Girls soccer: Najera follows in sister's foosteps for regional champs St. Charles North
Bella Najera had to wait a little longer than expected to follow in her sister's footsteps, but it was all worth it.
The St. Charles North sophomore plays the same position, forward, as her older sister Claudia did from 2017-2019. Najera even wears No. 17, just like Claudia, who now plays for Iowa State.
Claudia helped the North Stars win three regional and two sectional championships. They won another regional title on Saturday as Bella Najera scored the first two goals in a 3-0 victory over visiting Batavia.
It was the 18th consecutive regional title for second-seeded St. Charles North (13-4-2), which hosts third-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the sectional semifinals.
"It just feels great to win a regional," Bella Najera said. "Growing up I watched Claudia and I always wanted to follow in her footsteps.
"I know (North) has a really good team, so I just want to continue that legacy of doing good."
St. Charles North coach Brian Harks was expecting Najera to make an immediate impact as a freshman, but the IHSA canceled the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That only postponed the inevitable.
"Bella is a player that grew up here and she's been to her fair share of North Stars games even before putting on a uniform," Harks said. "So she understands what the program is all about, so it's great to have her come in.
"She's only a sophomore, but she has a really high soccer IQ and she brings a lot both offensively and defensively."
Batavia knows this all too well. The 10th-seeded Bulldogs (7-13) lost twice to the North Stars during the regular season, with Najera scoring twice in a 3-0 win on May 27.
Batavia, which upset Geneva in the regional semifinals, played hard but had no answer for Najera, who opened the scoring with 31:57 left in the first half on a one-timer off a feed from senior Talia Pellegrini.
"We knew they were going to come out hard, so we just wanted to match them," Najera said. "We wanted to come out hard and I think we did in the first 10 minutes. I got that goal and we got momentum."
Najera struck again at the 17:36 mark, this time off a cross from Sophie Kirsten. That put the North Stars in firm control after Batavia barely missed scoring on a pair of open shots in the previous two minutes.
"I thought we had some decent chances in front, just short or just off of the back post," Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. "A couple of those fall there, I think we're in a better spot.
"Then second half, with the wind, I thought we were on them pretty well right down to 10 minutes left. Then giving up the third goal, that was kind of a killer."
Indeed, freshman Rian Spaulding's goal with 13:11 remaining put the finishing touches on another memorable win for the North Stars. Sophomore goalkeeper Kara Claussner had to make only one save in recording North's fourth straight shutout and 10th overall.
While Najera said she was excited about scoring twice in a regional final, she and her teammates aren't satisfied. That, too, was a characteristic handed down to her from Claudia.
"She always talked about how this is a special team," Najera said. "Playing for North means something, playing for the past players, too.
"You've always got to work hard, work together with your team, and we're just going to try to keep winning."