Santos leads Naperville North
to special win over Metea Valley
Senior's 1st goal of season wins game dedicated to her mother
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – In the old commercial for Tootsie Pops, it took the owl three licks to finish his lollipop, although the bird cheated by biting into it.
Ashley Santos remembers that commercial, which was apropos considering it took her three kicks before scoring her first goal of the season Thursday night.
But the Naperville North senior’s goal, which stood up as the only tally in the top-rated Huskies’ 1-0 DuPage Valley Conference victory over visiting Metea Valley, was even more fitting for a different reason.
Santos and the Huskies had dedicated the game to the memory of her mother, Lourdes, who committed suicide in November after a long battle with mental illness. Santos has been outspoken in her quest to raise awareness of mental illness.
“It’s been a pretty long journey coming to this point. But I’m proud of my story, and I’m proud of everything that’s going on with my teammates and my friends and my family and how they’ve supported me,” Santos said. “I’ve handled it pretty well.
“Instead of making it an emotional burden I make it something that I’m playing for. I’m proud to play for something bigger than myself.”
The goal was important soccer-wise because it kept the Huskies (5-0-0, 3-0-0) on top of the DVC standings. But it also was poignant because it came in front of Santos’ father, Nelson, who flew in from Virginia to see his daughter player.
“He’s usually in and out,” said Santos, who is living with the family of teammate Jessica Denney, with whom she will continue her soccer career at Illinois State. “He was in town this weekend. So it was awesome that he was here to see my first goal of the season.”
It wasn’t the prettiest of goals, but it was emblematic of the toughness Santos has shown this season.
Morgan Krause sent a corner kick from the right side in front of the Metea Valley net and the ball landed in a crowd. Santos was surrounded by defenders but eventually was able to hack it out of the scrum, and it rolled into the goal with 19:31 remaining in the second half.
“I usually just pick out someone – it’s usually Morgan Lockridge – and see if they can get a head on it,” Krause said. “It was a great goal. I’m so happy that she got it, especially on this night.”
Santos, a defensive midfielder, usually impacts the game with her defensive play. When she scores points, they usually come on assists.
Not this time.
“It hit me, it bounced around, I got a little toe on it, and it trickled into the goal,” Santos said. “Nothing pretty, but a goal is a goal, right?
“I know I’m not usually the goal scorer. I usually (get) an assist or (help on) the defensive side, but it was really awesome to get that goal. We played for something bigger than ourselves in this game.
“We played this game in memory of my mom today. Green was the theme for mental illness awareness so it was really cool and super fitting to have it happen on this game.”
Naperville North coach Steve Goletz continues to be amazed by the leadership of Santos.
“Ashley is a phenomenal kid,” Goletz said. “I think she’s had an unbelievable season this year.
“She’s been our leader. She’s what makes us go, and it’s fitting that a gutsy, hard-nosed kind of goal comes from her, and I couldn’t be more excited. Her dad is in the stands tonight, came in from out of town, so I was glad he was able to see it.”
The fans witnessed a typically hard-fought battle between two talented teams who figure to meet again in the playoffs.
The Huskies and 11th-ranked Mustangs (3-2-2, 2-2-0) both had eight shots, and both goalies – Metea’s Amy Ahern and Naperville North’s Elizabeth Cablk – recorded four saves.
“When you have two good teams like this going at each other sometimes it isn’t always going to be the best soccer,” Metea coach Chris Whaley said. “But it’s definitely going to be girls out there playing hard, working hard and looking to put the ball in the back of the net.
“They took advantage of a ball that dropped in our box. We have to do a better job of clearing that out. That’s really what it comes down to is tough plays like that.”
The game figured to be low-scoring, though both teams have dangerous scoring threats. It was Metea Valley’s high-powered offense, led by seniors Jake Eriksen-Russo and Nicki Hernandez, against the Huskies’ rock solid defense.
“We always pride ourselves in being good defensively and I think girls buy in, and they’ve done a great job of being physical,” Goletz said. “The scary part is you’ve always got to play them again, and they’re definitely a top team.
“They’ve got some great players. Chris does a great job of coaching them, and it’s always going to be a tough battle when you play them. It’s been that way since I’ve been here.”
As usual, the DePaul-bound Eriksen-Russo was a handful, sprinting every which way looking for an opening against a defense that has allowed only one goal this season.
She had two good looks at the net, both in the first half against the wind. The first came at the 15:35 mark when she fired from 22 yards, only to see Cablk make a diving stop.
Eriksen-Russo had a better chance with 3:45 to go. She won a challenge at the top of the box, dribbled forward as Cablk came out, then took a touch to her left but fired wide just before Cablk and a defender closed her down.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be high-scoring because we knew our strong suit was our defense and their strong suit was their offense,” Santos said. “And our weak side is our offense and their not-so-great side is their defense.
“So we knew it was going to be a 1-0, 2-1 type of game and who was going to scrap it out. We knew it wasn’t going to be anything pretty.”
Indeed, North’s prettiest offensive plays also went for naught thanks to Ahern, a senior who is having a breakout season. She dove to her left to make a great stop on Lockridge’s powerful header off a Krause corner kick with 1:30 left in the first half and turned away long shots from Shaina Dudas and Jeanine Valera in the second half.
