Metea Valley's shut-down
defense eyes encore
By Dave Owen
Soccer is by nature a low-scoring game. Patrick Mahomes vs. Drew Brees NFL touchdown-a-thons and wind blowing out at Wrigley Field-type baseball slugfests are few and very far between.
But when it comes to defensive soccer, Metea Valley took the concept to extremes last year.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the state of Illinois, the Mustangs allowed just two Illinois teams (one of them eventual Class AA state champ Benet) to score more than one goal against them.
And the season ended with the Mustangs defense at their best: over the last five games, Metea Valley allowed two goals. And that five-game stretch included two matchups with eventual Class 3A state champ Naperville North: the first was a 1-0 win (the last setback for the Huskies in 2019), the second a 1-0 sectional semifinal loss.
“We focused on being organized in the back,” Mustangs coach Chris Whaley said. “Defenders and midfielders working hard to support each other, and forwards doing their part to defend as well.
“The defense was a priority, and any offense we created was a bonus.”
The defensive focus had its origins in a pair of early-season 3-0 losses. First, in the season opener against Benet. Then soon after, a setback by the same score to Eureka (Mo.)
“It was really after our fifth game of the season during our trip to St. Louis (for a weekend tournament) where things started to change,” Whaley said.
“We got three scored on us against a very good team (Eureka) on Friday. We woke up on Saturday, made a change to our formation, played very well and won 2-1 (over Howell, Mo.). And we never looked back.
“Yes we gave up two (goals) to Wheaton-Warrenville South (in a 2-1 loss May 5), but those were two very good shots from an outstanding player in J.J. Aalbue.”
Aalbue made an immediate impact at the next level, winning National Christian College Athletic Association Player of the Year honors at NAIA Grace College in Indiana as a freshman last fall.
As for Metea Valley last spring? Between April 2 and the sectional semifinal game on May 22, the Mustangs squared off against the likes of sectional champion Minooka, sectional finalist Waubonsie Valley, regional champion Batavia, West Aurora (a team shut out just once all season), and last but far from least, Naperville North.
Matches with those quality teams had one common thread: the Mustangs defense either posted shutouts (Minooka, Batavia and Naperville North), or allowed just one goal.
“We only gave up 10 goals in 16 games after that (St. Louis trip),” said Whaley, whose team rose from a 1-3-1 record after the March 29 loss to Eureka to finish 11-9-1.
“We decided to focus on our strength and build from there. Our girls just needed something to believe in, and we gave it to them.”
Also helping fuel that belief were some very talented defensive players, three of whom have been on varsity since freshman year and return in 2020.
As with many top defenses, it all starts with the leadership and shot-stopping skills of goalkeeper Nikki Coryell.
“Nikki is a huge part of our success making big saves, and because she’s great at communicating,” Mustangs senior defender Nicole Dawson said. “She’s really loud, and she knows where everyone should be on the field. Basically I do whatever she tells me to do, because I know that she knows what she’s talking about.”
Coryell will play this fall at Division I Valparaiso, where she will join former Chicagoland high school standouts Katie Hansen (Glenbard East), Samantha Guido (Hinsdale Central) and Keegan Maris (Batavia).
Before that college career begins, Coryell will have a familiar top-notch duo of Metea Valley defenders to work with this spring in Paige Buranosky and Dawson.
“I think that Paige and I as center backs, we just have a connection,” Dawson said. “We just know where each other are going to have to be. We don’t even have to tell each other. We just know, that's where she'll be.”
One place the Mustangs have been every year of the Coryell-Buranosky-Dawson era is the IHSA sectionals.
Their freshman season was the best run. That ended in the sectional finals, with a 1-0 loss to Naperville North.
And since then, plenty more success and increased confidence have come.
“I think I’ve improved on my leadership (over the four years),” said Dawson, “just because when I started as a freshman I obviously wasn’t that big of a leader because there were bigger and better seniors that were a little intimidating for me.
“But I think that I’m really good at leading by example, and I think being on varsity for four years has really helped me with that. I know what the expectations are, so I just try to show what other people should be following.”
Dawson will play this fall at Wisconsin-Whitewater, while Buranosky remains undecided about her college soccer destination.
The leadership of that defender duo, Coryell and fourth-year varsity forward Sydney Rohm has continued to grow from 2017 on.
And with the memories of last year’s narrow sectional loss to Naperville North still fresh, the Mustangs will be brimming with confidence if and when COVID-19 concerns subside and the 2020 soccer season begins.
“In the sectional semifinals against Naperville North we spent most of the game in our offensive half, gave up an early goal, and otherwise we created a lot of scoring chances,” Whaley said. “We were pretty unlucky to not get a goal, except for the fact that they are clearly a solid opponent and also know how to defend really well.
“But them (Naperville North) going all the way and having the success they have had only affirms the belief that we could also go all the way and win the whole thing.”
If that happens, Metea Valley’s defense figures to be in the spotlight again.
“I think that every game we play is going to be close again,” Dawson said. “All of our conference games last year were 1-0 (scores), and I know that all of the other teams (in the DuPage Valley Conference) have some good returning players. Every game is going to be pretty close for us again.”
