Girls soccer: Stark's hat trick lifts St. Charles North over Waubonsie

Laney Stark has no problem with moving.

The St. Charles North junior who moved to the area after playing at Bartlett, scored a hat trick during the North Stars' 4-0 victory over Waubonsie Valley in Thursday's opening game in the Naperville Invitational.

The game was supposed to be played at Naperville Central but was moved to nearby Knoch Park due to weather delays.

"Having the girls here being really supporting and really welcoming to me has made it easy with the transition," Stark said. "They're all really nice and they are very funny. It's easy to joke around with each other but as soon as we get serious, we get locked in and it's game time."

Stark's speed is no laughing matter for opponents, and the Warriors proved unable to thwart the Sophie Kirsten to Stark connection as it produced three goals. Kirsten, who will move her game to Akron next year, assisted on all three. Keira Kelly also scored for the winners who will face Oswego East on Saturday.

"She's a great addition to the team and she is so fast," Kirsten said. "I'm always able to find her through the through balls and stuff and she's always able to get on it."

Getting up to speed in playing as a North Star has been as swift as the forward is on her feet.

"She's adapted really well," Kirsten said. "I think great players can adapt really well and she's done a very good job of adapting."

St. Charles North (8-2-1) was dangerous throughout both halves, building a 3-0 cushion at halftime.

"We had a really good game against Geneva coming off a loss to Neuqua Valley," Kirsten said. "We really stepped up and built momentum against Geneva and today we sustained that momentum and were able to outplay and pass around them."

Waubonsie Valley (4-5-1) was limited on its attack, but generated a few opportunities from Zoe Evans, Isabella Woolard and others while Katarina Chapman was all over the field. Still, it wasn't enough to break through.

"I think we've been growing as a team," Kirsten said. "We started the season a little bit slower, but we've played a bunch games and good teams like Barrington and Geneva. We've worked on connecting and becoming a dangerous team and I think we're getting there."

Speaking of getting there, getting ice cream was next on Stark's to-do list. How do you celebrate scoring a hat trick in a prestigious tournament like the Naperville Invitational?

"Probably with some ice cream," she said. "We've been working on momentum and staying in the game and staying focused and helping each other and raising each other up and it's helping us stay together as a team."