Naperville North rolls along at W. Chicago
Huskies win 5th in row, extend unbeaten string to 10
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – The last time Naperville North traveled to West Chicago, the Huskies didn’t score on the hosts until Joe Sullivan converted a penalty kick with 2.6 seconds left to give his team a 1-0 victory.
This time, Naperville North flipped the script. Instead of scoring on their last shot of the game, the Huskies scored on their first when Connor McBride headed home a long throw-in from Chris Ensign just 2:02 into the match.
That set the tone for a 3-1 victory which allowed the Huskies (12-4-3) to continue their win streak (five games) and unbeaten skein (10 games). They are 8-0-2 in their last 10 outings.
“I was just wide open and [Ensign] got it to my head, so it was pretty nice,” McBride said. “It was nice to get one right off the bat. It kind of calms everyone down.”
Though West Chicago (6-8-2) controlled about 60 percent of the possession in the first half, the Wildcats were unable to climb out of that early hole, a deficit that grew to 2-0 in the second half.
Senior Brandon Hipp ran onto a ball at the top of the Wildcats’ box, quickly dribbled around West Chicago goalie John Garcia and scored in the 43rd minute.
It was his team-leading 12th goal of the season, a remarkable feat considering he started the year on the back line.
Since Naperville North coach Jim Konrad moved Hipp first to midfield for one game against Boylan and then to striker, Hipp has tallied 11 goals in eight games and the Huskies haven’t lost.
“It’s great,” said Hipp, who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “Scoring goals is the coolest thing to do in a soccer game so it’s great to be a part of that.”
Aside from a short stint during his sophomore year, Hipp hadn’t played forward before. He was a lockdown center back for the Huskies and his club team but the position switch has been seamless.
“I felt right at home,” Hipp said. “It wasn’t as hard as I would have thought.”
Hipp’s emergence gives the Huskies the offensive force they lacked in the early going and make them a more complete team. Junior Nick Carballo replaced Hipp on the back line, and the defense hasn’t missed a beat.
“Carballo has done a great job filling in that center back spot, and I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Hipp said. “He’s stepping up.”
Konrad feels the same way about Hipp.
“Hipp’s been spectacular,” Konrad said. “You know how we are here.
"We wanted to make sure our defense is intact first part of the season. Then we tried Nick Carballo in the back in Rockford and Nick played well enough that we could afford to move [Hipp] forward, so we put him up top and immediately he obviously made an impact. We’ve had a great stretch.
“He’s so calm around the goal. He’s scored a number of classy finishes where he’s under pressure but has the composure to put it in.”
The move makes Konrad look like a genius, so what did he see in Hipp?
“He’s a technical kid,” Konrad said. “He’s good with the ball at his feet. He hits the ball well with both feet, and the big thing was his leadership up top.
“Obviously Chris Ensign is super athletic and [Chris Sullivan] is just a sophomore, so you put a senior up there, he calms things down, guys listen to him, respect him. He can kind of see the field and make the right runs, and he’s been fantastic.”
After seeing Naperville North keeper Christian Robert make three of his five saves and rush off his line to smother two other dangerous balls in the first half, West Chicago was able to get on the board 84 seconds after Hipp scored.
Senior forward Hajhar Agha tallied his second goal of the season on a header off a corner kick from Pancho Correa. It gave the Wildcats hope, though not for long.
Naperville North's Sullivan answered exactly four minutes later on a great individual effort in which he made a diagonal run from the right wing into the left side of the box, got around a defender and beat Garcia with a hard left-footed shot from 15 yards out.
“It is nice to score goals, but in soccer it is about the team getting the win,” Agha said. “So you can score four goals but you are not happy if the team doesn’t win.”
The Wildcats may not have been happy with the result, but West Chicago coach Jose Villa was happy for Agha, who was born in Iraq but fled the war there and came to America with his family when he was in second grade.
“He’s really come out of his shell this year,” Villa said. “He has [fit in]. I talk to him a lot and coming in he knew zero English and really it was tough adjusting to the way of life here.
“It’s obviously very different than what he’s used to, but he’s really been able to adapt to the soccer program and the community and the high school. He’s the type of person who has seen things that none of us will probably see in our lifetimes.”
Agha dreams of continuing his soccer career in college and spoke to one local college coach after the game. But for now he’s focused on finishing the season on a high note.
The Wildcats have away games with Benet on Monday and Bartlett on Tuesday to finish the regular season.
Naperville North is off until it opens its regional against Marmion Academy at 5 p.m. Oct. 21.
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Christian Robert
D Matty Sylvester
D Kevin Keane
D Nick Carballo
D Wesley Wong
M Chris Sullivan
M Connor McBride
M Grant Borg
F Adam Helf
F Chris Ensign
F Brandon Hipp
West Chicago
GK John Garcia
D Antonio Velazquez
D Jesus Fernandez
D Sean Sweeney
D Josh Guercio
M Hajhar Agha
M Misael Duran
M Oswaldo Estrada
F Pancho Correa
F Ulises Rios
F Cielo Perez
Man of the Match: Brandon Hipp, F, Naperville North
Huskies win 5th in row, extend unbeaten string to 10
By Matt Le Cren
WEST CHICAGO – The last time Naperville North traveled to West Chicago, the Huskies didn’t score on the hosts until Joe Sullivan converted a penalty kick with 2.6 seconds left to give his team a 1-0 victory.