Naperville North’s only other solid chance came with 5:00 to go in the second half when Chloe Kotrba’s 15-yard liner hit the crossbar.
“(We have) just a ton of confidence in her,” Whaley said of Ahern. “She knows what we expect from her, and she’s definitely more aggressive than she’s been.
“We need somebody that has leadership in the back for sure, someone we can have confidence in.”
The Huskies have confidence in their backline, no matter who plays on it. They were without junior twins Alyssa and Jessica Siebers, a pair of Illinois State recruits who were attending a memorial service for their aunt.
In their place, Krause moved from the midfield back to her former center back slot and senior Allison Hegner stepped in to help Lockridge and Emily Wilhelm.
“I’m super proud of the way we defended against a very good team on the attack,” Goletz said. “Allison Hegner is a senior who hasn’t played much outside back in the last year and a half.
“She stepped in and did a great job against two top-notch players in Jade and Nicki. I can’t be more proud of her and how she grinded and battled for us.”
Krause agreed.
“Allison Hegner played amazing outside back,” Krause said. “She definitely shut them down, (so) I didn’t have to do much work.
“She killed it and Morgan Lockridge is always super strong so it’s really nice that we can have people step up when people are out. It was a really good team win.”
It was also the second-straight, one-goal loss for Metea Valley, which continues to show well against an extremely tough schedule.
“We don’t worry too much about what happens during the regular season,” Whaley said. “(The girls) know that games like this are just a part of the process to help us grow as a team and get better.
“We certainly want to win these games, but you just play your best and don’t worry too much about the result. Then when tournament time comes you’ll be ready to play.”
But will the Mustangs be able to break down the Huskies’ defense? That remains to be seen.
“They’re always good,” Whaley said. “They’re always hard to break down.
“You’ve got to try different things, and you’ve got to be active. That’s about all you can do.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Amy Ahern
D Paige Buranosky
D Katherine Wieland
D Kelly Crowe
D MaKenna Schoolman
M Nicki Hernandez
M Emily Lindblom
M Chesney Wargo
F Jade Eriksen-Russo
F Maeve Riordan
F Abby Severson
Naperville North
GK Elizabeth Cablk
D Allison Hegner
D Morgan Krause
D Morgan Lockridge
D Emily Wilhelm
M Ashley Santos
M Katelynn Buescher
M Jeanine Valera
F Jessica Lapnow
F Chloe Kotrba
F Shaina Dudas
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ashley Santos, sr., MF, Naperville North
to special win over Metea Valley
Senior's 1st goal of season wins game dedicated to her mother
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – In the old commercial for Tootsie Pops, it took the owl three licks to finish his lollipop, although the bird cheated by biting into it.
Ashley Santos remembers that commercial, which was apropos considering it took her three kicks before scoring her first goal of the season Thursday night.
But the Naperville North senior’s goal, which stood up as the only tally in the top-rated Huskies’ 1-0 DuPage Valley Conference victory over visiting Metea Valley, was even more fitting for a different reason.
Santos and the Huskies had dedicated the game to the memory of her mother, Lourdes, who committed suicide in November after a long battle with mental illness. Santos has been outspoken in her quest to raise awareness of mental illness.
“It’s been a pretty long journey coming to this point. But I’m proud of my story, and I’m proud of everything that’s going on with my teammates and my friends and my family and how they’ve supported me,” Santos said. “I’ve handled it pretty well.
“Instead of making it an emotional burden I make it something that I’m playing for. I’m proud to play for something bigger than myself.”
The goal was important soccer-wise because it kept the Huskies (5-0-0, 3-0-0) on top of the DVC standings. But it also was poignant because it came in front of Santos’ father, Nelson, who flew in from Virginia to see his daughter player.
“He’s usually in and out,” said Santos, who is living with the family of teammate Jessica Denney, with whom she will continue her soccer career at Illinois State. “He was in town this weekend. So it was awesome that he was here to see my first goal of the season.”
It wasn’t the prettiest of goals, but it was emblematic of the toughness Santos has shown this season.
Morgan Krause sent a corner kick from the right side in front of the Metea Valley net and the ball landed in a crowd. Santos was surrounded by defenders but eventually was able to hack it out of the scrum, and it rolled into the goal with 19:31 remaining in the second half.
“I usually just pick out someone – it’s usually Morgan Lockridge – and see if they can get a head on it,” Krause said. “It was a great goal. I’m so happy that she got it, especially on this night.”
Santos, a defensive midfielder, usually impacts the game with her defensive play. When she scores points, they usually come on assists.
Not this time.
“It hit me, it bounced around, I got a little toe on it, and it trickled into the goal,” Santos said. “Nothing pretty, but a goal is a goal, right?
“I know I’m not usually the goal scorer. I usually (get) an assist or (help on) the defensive side, but it was really awesome to get that goal. We played for something bigger than ourselves in this game.
“We played this game in memory of my mom today. Green was the theme for mental illness awareness so it was really cool and super fitting to have it happen on this game.”
