Victory hits the spot for Naperville North
Naperville North forward Evan Trychta dribbled up the right side, cut back, spun back around and dribbled right again, only to try to cut back once more.
The junior didn't get a third chance, getting taken down just inside the Benet Academy box for a penalty kick in the 23rd minute. The junior made the PK and another one nine minutes later, leading the No. 1 seed Huskies past the No. 5 Redwings 2-1 in the semifinal of Thursday's Class 3A Naperville North sectional.
“I hadn't taken a regulation PK all season,” Trychta said. “We've been practicing them after practice because we know it's the playoffs. We knew we'd be put in that situation, so I'd gotten some practice in and it's just kicking the ball. You just gotta get it in the net.”
The Huskies (19-2-2) will square off with No. 2 Neuqua Valley (16-3-3), a 3-0 winner over East Aurora, in Saturday's 11 a.m. final.
“Piece of cake,” Huskies coach Jim Konrad joked. “I wouldn't be surprised if we win by three or four.”
He added: “No, now we're supposed to lose. They're a great team and we're going to have to get a little bit lucky to beat them.”
Lady luck smiled over Naperville North on this frigid night as Trychta's first takedown and then a second one with a wide open shot resulted in first half goals and a confident lead.
“It was odd,” Konrad said about seeing three goals scored all by penalty kick. “All three were legitimate. It wasn't pretty, but like West Chicago, we found a way to win.”
Benet's best chance to score in the first half came in the 36th minute off a 30-yard free kick resulting from a handball. Sean Mogan's kick hit the crossbar and came out front of the goal, but Naperville North was able to clear.
“They have a good team,” Benet coach Sean Wesley said. “They're built just like us. They have good players in the back, they have a good goalie. They have talent, but no one who necessarily finishes. In a game like this, to give up a PK the way that we did, it was a big hole to dig. And then to give up another, it was a huge hole for two evenly matched teams, too big to overcome.”
The Redwings (12-9-1) finally got on the board with six minutes left in the game off a penalty kick. Mogan made good on his free try following a hand ball by a Huskies defender in the box, making the game a little interesting late.
“I was super concerned, even if they'd scored with a minute left,” Konrad said. “In soccer crazier things have happened.”