This time, Naperville North flipped the script. Instead of scoring on their last shot of the game, the Huskies scored on their first when Connor McBride headed home a long throw-in from Chris Ensign just 2:02 into the match.
That set the tone for a 3-1 victory which allowed the Huskies (12-4-3) to continue their win streak (five games) and unbeaten skein (10 games). They are 8-0-2 in their last 10 outings.
“I was just wide open and [Ensign] got it to my head, so it was pretty nice,” McBride said. “It was nice to get one right off the bat. It kind of calms everyone down.”
Though West Chicago (6-8-2) controlled about 60 percent of the possession in the first half, the Wildcats were unable to climb out of that early hole, a deficit that grew to 2-0 in the second half.
Senior Brandon Hipp ran onto a ball at the top of the Wildcats’ box, quickly dribbled around West Chicago goalie John Garcia and scored in the 43rd minute.
It was his team-leading 12th goal of the season, a remarkable feat considering he started the year on the back line.
Since Naperville North coach Jim Konrad moved Hipp first to midfield for one game against Boylan and then to striker, Hipp has tallied 11 goals in eight games and the Huskies haven’t lost.
“It’s great,” said Hipp, who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “Scoring goals is the coolest thing to do in a soccer game so it’s great to be a part of that.”
Aside from a short stint during his sophomore year, Hipp hadn’t played forward before. He was a lockdown center back for the Huskies and his club team but the position switch has been seamless.
“I felt right at home,” Hipp said. “It wasn’t as hard as I would have thought.”
Hipp’s emergence gives the Huskies the offensive force they lacked in the early going and make them a more complete team. Junior Nick Carballo replaced Hipp on the back line, and the defense hasn’t missed a beat.
“Carballo has done a great job filling in that center back spot, and I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Hipp said. “He’s stepping up.”
Konrad feels the same way about Hipp.
“Hipp’s been spectacular,” Konrad said. “You know how we are here.
"We wanted to make sure our defense is intact first part of the season. Then we tried Nick Carballo in the back in Rockford and Nick played well enough that we could afford to move [Hipp] forward, so we put him up top and immediately he obviously made an impact. We’ve had a great stretch.
“He’s so calm around the goal. He’s scored a number of classy finishes where he’s under pressure but has the composure to put it in.”
The move makes Konrad look like a genius, so what did he see in Hipp?
“He’s a technical kid,” Konrad said. “He’s good with the ball at his feet. He hits the ball well with both feet, and the big thing was his leadership up top.
“Obviously Chris Ensign is super athletic and [Chris Sullivan] is just a sophomore, so you put a senior up there, he calms things down, guys listen to him, respect him. He can kind of see the field and make the right runs, and he’s been fantastic.”
After seeing Naperville North keeper Christian Robert make three of his five saves and rush off his line to smother two other dangerous balls in the first half, West Chicago was able to get on the board 84 seconds after Hipp scored.
Senior forward Hajhar Agha tallied his second goal of the season on a header off a corner kick from Pancho Correa. It gave the Wildcats hope, though not for long.
Naperville North's Sullivan answered exactly four minutes later on a great individual effort in which he made a diagonal run from the right wing into the left side of the box, got around a defender and beat Garcia with a hard left-footed shot from 15 yards out.
“It is nice to score goals, but in soccer it is about the team getting the win,” Agha said. “So you can score four goals but you are not happy if the team doesn’t win.”
The Wildcats may not have been happy with the result, but West Chicago coach Jose Villa was happy for Agha, who was born in Iraq but fled the war there and came to America with his family when he was in second grade.
“He’s really come out of his shell this year,” Villa said. “He has [fit in]. I talk to him a lot and coming in he knew zero English and really it was tough adjusting to the way of life here.
“It’s obviously very different than what he’s used to, but he’s really been able to adapt to the soccer program and the community and the high school. He’s the type of person who has seen things that none of us will probably see in our lifetimes.”
Agha dreams of continuing his soccer career in college and spoke to one local college coach after the game. But for now he’s focused on finishing the season on a high note.
The Wildcats have away games with Benet on Monday and Bartlett on Tuesday to finish the regular season.
Naperville North is off until it opens its regional against Marmion Academy at 5 p.m. Oct. 21.
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Christian Robert
D Matty Sylvester
D Kevin Keane
D Nick Carballo
D Wesley Wong
M Chris Sullivan
M Connor McBride
M Grant Borg
F Adam Helf
F Chris Ensign
F Brandon Hipp
West Chicago
GK John Garcia
D Antonio Velazquez
D Jesus Fernandez
D Sean Sweeney
D Josh Guercio
M Hajhar Agha
M Misael Duran
M Oswaldo Estrada
F Pancho Correa
F Ulises Rios
F Cielo Perez
Man of the Match: Brandon Hipp, F, Naperville North