Girls soccer: Norkett's PK lifts Naperville Central

Oswego East junior goalkeeper Sam McPhee was a bit teary-eyed before Tuesday's season opener with Naperville Central.

It was the first high school game she would play without her older sister, Alex, now a freshman defender at Ball State, on the field with her.

But that wasn't the only challenge - or the only emotion - McPhee was facing.

"I was so scared going into this game," McPhee said. "Naperville Central is a great team.

"They made it farther than us last year, but I'm so happy with how we played. Even though we didn't win, I am beyond happy."

McPhee has reason to be. She and the Wolves did not give up a run of play, holding the host Redhawks scoreless for the first 58 minutes until Northwestern recruit Megan Norkett scored on a penalty kick with 22:20 left in the second half.

Naperville Central made that goal stand up for a 1-0 victory at Memorial Stadium.

"This was a good litmus test for us," Oswego East coach Juan Leal said. "Obviously, they are a powerhouse school and we knew going into this game that they had a high ranking.

"But our girls rose to the occasion."

None more so than McPhee, who made six saves to keep a strong offensive side.

"She had some big saves," Leal said. "She talked to the girls really well and obviously got them moving.

"She's our anchor back there. She sees the field well, she distributes well and can field the ball really well. She makes monster saves. She's a great goalie."

Even Naperville Central coach Ed Watson had no argument with that assessment.

"She played very well," Watson said. "I like the fact that we made her have to make saves and we finally started to generate some shots in the second half. She had to make some big saves."

Goalkeeper Abby O'Connor made three saves to record the shutout for the Redhawks, who were happy to see stiff competition so early in the season.

"That was a really tough team to play against," Norkett said. "It was great for our first game to come out strong and obviously a win made it even better.

"It was two very strong teams. I feel like we played really well, which is just great for a first game, so I think we can build on that and get even better."

McPhee thinks the same thing about the Wolves, who have 16 returning players, including eight starters.

"Coming out and playing Naperville Central was really good for us," McPhee said. "I think we played awesome.

"The PK was unlucky. The score just went their way this game, but we did good. We're just going to get better from here."

St. Charles East 5, Fremd 0:

Grace Williams took little time to ingratiate herself to the high-level expectations St. Charles East soccer can demand.

Williams, a junior transfer from Neuqua Valley, scored the first Saints goal of the season, and they went on to a convincing 5-0 season-opening victory over Fremd on Tuesday.

"I love [the program]," said Williams, previously a two-year varsity standout forward at Neuqua. "I think the atmosphere is so competitive and it's so nice to be here. It's so fun. All the girls are so nice and so welcoming."

- Jake Bartelson