Girls soccer: Metea Valley clinches DVC title with win over Naperville Central
Sports teams usually have a game plan going into a contest and soccer is no exception.
When it was all said and done Tuesday night at Naperville Central, the Metea Valley girls soccer team pretty much accomplished 100 percent of their game plan as they beat the Redhawks 4-1 to clinch its first DuPage Valley Conference title.
"This is a moment that I will cherish," said junior forward Tyra King, who scored two of the Mustangs' goals.
Metea (15-2-1, 5-0 DVC) scored just 6:07 into the contest on King's first goal of the night that she put in from about five yards out off a free kick. Kaylee Bannack got the assist.
The Mustangs ran their offense nearly to perfection in the first half, leading in shots on goal 10-1.
"We focused on pressuring high and taking a lot of shots. It was more about personality and grit than tactical," King said. "It (the first goal) set the tone. It gave us some leeway and we aimed for more and more goals."
Jordan Lang scored the first of her two goals with just over 24 minutes remaining until halftime with a shot about 15 yards out. King hit net late in the first half on an assist from Lang. King has 15 goals, Lang 13 going into Thursday's regular season finale at Hinsdale Central.
Central (14-2-1, 4-0-1) got on the board almost three minutes into the second half. Megan Norkett was dumped in the penalty box and made the subsequent penalty kick to make it 3-1.
Metea's final goal came with 11:52 remaining. Leanne Barrett took the original shot which hit the crossbar. Lange grabbed the rebound and made the deposit.
Redhawks coach Ed Watson gave all the credit to Metea.
"Take nothing away from them. We didn't play well, but they were the better team and deserved the win," he said. Watson praised the efforts of goalkeeper Abby O'Connor who finished with 10 saves.
While the Mustangs' offense was firing on all cylinders, the defense was performing very well and its efforts kept winning goalkeeper Julia Straub to having to make just two saves.
"It's about mentality. We didn't want them to score," said senior defender Justyce King.
Metea opens Class 3A postseason play Tuesday in a semifinal of its own regional against 13th-seeded West Aurora. The Mustangs are a fourth seed in the Naperville Central sectional.
It's a special time for the sisters Tyra and Justyce.
"I love playing with each other. It's my last year. I want to cherish every moment. We've been playing so well. It's fun," Justyce said.
Central opens regional play at home Tuesday. The top-seeded Redhawks will face the quarterfinal winner between 17th-seeded Romeoville and 16th-seeded Yorkville.