Naperville North coach Steve Goletz continues to be amazed by the leadership of Santos.
“Ashley is a phenomenal kid,” Goletz said. “I think she’s had an unbelievable season this year.
“She’s been our leader. She’s what makes us go, and it’s fitting that a gutsy, hard-nosed kind of goal comes from her, and I couldn’t be more excited. Her dad is in the stands tonight, came in from out of town, so I was glad he was able to see it.”
The fans witnessed a typically hard-fought battle between two talented teams who figure to meet again in the playoffs.
The Huskies and 11th-ranked Mustangs (3-2-2, 2-2-0) both had eight shots, and both goalies – Metea’s Amy Ahern and Naperville North’s Elizabeth Cablk – recorded four saves.
“When you have two good teams like this going at each other sometimes it isn’t always going to be the best soccer,” Metea coach Chris Whaley said. “But it’s definitely going to be girls out there playing hard, working hard and looking to put the ball in the back of the net.
“They took advantage of a ball that dropped in our box. We have to do a better job of clearing that out. That’s really what it comes down to is tough plays like that.”
The game figured to be low-scoring, though both teams have dangerous scoring threats. It was Metea Valley’s high-powered offense, led by seniors Jake Eriksen-Russo and Nicki Hernandez, against the Huskies’ rock solid defense.
“We always pride ourselves in being good defensively and I think girls buy in, and they’ve done a great job of being physical,” Goletz said. “The scary part is you’ve always got to play them again, and they’re definitely a top team.
“They’ve got some great players. Chris does a great job of coaching them, and it’s always going to be a tough battle when you play them. It’s been that way since I’ve been here.”
As usual, the DePaul-bound Eriksen-Russo was a handful, sprinting every which way looking for an opening against a defense that has allowed only one goal this season.
She had two good looks at the net, both in the first half against the wind. The first came at the 15:35 mark when she fired from 22 yards, only to see Cablk make a diving stop.
Eriksen-Russo had a better chance with 3:45 to go. She won a challenge at the top of the box, dribbled forward as Cablk came out, then took a touch to her left but fired wide just before Cablk and a defender closed her down.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be high-scoring because we knew our strong suit was our defense and their strong suit was their offense,” Santos said. “And our weak side is our offense and their not-so-great side is their defense.
“So we knew it was going to be a 1-0, 2-1 type of game and who was going to scrap it out. We knew it wasn’t going to be anything pretty.”
Indeed, North’s prettiest offensive plays also went for naught thanks to Ahern, a senior who is having a breakout season. She dove to her left to make a great stop on Lockridge’s powerful header off a Krause corner kick with 1:30 left in the first half and turned away long shots from Shaina Dudas and Jeanine Valera in the second half.
Naperville North’s only other solid chance came with 5:00 to go in the second half when Chloe Kotrba’s 15-yard liner hit the crossbar.
“(We have) just a ton of confidence in her,” Whaley said of Ahern. “She knows what we expect from her, and she’s definitely more aggressive than she’s been.
“We need somebody that has leadership in the back for sure, someone we can have confidence in.”
The Huskies have confidence in their backline, no matter who plays on it. They were without junior twins Alyssa and Jessica Siebers, a pair of Illinois State recruits who were attending a memorial service for their aunt.
In their place, Krause moved from the midfield back to her former center back slot and senior Allison Hegner stepped in to help Lockridge and Emily Wilhelm.
“I’m super proud of the way we defended against a very good team on the attack,” Goletz said. “Allison Hegner is a senior who hasn’t played much outside back in the last year and a half.
“She stepped in and did a great job against two top-notch players in Jade and Nicki. I can’t be more proud of her and how she grinded and battled for us.”
Krause agreed.
“Allison Hegner played amazing outside back,” Krause said. “She definitely shut them down, (so) I didn’t have to do much work.
“She killed it and Morgan Lockridge is always super strong so it’s really nice that we can have people step up when people are out. It was a really good team win.”
It was also the second-straight, one-goal loss for Metea Valley, which continues to show well against an extremely tough schedule.
“We don’t worry too much about what happens during the regular season,” Whaley said. “(The girls) know that games like this are just a part of the process to help us grow as a team and get better.
“We certainly want to win these games, but you just play your best and don’t worry too much about the result. Then when tournament time comes you’ll be ready to play.”
But will the Mustangs be able to break down the Huskies’ defense? That remains to be seen.
“They’re always good,” Whaley said. “They’re always hard to break down.
“You’ve got to try different things, and you’ve got to be active. That’s about all you can do.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Amy Ahern
D Paige Buranosky
D Katherine Wieland
D Kelly Crowe
D MaKenna Schoolman
M Nicki Hernandez
M Emily Lindblom
M Chesney Wargo
F Jade Eriksen-Russo
F Maeve Riordan
F Abby Severson
Naperville North
GK Elizabeth Cablk
D Allison Hegner
D Morgan Krause
D Morgan Lockridge
D Emily Wilhelm
M Ashley Santos
M Katelynn Buescher
M Jeanine Valera
F Jessica Lapnow
F Chloe Kotrba
F Shaina Dudas
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Ashley Santos, sr., MF, Naperville North