Girls soccer: St. Charles North dominates Evanston
St. Charles North sent a message to the rest of opponents in its group at the Naperville Invite with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Evanston Wednesday night at venue host Barrington.
With the North Stars in complete control of its tourney opener, and the evening already getting late, officials ended this contest 18 minutes from time when nasty weather blew through the area.
"I was very happy with the way we came out with energy, and a lot of fight, which we carried right on through the first 40 minutes - and continued after Evanston gave us a little trouble after the break," said North Stars coach Brian Harks, whose club is now 8-0-1 on the season.
The North Stars were in total control in short order, thanks in part to the inspiration provided by Sarah Andrew, Claudia Najera, Sami Rydberg and CeCe Wahlberg, who were at the heart of the attack on this blustery night at Barrington Community Stadium.
Wahlberg opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when she dragged the ball to the left, then back over to her right shooting boot before unloading an unstoppable blast from just outside the edge.
Six minutes later, the North Stars doubled their advantage when Andrey, on the turn, drove her 16-yard left-footed cracker past Caitlin Fitzpatrick, who had no chance to save.
The sophomore keeper came to rescue of her teammates on two occasions to help keep the Wildkits (9-3-0) within two goals just after the intermission.
Fitzpatrick turned around a Grace Barresi strike at 52 minutes, then saved her best for a point-blank attempt from Najera in the 57th minute, which all developed from a terrific build-up, which began from the North Stars' back line.
Bridget Wolf, who along with Barresi, Makenna Collins and Ali Wessel were airtight in front of keeper Sara Maleski, who had an easy time of it to help the North Stars earn their sixth shutout of the season.
Wahlberg recorded her double in the 55th minute with her second magnificent finish, this one from 25 yards.
The North Stars will continued group play against Palatine tonight at 7:30, while Evanston meets Palatine on Saturday at noon. Both games will be played in Barrington.