest thing is following your leaders and understanding your role on the team," fourth-year senior Tyson Amoo-Mensah said. "It's paying attention to how the upperclassmen move, act around teammates and perform. It's kind of monkey see, monkey do and you want to be a good player, you want to be great for the program so you do whatever it takes regardless of your role."

Seniors Patrick Horn and Cole Ritzmann and juniors Adam Zielke and Ryan Konrad are among those with new starting roles in the back with Horn taking over in goal.

"These players are really talented and with defense it's working as a unit," Flaherty said. "It's about learning to work together and getting comfortable playing together and that's something we do every single day in practice."

All four have close ties to the soccer program. Obviously, Ryan Konrad's cousins also played for his dad as did Ritzmann and Horn's older brothers while Zielke's dad was a multisport athlete at North.

"Having four out of five guys being new is tall shoes to fill, but they're all taking it very seriously and working hard at it and you know they are going to give their all," Huskies coach Jim Konrad said. "And they're all legacy kids."

And they're kids that will make the kind of mistakes a new unit make. That's expected, but with six starters also returning, it isn't expected to take long for the team to really click either.

"I think everyone is not afraid to make mistakes," Amoo-Mensah said. "We all trust each other, especially the kids in the newer spots. I'll keep them settled down. I was in the exact same spot and you grow and learn, and I honestly think that trusting your teammates is the most important thing that we have for each other."

They undoubtedly have trust in their stellar attack. Plenty of eyes will be following the offensive adventures of Alex Barger and Cam Radeke, while "shifty playmaker" Aidan McMahon rounds out a forward line, which also possesses added depth.

Amoo-Mensah will lead the midfield along with Jacob Ryu and Bryan Higgs while a handful of players are expected to battle for playing time in similar roles.

"Having such positive leaders like Tyson (Amoo-Mensah) can really help our guys along," Konrad said. "And the thing about Alex (Barger) and Cam (Radeke) up top is they work so incredibly hard and they lead by example. They are Naperville North kids through and through. They will work so hard every second of every game and the kids see that."

And at practice, they arguably could be the toughest test for their new goalie and back line.

"They make us better," Flaherty said. "We're lucky to practice against some of the best players around. Our hopes are really high. I really can't wait to see what we can do this season."

He won't have to wait much longer.