Naperville N. finds offense, bests WWS
Denney makes prep debut in 2-0 Senior Night win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Jessica Denney’s high school debut was memorable in more than one way.
The Naperville North senior’s much anticipated return from a torn ACL, just 6 1/2 months after her surgery, was greeted by enthusiastic applause Tuesday night.
The cheers turned to boos when Denney, an Illinois State recruit, had to leave the DuPage Valley Conference match with Wheaton Warrenville South just 25 seconds after she entered when she got a yellow card.
Denney returned a minute later, only to be forced to leave again because she had bobby pins in her hair, which are against IHSA regulations.
Once that was fixed, she re-entered and played 15 minutes in the third-ranked Huskies’ 2-0 victory on Senior Night.
“This was my first time playing on this field and my last time playing on this field, and I got a yellow card,” Denney said. “It was awesome.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a phenomenal performance, but it meant so much to get back on the field, playing with everyone, especially in my final home game with my teammates.”
So Denney achieved both of her main goals Tuesday, getting a win and some playing time. The outcome was already determined by the time she came in with 18:00 to go in the first half thanks to early goals from Katelynn Buescher and Morgan Krause, and it was largely overshadowed by her debut.
“I’ve been waiting to play with her for a while, and I’m so excited that she is going to play high school after a torn ACL,” Buescher said of Denney, who was a club player until this year. “It was really good to have her back on the field.”
Denney made an immediate impression by racing up the right side into the midfield before losing the ball and shoving a defender with both hands, which drew the caution. Naperville North fans booed the referee’s decision even though the play did warrant a card.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Buescher said. “That’s just her personality. She wanted the ball, what can I say?”
Naperville North coach Steve Goletz had plenty to say. While not condoning the hard foul, he found the humor in it.
“The ball pops out, we’re all obviously excited. and she’s dribbling,” Goletz said. “(Assistant coach Jim) Konrad says to me, ‘Watch her dribble the whole way and score a goal.’
“She kind of takes a bad touch and I say, ‘Or she’s going to get a yellow card and have to come out.’
“But the good news was she played a great 15 minutes, looked good, said she felt great. For a kid who has worked so hard trying to come back and been so determined along the way, to finally get back on the field I know is a great feeling for her. The girls were really excited to see her out there tonight.”
The Huskies plan to use Denney sparingly the rest of the way to take it easy on her knee, but she could make an impact off the bench in the playoffs with her speed and strength.
“I’m still limited with minutes but looking to get more,” Denney said. “We’ll see what happens but this was a good start. I was so happy to finally get out there.”
Denney wasn’t the only player celebrating a first of sorts.
Buescher, a junior midfielder, bagged her first goal of the season on a 20-yard shot in the second minute off an assist from Krause. That turned out to be the game-winner.
“I saw the weak side was open,” Buescher said. “Krause got the ball, and I was screaming for the ball.
“I got it at my feet, and I just hit it to the upper right corner because the goalie was to the left.”
Five minutes later, Krause scored on a similar play. Both sides settled in after that, and there were only two more shots on goal, both by the Huskies (14-2-3, 5-1-2), who did not allow the Tigers (8-8-1, 3-4-0) to get a shot on frame.
“At the beginning we came out really, really hard because it was Senior Night, and we really wanted to win, just because of what they’ve done for the program,” Buescher said.
In addition to Denney, starters Krause, Elizabeth Cablk, Jessica Lapnow Emily Wilhelm, Ashley Santos, Jeanine Valera, Morgan Lockridge, Chloe Kotrba, Jaida Breese, Caroline Weiss, Shelby Taylor, Katie Fortman, Emily Liberio and Megan Dulik all played their final home game.
“We’ve struggled to score goals in the run of play, so to score 2 in the first 10 minutes was great,” Goletz said. “It allowed us to get all of our seniors in tonight.
“They’ve meant so much to this program. Most of them are four-year kids so it’s a special time when you can get them all together to play a final time on their home field and to win. You can’t ask for much more as a coach.”
The Huskies seem to have gotten past whatever ailed the offense during a three-game winless streak. They’ve scored two goals in back-to-back games for the first time in nearly three weeks.
