Naperville N. DVC title hopes
take hit from Naperville C.
0-0 tie gives edge to Neuqua Valley
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North defender Morgan Lockridge was asked where she gets the strength to launch booming free kicks from 50 yards out into dangerous places.
“I couldn’t tell you,” Lockridge said. “It surprises me.”
Lockridge and fellow senior Morgan Krause each took several free kicks during Tuesday night’s DuPage Valley Conference match with Naperville Central, but their teammates couldn’t do anything with them.
The host Redhawks, meanwhile, were equally bereft at the other end, and the result was an uneventful 0-0 double-overtime tie at Memorial Stadium.
The result was frustrating for everyone involved, including the fans who had to shiver through 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, but the Huskies (13-1-3, 4-0-2) felt the worst of it. They no longer control their own destiny in the DVC race, falling a half-game behind Neuqua Valley (7-3-4, 4-0-1), which routed Wheaton North 6-0 Tuesday.
“This is our fifth game going into double overtime,” Lockridge said. “It just gets exhausting, I’d say more mentally than it is physically.
“I think we’re in great shape but it’s just frustrating how we’ll have the ball the majority of the game, and we just can’t score.”
Indeed, the Huskies are finding it difficult to finagle a finish lately. They have scored four goals in their last five games, with only two of the strikes coming in regulation. Those, ironically, came in the only game they’ve lost this season – Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Barrington in the Naperville Invitational final.
The loss, which came on a goal with five seconds left, in retrospect might help the Huskies, who showed no ill effects and controlled much of the action against the Redhawks.
“I think it definitely was a nice wake-up call for us,” Lockridge said. “It definitely kind of took a little bit of a target off of our back, too.
“The past couple seasons that’s kind of how we went into playoffs, so the target is off our back a little bit. But we definitely want to bounce back and correct the things that we did wrong.”
Nearly all of what went wrong occurred in the final third. The Huskies mustered 10 shots but only three were on frame.
Naperville North was never in danger of losing, however, as goalkeeper Elizabeth Cablk had to make only one save, a routine stop in the seventh minute to catch Sarah Avery’s header off a Caitlin Reice free kick.
“I think we’ve got the defense solved,” Lockridge said. “We work really hard as a team, but I think we maybe need to slow the ball down more on the ground because these long kicks definitely aren’t working for us.
“We also need to take restarts more seriously. We kind of fumble it there in their 6-yard box. We’ve just got to get one more leg on it.”
Who will provide that leg remains a mystery. The Huskies do not have a proven striker and while Krause has a team-leading 13 goals, she is a midfielder who often strikes from distance.
“The hardest part of soccer is scoring goals and we’ve proven this year that we don’t have somebody on this team yet that can break somebody down, create a special moment and score a goal on their own,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “It’s going to have to come from a group of people, and that’s very hard to do.
“All we can do is keep working on it, but as a whole, as much of the ball as we had tonight, we didn’t have too many dangerous chances on goal.
“Some of that is obviously a testament to Naperville Central. They’re a great defensive team. They are always going to be a great defensive team, but at the same time, we still have to figure out ways that individually we can be a little bit better across the board that are going to generate more team chances.
“If we can do that, then with our defense I would like to say that we can play with anybody in the state of Illinois.”
With the Illinois-bound Cablk between the pipes and a great backline of Lockridge and Emily Wilhelm on the outside and Alyssa and Jessica Siebers in the middle, North has been able to lock down most opponents.
That was the case against Naperville Central (8-7-3, 3-2-1), another team desperate to find the back of the net yet solid in the back.
Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler notched her eighth shutout of the season. She made three saves, including a diving stop on Katelynn Buescher’s volley with 3:50 to go in the first half.
“I was pretty excited for this game, so I knew that I had to come out and get a zero against them, which was good,” Dressler said. “My defense helped me out a lot tonight. Caitlin Reice was great tonight.”
Reice, a Washington University signee, has been a rock for the Redhawks. The four-year starter ranges all over the defensive third and also serves as the team’s best threat on free kicks.