Just the way the Mustangs like it.
defense eyes encore
By Dave Owen
Soccer is by nature a low-scoring game. Patrick Mahomes vs. Drew Brees NFL touchdown-a-thons and wind blowing out at Wrigley Field-type baseball slugfests are few and very far between.
But when it comes to defensive soccer, Metea Valley took the concept to extremes last year.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the state of Illinois, the Mustangs allowed just two Illinois teams (one of them eventual Class AA state champ Benet) to score more than one goal against them.
And the season ended with the Mustangs defense at their best: over the last five games, Metea Valley allowed two goals. And that five-game stretch included two matchups with eventual Class 3A state champ Naperville North: the first was a 1-0 win (the last setback for the Huskies in 2019), the second a 1-0 sectional semifinal loss.
“We focused on being organized in the back,” Mustangs coach Chris Whaley said. “Defenders and midfielders working hard to support each other, and forwards doing their part to defend as well.
“The defense was a priority, and any offense we created was a bonus.”
The defensive focus had its origins in a pair of early-season 3-0 losses. First, in the season opener against Benet. Then soon after, a setback by the same score to Eureka (Mo.)
“It was really after our fifth game of the season during our trip to St. Louis (for a weekend tournament) where things started to change,” Whaley said.
“We got three scored on us against a very good team (Eureka) on Friday. We woke up on Saturday, made a change to our formation, played very well and won 2-1 (over Howell, Mo.). And we never looked back.
“Yes we gave up two (goals) to Wheaton-Warrenville South (in a 2-1 loss May 5), but those were two very good shots from an outstanding player in J.J. Aalbue.”
Aalbue made an immediate impact at the next level, winning National Christian College Athletic Association Player of the Year honors at NAIA Grace College in Indiana as a freshman last fall.
As for Metea Valley last spring? Between April 2 and the sectional semifinal game on May 22, the Mustangs squared off against the likes of sectional champion Minooka, sectional finalist Waubonsie Valley, regional champion Batavia, West Aurora (a team shut out just once all season), and last but far from least, Naperville North.
Matches with those quality teams had one common thread: the Mustangs defense either posted shutouts (Minooka, Batavia and Naperville North), or allowed just one goal.
“We only gave up 10 goals in 16 games after that (St. Louis trip),” said Whaley, whose team rose from a 1-3-1 record after the March 29 loss to Eureka to finish 11-9-1.
“We decided to focus on our strength and build from there. Our girls just needed something to believe in, and we gave it to them.”
Also helping fuel that belief were some very talented defensive players, three of whom have been on varsity since freshman year and return in 2020.
As with many top defenses, it all starts with the leadership and shot-stopping skills of goalkeeper Nikki Coryell.
“Nikki is a huge part of our success making big saves, and because she’s great at communicating,” Mustangs senior defender Nicole Dawson said. “She’s really loud, and she knows where everyone should be on the field. Basically I do whatever she tells me to do, because I know that she knows what she’s talking about.”
Coryell will play this fall at Division I Valparaiso, where she will join former Chicagoland high school standouts Katie Hansen (Glenbard East), Samantha Guido (Hinsdale Central) and Keegan Maris (Batavia).
Before that college career begins, Coryell will have a familiar top-notch duo of Metea Valley defenders to work with this spring in Paige Buranosky and Dawson.
“I think that Paige and I as center backs, we just have a connection,” Dawson said. “We just know where each other are going to have to be. We don’t even have to tell each other. We just know, that's where she'll be.”
One place the Mustangs have been every year of the Coryell-Buranosky-Dawson era is the IHSA sectionals.
Their freshman season was the best run. That ended in the sectional finals, with a 1-0 loss to Naperville North.
And since then, plenty more success and increased confidence have come.
“I think I’ve improved on my leadership (over the four years),” said Dawson, “just because when I started as a freshman I obviously wasn’t that big of a leader because there were bigger and better seniors that were a little intimidating for me.
“But I think that I’m really good at leading by example, and I think being on varsity for four years has really helped me with that. I know what the expectations are, so I just try to show what other people should be following.”
Dawson will play this fall at Wisconsin-Whitewater, while Buranosky remains undecided about her college soccer destination.
The leadership of that defender duo, Coryell and fourth-year varsity forward Sydney Rohm has continued to grow from 2017 on.
And with the memories of last year’s narrow sectional loss to Naperville North still fresh, the Mustangs will be brimming with confidence if and when COVID-19 concerns subside and the 2020 soccer season begins.
“In the sectional semifinals against Naperville North we spent most of the game in our offensive half, gave up an early goal, and otherwise we created a lot of scoring chances,” Whaley said. “We were pretty unlucky to not get a goal, except for the fact that they are clearly a solid opponent and also know how to defend really well.
“But them (Naperville North) going all the way and having the success they have had only affirms the belief that we could also go all the way and win the whole thing.”
If that happens, Metea Valley’s defense figures to be in the spotlight again.
“I think that every game we play is going to be close again,” Dawson said. “All of our conference games last year were 1-0 (scores), and I know that all of the other teams (in the DuPage Valley Conference) have some good returning players. Every game is going to be pretty close for us again.”
Just the way the Mustangs like it.