“It’s definitely a confidence-booster,” Buescher said. “From our four goals, we’ve had different people scoring them all so we know we can score, and moving forward that’s good.
“We know we can score goals, where we can get it from. It just kind of feels like everything is falling into place. I think we’re going to be moving forward in a successful way.”
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari doesn’t have the roster of Division I talent the Huskies do, but he’s hoping the Tigers will move forward in a positive manner as well. Unlike North, the Tigers are young, with most of the starting lineup comprised of sophomores.
“We actually played with a little bit of fear, and we were on our heels a little bit and allowed them to come at us initially,” Callipari said. “Certainly they were motivated. It was their Senior Night, so they’ve very excited, and they played well. They got everybody involved, and we played our bench as well.”
With nothing at stake in the conference race, the two squads tried to prepare for the playoffs.
“It made for an interesting game,” Callipari said. “We’re trying to season our young guns a little bit, help them grow to a maturity level in which they can compete against teams like this.
“So either trial and error will kill us or we’re going to learn and we live to see another day. But credit to them. It’s a great night for them, and they’re well-coached.”
The end to the Tigers conference season comes against their two toughest opponents in Naperville North and the finale against Neuqua Valley. The no. 8 Wildcats clinched the conference title with an 8-0 win over Glenbard North.
Thursday’s trip to Neuqua will give the Tigers one last test before the postseason begins next week. Callipari said sophomore defender Maria Dohse and sophomore midfielder Ellery Fahey stood out.
“There is so much inconsistency with our youth, but we had moments,” Callipari said. “Ellery on the right side did an excellent job in the first half.
“She was the only one willing to step in and bang with the powers to be. We’re a kind of small team and nobody was willing to do that, but she fought through. So I thought that kept us in it.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Abbie Brennan
D Julia Hildebrand
D Claire Kiple
D Maria Dohse
M Evelyn Demsher
M Allie Anderson
M Jennifer Aalbue
M Julia Martz
M Emily Calloway
F Audrey Siebert
F Paige Miller
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 Jessica Lapnow
F Chloe Kotrba
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Katelynn Buescher, jr., M, Naperville North
Denney makes prep debut in 2-0 Senior Night win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Jessica Denney’s high school debut was memorable in more than one way.
The Naperville North senior’s much anticipated return from a torn ACL, just 6 1/2 months after her surgery, was greeted by enthusiastic applause Tuesday night.
The cheers turned to boos when Denney, an Illinois State recruit, had to leave the DuPage Valley Conference match with Wheaton Warrenville South just 25 seconds after she entered when she got a yellow card.
Denney returned a minute later, only to be forced to leave again because she had bobby pins in her hair, which are against IHSA regulations.
Once that was fixed, she re-entered and played 15 minutes in the third-ranked Huskies’ 2-0 victory on Senior Night.
“This was my first time playing on this field and my last time playing on this field, and I got a yellow card,” Denney said. “It was awesome.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a phenomenal performance, but it meant so much to get back on the field, playing with everyone, especially in my final home game with my teammates.”
So Denney achieved both of her main goals Tuesday, getting a win and some playing time. The outcome was already determined by the time she came in with 18:00 to go in the first half thanks to early goals from Katelynn Buescher and Morgan Krause, and it was largely overshadowed by her debut.
“I’ve been waiting to play with her for a while, and I’m so excited that she is going to play high school after a torn ACL,” Buescher said of Denney, who was a club player until this year. “It was really good to have her back on the field.”
Denney made an immediate impression by racing up the right side into the midfield before losing the ball and shoving a defender with both hands, which drew the caution. Naperville North fans booed the referee’s decision even though the play did warrant a card.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Buescher said. “That’s just her personality. She wanted the ball, what can I say?”
Naperville North coach Steve Goletz had plenty to say. While not condoning the hard foul, he found the humor in it.
“The ball pops out, we’re all obviously excited. and she’s dribbling,” Goletz said. “(Assistant coach Jim) Konrad says to me, ‘Watch her dribble the whole way and score a goal.’
“She kind of takes a bad touch and I say, ‘Or she’s going to get a yellow card and have to come out.’