“She’s unbelievable,” Dressler said. “I would put it down that she has been the best player on the team, the most consistent player on the team.
“I can come out every night and know Caitlin has got my back. She’s been playing through some injuries and you can’t even tell. She’s super consistent.”
Consistency is something that has eluded the Redhawks this spring. They haven’t won more than three in a row.
Naperville Central is currently on a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) following its first three-game winning streak. The Redhawks have been shut out eight times, including their last three matches. Yet Dressler felt the Redhawks deserved better against the Huskies.
“I felt like we outplayed them tonight,” Dressler said. “It’s a little frustrating that we have trouble getting numbers on the scoreboard, but it is good that we can come out and prove ourselves because we’ve had kind of a tough season.
“We’re still trying to find a goal scorer.”
Goletz, whose team could face the Redhawks again in the sectional semifinals, can relate.
“Goal scorers are the hardest thing to find and you always say as a coach when you’ve got a goal scorer it’s something special,” Goletz said. “And we’ve been lucky that we’ve had goal scorers (in recent years), but I can’t ever fault the kids’ effort.
“I think they play as hard as they possibly can. I think defensively we’ve been very good.
“We’ve got 2 1/2 weeks to figure out how we can be the most dangerous team possible, to not necessarily score five or six goals a game, but do enough to get one or two that will put us in position to win.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Elizabeth Cablk
D Emily Wilhelm
D Alyssa Siebers
D Jessica Siebers
D Morgan Lockridge
M Ashley Santos
M Katelynn Buescher
M Morgan Krause
M Jeanine Valera
F Caroline Weiss
F Chloe Kotrba
Naperville Central
GK Kinzly Dressler
D Grace Anderson
D Sarah Avery
D Caitlin Reice
D Abby Hillman
M Katie Anderson
M Maddie Redeker
M Maggie Hillman
F Meredith McGuire
F Caroline Reedy
F Meridith Hannan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Morgan Lockridge, sr., D, Naperville North
take hit from Naperville C.
0-0 tie gives edge to Neuqua Valley
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North defender Morgan Lockridge was asked where she gets the strength to launch booming free kicks from 50 yards out into dangerous places.
“I couldn’t tell you,” Lockridge said. “It surprises me.”
Lockridge and fellow senior Morgan Krause each took several free kicks during Tuesday night’s DuPage Valley Conference match with Naperville Central, but their teammates couldn’t do anything with them.
The host Redhawks, meanwhile, were equally bereft at the other end, and the result was an uneventful 0-0 double-overtime tie at Memorial Stadium.
The result was frustrating for everyone involved, including the fans who had to shiver through 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, but the Huskies (13-1-3, 4-0-2) felt the worst of it. They no longer control their own destiny in the DVC race, falling a half-game behind Neuqua Valley (7-3-4, 4-0-1), which routed Wheaton North 6-0 Tuesday.
“This is our fifth game going into double overtime,” Lockridge said. “It just gets exhausting, I’d say more mentally than it is physically.
“I think we’re in great shape but it’s just frustrating how we’ll have the ball the majority of the game, and we just can’t score.”
Indeed, the Huskies are finding it difficult to finagle a finish lately. They have scored four goals in their last five games, with only two of the strikes coming in regulation. Those, ironically, came in the only game they’ve lost this season – Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Barrington in the Naperville Invitational final.
The loss, which came on a goal with five seconds left, in retrospect might help the Huskies, who showed no ill effects and controlled much of the action against the Redhawks.
“I think it definitely was a nice wake-up call for us,” Lockridge said. “It definitely kind of took a little bit of a target off of our back, too.
“The past couple seasons that’s kind of how we went into playoffs, so the target is off our back a little bit. But we definitely want to bounce back and correct the things that we did wrong.”
Nearly all of what went wrong occurred in the final third. The Huskies mustered 10 shots but only three were on frame.
