Girls soccer: Great goal denies Naperville North a Naperville Invitational title

Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to your opponent.

That was the case Saturday when a hot Naperville North girls soccer team came across unbeaten New Trier in the championship game of the Naperville Invitational. The Huskies (11-3-3) played superb soccer to reach the finals but came up short 1-0 after the Trevians' Nicole Kaspi and Victoria Flannagan teamed up on one of the prettier goals you'll ever see.

Midway through the first half, Flannagan charged up the left side and sent a perfect cross that Kaspi raced in position for and then redirected with her left foot. The ball just slid under the arm of Huskies goalkeeper Maddie Hausman, whose stellar play helped hold New Trier to a single goal.

But that single score stood up, which is not much of a surprise since the powerful Trevians have allowed just four goals this spring, never more than one in a match.

"It just got by on the one hole that was possible," said Hausman, who made 5 saves. "I mean, I give them props. It was a very beautiful goal. Just a reaction save that I couldn't get. I think it skimmed underneath my forearm a little."

The Huskies, who defeated defending state champion Barrington to reach the tournament final, seemed to run out of energy after a long, strenuous week of high-quality soccer. Naperville North failed to put a shot on goal against a solid Trevians' defense, yet would have played to a draw if not for the one pretty goal.

"I told the girls today, when you get to playing the best teams in the state of Illinois you know that you've got to be perfect. I know that's a lot to ask as a coach," Naperville North's Steve Goletz said.

"We weren't perfect for 30 seconds and credit goes to the girls on New Trier. The girl gets in, she whips a great ball, the girl makes a great run and she buries it. That's obviously what separates great teams."

But the tough setback didn't dampen what the Huskies have accomplished the past week. Goletz also was not about to blame the setback on tired legs.

"I'm super proud of the way the kids played," the Huskies coach said. "I would love to see (New Trier coach Jim Burnside) and the group again a little bit fresher, but they would be fresher too. Ninety-eight percent of the games we would play today if we're not playing New Trier we come out and win today with the effort that we put together.

"I really think as a group we've taken a huge step forward. Now the challenge is can we keep that going 'til the end of the year.

"We started off a little slow and I think we're finally starting to come together as a group and understand what makes us successful."

The Huskies' goalkeeper has also noticed some big strides from the team in the last several days.

"We made one mistake and it ended up biting us a little too hard, but I think this entire tournament, we shut out most of the teams we played, and I feel like we're clicking. We bonded a little more and developed a team passion," Hausmann said.