“But the good news was she played a great 15 minutes, looked good, said she felt great. For a kid who has worked so hard trying to come back and been so determined along the way, to finally get back on the field I know is a great feeling for her. The girls were really excited to see her out there tonight.”
The Huskies plan to use Denney sparingly the rest of the way to take it easy on her knee, but she could make an impact off the bench in the playoffs with her speed and strength.
“I’m still limited with minutes but looking to get more,” Denney said. “We’ll see what happens but this was a good start. I was so happy to finally get out there.”
Denney wasn’t the only player celebrating a first of sorts.
Buescher, a junior midfielder, bagged her first goal of the season on a 20-yard shot in the second minute off an assist from Krause. That turned out to be the game-winner.
“I saw the weak side was open,” Buescher said. “Krause got the ball, and I was screaming for the ball.
“I got it at my feet, and I just hit it to the upper right corner because the goalie was to the left.”
Five minutes later, Krause scored on a similar play. Both sides settled in after that, and there were only two more shots on goal, both by the Huskies (14-2-3, 5-1-2), who did not allow the Tigers (8-8-1, 3-4-0) to get a shot on frame.
“At the beginning we came out really, really hard because it was Senior Night, and we really wanted to win, just because of what they’ve done for the program,” Buescher said.
In addition to Denney, starters Krause, Elizabeth Cablk, Jessica Lapnow Emily Wilhelm, Ashley Santos, Jeanine Valera, Morgan Lockridge, Chloe Kotrba, Jaida Breese, Caroline Weiss, Shelby Taylor, Katie Fortman, Emily Liberio and Megan Dulik all played their final home game.
“We’ve struggled to score goals in the run of play, so to score 2 in the first 10 minutes was great,” Goletz said. “It allowed us to get all of our seniors in tonight.
“They’ve meant so much to this program. Most of them are four-year kids so it’s a special time when you can get them all together to play a final time on their home field and to win. You can’t ask for much more as a coach.”
The Huskies seem to have gotten past whatever ailed the offense during a three-game winless streak. They’ve scored two goals in back-to-back games for the first time in nearly three weeks.
“It’s definitely a confidence-booster,” Buescher said. “From our four goals, we’ve had different people scoring them all so we know we can score, and moving forward that’s good.
“We know we can score goals, where we can get it from. It just kind of feels like everything is falling into place. I think we’re going to be moving forward in a successful way.”
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari doesn’t have the roster of Division I talent the Huskies do, but he’s hoping the Tigers will move forward in a positive manner as well. Unlike North, the Tigers are young, with most of the starting lineup comprised of sophomores.
“We actually played with a little bit of fear, and we were on our heels a little bit and allowed them to come at us initially,” Callipari said. “Certainly they were motivated. It was their Senior Night, so they’ve very excited, and they played well. They got everybody involved, and we played our bench as well.”
With nothing at stake in the conference race, the two squads tried to prepare for the playoffs.
“It made for an interesting game,” Callipari said. “We’re trying to season our young guns a little bit, help them grow to a maturity level in which they can compete against teams like this.
“So either trial and error will kill us or we’re going to learn and we live to see another day. But credit to them. It’s a great night for them, and they’re well-coached.”
The end to the Tigers conference season comes against their two toughest opponents in Naperville North and the finale against Neuqua Valley. The no. 8 Wildcats clinched the conference title with an 8-0 win over Glenbard North.
Thursday’s trip to Neuqua will give the Tigers one last test before the postseason begins next week. Callipari said sophomore defender Maria Dohse and sophomore midfielder Ellery Fahey stood out.
“There is so much inconsistency with our youth, but we had moments,” Callipari said. “Ellery on the right side did an excellent job in the first half.
“She was the only one willing to step in and bang with the powers to be. We’re a kind of small team and nobody was willing to do that, but she fought through. So I thought that kept us in it.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Abbie Brennan
D Julia Hildebrand
D Claire Kiple
D Maria Dohse
M Evelyn Demsher
M Allie Anderson
M Jennifer Aalbue
M Julia Martz
M Emily Calloway
F Audrey Siebert
F Paige Miller
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 Jessica Lapnow
F Chloe Kotrba
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Katelynn Buescher, jr., M, Naperville North