Girls soccer: Shutout sends Naperville North through
Keeping Waubonsie Valley's imposing duo of Megan Burling and Grace Setter out of the scoring column is something only a couple of schools have been able to accomplish this spring.
Add Naperville North to that select club.
The Huskies picked the right time to do it, beating the Warriors 3-0 during Saturday's Class 3A East Aurora girls soccer sectional championship game.
With their 15th sectional championship all-time and fourth straight, the Huskies also joined Lyons Twp. (sectional champ) and St. Charles East (sectional finalist) in blanking Waubonsie Valley (16-3-1) this spring.
The Huskies (12-5-4) advance to Tuesday's Class 3A supersectional against newcomer Minooka, which upset Edwardsville on Friday.
"It's the best game we've played all year," Huskies coach Steve Goletz said. "We played it at the right time."
Burling and Setter entered play with 45 goals scored between them. The Huskies didn't allow Burling to take a shot.
"Obviously, it's always a tough game against them," Setter said. "I give them all the credit because they put the ball in the back of the net and that's something we struggled to do today, which unfortunately was ultimately the deciding factor. Our back line and (goalkeeper) Nicole (Kleronomos) had a great game, but when you struggle to finish up top and you don't score, you don't win."
Leah Shumate's 25-yard free kick with 21:24 left in the first half provided the Huskies with all the scoring they would need.
"The last time we played Waubonsie Valley I scored on a free kick too and I placed it the other way," Shumate said. "So this time I went to the other side. I think it brought a lot of momentum to our team. We already wanted to win and it just gave us even more (motivation)."
Setter's left-footed rocket in the 63rd minute put a brief scare into the Huskies, but it settled into the reliable hands of goalkeeper Amanda Johnson, who then got involved on the offensive end a few minutes later.
Johnson's punt somehow bounded all the way to Hannah Martin, who secured possession and buried a shot with 15:01 left to all but seal the victory for the Huskies.
Martin added an unassisted goal with 5:48 to play while her teammates worked hard the rest of the way to protect the shutout.
Huskies senior Maddie Schlecht, a key reason why Burling and Setter were held in check, said the Huskies were ready to go for a full 80 minutes.
"It did seem like they were caught a little off guard," she said. "We were ready right from the first ball to get going and I think everybody was motivated."
Once the sting of the loss subsides, the Warriors can turn their attention to their promising future. Burling and Setter are just juniors and they will only lose two seniors.
"We had a good run and I feel like it was a very good season," Setter said. "It's a tough sectional and a tough loss for us. Unfortunately we lose a couple seniors, but we'll be back next year. We'll come back hoping to go even further."