Girls soccer: Neuqua Valley, Naperville North play to a draw in DVC
Raeghan Young made Neuqua Valley's postgame Senior Night celebration a lot more enjoyable for the Wildcats.
The Neuqua senior scored the tying goal in the final minutes of regulation to send Friday's DuPage Valley Conference girls soccer game to overtime. The game in south Naperville ended in a 2-2 draw, but it felt like a victory to Young.
"I'm super happy," Young said. "I think this is one of the best games that we've played against North in a really long time. I'm glad that we could all put in the effort and do it really well and capitalize on all of our chances."
Getting a rare start because of Senior Night, Young found herself back on the field again in the 77th minute. When Piper Biziorek's cross from the right side reached Young about 5 yards off the left post, Young had inside position on her defender and redirected the ball into the goal with her shoulder.
"I was just trying to get any part of my body in to get a goal because we really needed it," said Young, who will play next season at Webster University in St. Louis. "I was just working my butt off trying to do what I could do."
The goal was Young's first of the season.
"It was super fun. I've been working really hard trying to do as much as I can for the team," she said. "So I was really glad that I could help them, especially since this is a big night for me. I've been working really hard for the last four years and I'm super excited that my team could help me make this such a great night, such a special night."
Giving up a late lead like that made the draw feel like a loss to Naperville North (7-4-2, 1-0-1).
"It's a little disappointing," said Naperville North junior Hannah Martin. "I think we could have done a little better in the first half and put a few more away with the chances we had. But I mean, they're a great team and they came out and played a great overtime ...
"I'm happy with how we battled. A tie is a tie. It's not a loss, but we would have liked to win."
The teams could meet again in the upcoming Class 3A East Aurora sectional, where Naperville North is the top seed and Neuqua Valley is No. 2.
Neuqua Valley (8-3-4, 2-0-1) scored the game's first goal in the 15th minute when senior Danielle Hopkins cleaned up a loose ball in the Huskies' penalty area.
Huskies junior Hannah Martin answered with a pair of goals, scoring in the 23rd and 30th minutes to give Naperville North a 2-1 lead that it held until Young equalized in the 77th.
Martin nearly scored a third goal about 30 seconds after Young's, but goalkeeper Tara Tesmond got a finger to the header to tip it away for a corner kick.
"For a minute I thought it was going in," Martin said. "I just tried to flick it over the top and get something. Maybe someone would get a rebound or it would slip in. But they don't always fall."
"Overall I think a 2-2 result is fair (between) two very good teams that always battle super hard, love to play each other," added Huskies coach Steve Goletz. "And as I said to (Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau), these are what makes these types of games fun."