Naperville North was never in danger of losing, however, as goalkeeper Elizabeth Cablk had to make only one save, a routine stop in the seventh minute to catch Sarah Avery’s header off a Caitlin Reice free kick.
“I think we’ve got the defense solved,” Lockridge said. “We work really hard as a team, but I think we maybe need to slow the ball down more on the ground because these long kicks definitely aren’t working for us.
“We also need to take restarts more seriously. We kind of fumble it there in their 6-yard box. We’ve just got to get one more leg on it.”
Who will provide that leg remains a mystery. The Huskies do not have a proven striker and while Krause has a team-leading 13 goals, she is a midfielder who often strikes from distance.
“The hardest part of soccer is scoring goals and we’ve proven this year that we don’t have somebody on this team yet that can break somebody down, create a special moment and score a goal on their own,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “It’s going to have to come from a group of people, and that’s very hard to do.
“All we can do is keep working on it, but as a whole, as much of the ball as we had tonight, we didn’t have too many dangerous chances on goal.
“Some of that is obviously a testament to Naperville Central. They’re a great defensive team. They are always going to be a great defensive team, but at the same time, we still have to figure out ways that individually we can be a little bit better across the board that are going to generate more team chances.
“If we can do that, then with our defense I would like to say that we can play with anybody in the state of Illinois.”
With the Illinois-bound Cablk between the pipes and a great backline of Lockridge and Emily Wilhelm on the outside and Alyssa and Jessica Siebers in the middle, North has been able to lock down most opponents.
That was the case against Naperville Central (8-7-3, 3-2-1), another team desperate to find the back of the net yet solid in the back.
Naperville Central goalie Kinzly Dressler notched her eighth shutout of the season. She made three saves, including a diving stop on Katelynn Buescher’s volley with 3:50 to go in the first half.
“I was pretty excited for this game, so I knew that I had to come out and get a zero against them, which was good,” Dressler said. “My defense helped me out a lot tonight. Caitlin Reice was great tonight.”
Reice, a Washington University signee, has been a rock for the Redhawks. The four-year starter ranges all over the defensive third and also serves as the team’s best threat on free kicks.
“She’s unbelievable,” Dressler said. “I would put it down that she has been the best player on the team, the most consistent player on the team.
“I can come out every night and know Caitlin has got my back. She’s been playing through some injuries and you can’t even tell. She’s super consistent.”
Consistency is something that has eluded the Redhawks this spring. They haven’t won more than three in a row.
Naperville Central is currently on a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) following its first three-game winning streak. The Redhawks have been shut out eight times, including their last three matches. Yet Dressler felt the Redhawks deserved better against the Huskies.
“I felt like we outplayed them tonight,” Dressler said. “It’s a little frustrating that we have trouble getting numbers on the scoreboard, but it is good that we can come out and prove ourselves because we’ve had kind of a tough season.
“We’re still trying to find a goal scorer.”
Goletz, whose team could face the Redhawks again in the sectional semifinals, can relate.
“Goal scorers are the hardest thing to find and you always say as a coach when you’ve got a goal scorer it’s something special,” Goletz said. “And we’ve been lucky that we’ve had goal scorers (in recent years), but I can’t ever fault the kids’ effort.
“I think they play as hard as they possibly can. I think defensively we’ve been very good.
“We’ve got 2 1/2 weeks to figure out how we can be the most dangerous team possible, to not necessarily score five or six goals a game, but do enough to get one or two that will put us in position to win.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Elizabeth Cablk
D Emily Wilhelm
D Alyssa Siebers
D Jessica Siebers
D Morgan Lockridge
M Ashley Santos
M Katelynn Buescher
M Morgan Krause
M Jeanine Valera
F Caroline Weiss
F Chloe Kotrba
Naperville Central
GK Kinzly Dressler
D Grace Anderson
D Sarah Avery
D Caitlin Reice
D Abby Hillman
M Katie Anderson
M Maddie Redeker
M Maggie Hillman
F Meredith McGuire
F Caroline Reedy
F Meridith Hannan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Morgan Lockridge, sr., D, Naperville North