Girls soccer: Nudera’s second half goal helps St. Charles North knock off top-seeded St. Charles East; WW South cruises past Glenbard West

Kaitlyn Nudera has been feeling a rush since the start of the playoffs.

Coming off St. Charles North’s regional title where she scored the game-tying goal in a double OT victory over Batavia, the North Stars’ junior came into Tuesday’s sectional semifinal knowing that bringing that same energy could be what made or broke the team.

So when the ball landed at her feet in front of an unmanned St. Charles East goal in the 50th minute, the rush took over once again.

“I just saw it as a great opportunity for us,” Nudera said. “It’s just what we needed to keep moving forward. It was just a giant push in momentum for all of us and was the extra push to work even harder.”

Nudera’s goal proved to be the difference maker, as the fourth-seeded North Stars held on to get a 1-0 victory to upset the top-seeded Saints in the Glenbard West Class 3A Sectional semifinals.

“She’s just a player that from Day 1 has had tremendous physical abilities, speed and ball control,” North Stars coach Brian Harks said. “But now her IQ and fight has been great, and she’s been a really impressive player to watch as the season went on.”

St. Charles North (11-5-3) advanced to its 11th consecutive sectional final with the win, where the North Stars will face second-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South, who won its sectional semifinal 7-0 over Glenbard West.

The win marked the third straight season that the North Stars took down their crosstown rivals in the postseason, with a win in the sectional semifinals last season and the sectional final in 2023.

And after losing 3-0 and drawing a 1-1 tie to their rivals earlier in the season, Harks said it was great to see his team play up to the level that he knew the team could play at.

“It’s truly been amazing to show up to practice every day with these girls who always want to get better,” Harks said. “They want to show their growth, they want to improve and succeed. They have the right mindset day in and day out, and they showed the level they can play at against an extremely talented St. Charles East team.”

The Saints (19-7-2) found some early chances to try and find the back of the net off of free kicks. The Saints scored 30 minutes into the game off a free kick that sophomore Presley Kannaka got a foot on, but the goal was called back on an offsides call.

“It’s just a game of margins, and when you get to this point in the season, a lot of these games are dictated by a goal,” Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We weren’t able to score, and our message has been to score goals to win games. The field wasn’t conducive to what we wanted to do, but we struggled to find a way and they did find a way.”

Despite the end of their season coming earlier than expected, DiNuzzo said he’s more than excited to see what’s in store for the Saints in the future. St. Charles East is set to return 10 of its 11 starters next season, with goalkeeper and four-year starter Sidney Lazenby being the lone senior starter.

“It’s a good group of kids that are willing to learn and grow and want to put in extra work to be ready for these moments,” DiNuzzo said. “I’m sure they’ll put in a good offseason to prepare themselves for hopefully a run at the state title next season. But I couldn’t be more grateful for the seniors we had on the team this year.”

WW South 7, Glenbard West 0:

Ashlyn Adams and Kelsey Clousing have been best friends since before they shared a soccer field together.

The senior-sophomore duo, whose families have been friends since they were born, have built a strong connection on and off the soccer field for Wheaton Warrenville South.

And it’s been apparent during the entire season.

“Playing with Ash is always super fun,” Clousing said. “She’s always helping moving off the ball, and I feel like we work really well together, and that’s how a lot of goals come.”

And it was no different in a Class 3A sectional semifinal matchup against Glenbard West

Adams, an Illinois commit, netted a hat trick with three goals in just 44 minutes, while Clousing added a two goals off both her assists to help the Tigers to a commanding 7-0 victory over the Hilltoppers.

“They’re interchangeable in a sense that they both can come underneath, they both can break the first tackle and when you do that, and they’re running at the back line, you’re looking at the ball and you’re not watching the other person,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “For a sophomore and senior combo, it’s soccer that is the common thread and the common intellect that they have and share with each other.”

The Tigers (18-1-2) will face fourth-seeded St. Charles North, who defeated top-seeded St. Charles East 1-0 in their sectional semifinal, for a chance at their first sectional title since 2003.

The two teams faced off in the regular season, a 1-1 draw back on April 22. However, it’ll be the first time Adams will face the North Stars this season after sitting out that game with a hamstring injury.

The Adams-Clousing connection proved how deadly they could be early on in the contest, with Adams sending a Clousing corner into the back of the net just three minutes into the contest.

Just five minutes later, the roles were reversed when the sophomore took a pass from the senior all the way to the net, making it 2-0 with fans still trying to find their seats. Adams added another goal in the 34th minute for a three-goal lead into halftime.

“I feel like the past couple of games we’ve had early goals, and that’s such a big momentum shifter when you come out hard and putting them on their heels early,” Adams said. “Those early goals just set up the momentum and confidence for the rest of the game. And you just want to keep the foot on the pedal.”

The Tigers carried that all-gas mentality into the second half, with the duo adding to their totals. Seniors Lilie Petrie and Kayla Waterman also found the back of the net in the half.

“Getting that early advantage was definitely instrumental in breaking their spirit, but it’s never over, especially in high school soccer,” Callipari said. “But we’re pleased with the effort, that we got everybody in and that we can play again on Friday.”

The Hilltoppers (12-7-4) tried to rally a response in the second half, finding multiple scoring opportunities at the start of the second half. But Adams’ third goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 44th minute proved to be too big a deficit to overcome.

“It wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibilities for us to come back,” Hilltoppers coach Adam Szyszko said. “We started the second half very brightly with a couple of balls in the mix. But they countered and drew that penalty kick and with that little bit of momentum and belief, the balloon just popped. But all credit to Wheaton Warrenville South.”