Naperville N. 1, St. Charles E. 0 (SO)
Naperville North's Kristina Dolak had a good game on both sides of the ball on Thursday.
The Huskies' sophomore soccer player drew her coach's praise for her work as a defender and it was Dolak's shootout goal that gave her squad a 1-0 win over St. Charles East.
"I knew I had to get it in because it's a win-or-lose situation," Dolak said of being the first person to shoot in the second round of a shootout, during which the first team to miss goes home with a loss.
The ensuing Saints' shot flew wide, giving the Huskies (5-6) their fourth consecutive win and putting them one win away from a .500 record, after starting the year at 1-6.
"We're coming together, and it's working out for us now," said Huskies goalkeeper Roxanne Croxall, who held up well against sustained Saints pressure throughout the second half.
"We're playing together, we're clicking, and it's fun to play now."
For the Saints (7-3), there was little fun to be had after they failed to cap a solid attack with a goal on the night.
"If we ever start scoring, we'll be one dangerous team," said Saints coach Pat Feulner. "We've had three or four games now where we just shot ourselves in the foot."
"If we got points for ball control, we'd be great."
With the wind at their backs in the second half, the Saints kept steady pressure on Croxall and Huskies' defenders Dolak, Emily Janecek, Katie Kautza, Jamie Meno and Savita Joglekar.
"Our defenders did a great job of cutting off their crosses. It was great to have them back there," Croxall said.
The Saints' Hannah Ketterling ripped a ball from 20 yards out that Croxall saved at the post, and Ellen Bartindale forced a diving save from Croxall, who then snared another Bartindale shot that deflected off a defender.
The Saints controlled the first overtime but the Huskies controlled the second, with Rycke Guiney ripping a ball from 25 yards out that Saints keeper Zoie Samaan saved at the post, and Dana Flinn hammering a ball just wide of the post.
Each team finished on four of the five first-round shootout kicks before Dolak ultimately closed the deal to start the second round. Samaan made an exceptional save during the first round of the shootout for the Saints.
"We're starting to get a whole team idea of what we're looking for," said Huskies coach Brent Terada. "Even when we were losing, we were creating chances, and everyone is playing well."
"We're starting to play some of the better soccer we've played in a long time."