St. Charles North 2, Neuqua Valley 1

In the end Neuqua Valley's Megan Oyster hit a good head shot to avoid it, but St. Charles North goalkeeper Vicki Traven was there to make sure it happened.

The North Stars beat the Wildcats in for the first time in the girls soccer program's history Tuesday.

"It feels amazing," Traven said after diving to her left to stop Oyster's shot in the game's final minute, preserving a 2-1 North Stars win in an Upstate Eight Conference game in Naperville.

"It was just a great game. We had everyone in the box trying to defend that corner, and that's what I'm there for."

St. Charles North (8-2, 5-0) got first-half goals from Alyssa Peterson and Caitlin Winkelman in a game loaded with hard, back-and-forth play throughout.

"I thought we had great scoring opportunities for 80 minutes," said North Stars coach Ruth Vostal. "They had momentum, we had momentum, but I thought we had some great scoring chances.

"It was a good game, a good battle. That's a good win for us."

Paige Dusek crossed the ball that Peterson ran onto and finished on in the game's fifth minute, and Winkelman settled a ball and calmly sent it home from 17 yards out in the 35th minute.

"Last year we lost 4-0 to them. We definitely had a chip on our shoulders coming in, and we wanted some revenge," Traven said. "We played possession and got an early goal and hustled for 80 minutes."

For Neuqua Valley (10-5, 5-2) Tuesday's game was yet another against a top-shelf team in a week's span, during which the Wildcats, ranked seventh in the Daily Herald Top 20, suffered losses to No. 4 Wheaton Warrenville South and No. 1 Waubonsie Valley.

"We've had a lot of pep talks, and the seniors keep us going," the freshman Oyster said. "They're leaders and they're helping us through it."

Oyster scored on a penalty kick after being tripped in the box in the second half -- a second half that saw Neuqua Valley apply better pressure and put 4 of its 5 total shots on frame.

"I was pleased with the second half," said Neuqua coach Joe Moreau. "We're young, but we expect them to play varsity-type soccer, and that's what they did in the second half."

"We didn't come out as strong as we wanted. We wanted to play well for the seniors," said Oyster, on the Wildcats' Senior Day. "I think we were a little bit nervous, but we played our best in the second half."

The North Stars forced Wildcats goalkeeper Rachel Suther to make a handful of quality saves on the day, while both Traven and North Stars sophomore Kristen Manski have given Vostal rock-solid performances this season in splitting time in net.

"When they get on the field they both keep coming up big, so we might as well let them both play," Vostal said.

Each team played without a top forward, as Neuqua's Kendra Collins sat with an injury suffered in Monday's game against Waubonsie Valley, and St. Charles North's Leah DeMoss left Tuesday's game early due to injury.

Suther finished with 6 saves, and Traven made 3 of the North Stars' 4 saves on the day.