Title memories, dreams
drive Naperville North
Huskies demonstrate depth in 7-0 win over DeKalb
By Curt Herron
NAPERVILLE -- While all high school athletes throughout Illinois have had to deal with the unique scenario of missing out on a sport that they love for a very long time, only a handful missed out on getting the opportunity to do something that's truly special, being able to repeat as a state champion.
One of the programs that had the longest time off following a title win was Naperville North's girls soccer team, which entered this year without having played a match since June 1, 2019, the date they edged Barrington on penalties to capture their school's fourth state championship and third in eight seasons under coach Steve Goletz.
While that victory to cap a 15-5-4 campaign was played in Naperville at nearby North Central College, the Huskies finally got the chance to play a home match at Harshbarger-Welzel Stadium on Tuesday, their first in 102 weeks, when they met DeKalb in DuPage Valley Conference play.
Although Thursday's home match against rival Naperville Central is clearly a much bigger deal for the Huskies, just being back on the field again at their school and having everyone on the team see plenty of playing time on a beautiful evening was a big deal for the Huskies, who improved to 3-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the DVC with a 7-0 victory over the Barbs.
Senior captains Emily Dulik and Nora Fitzgerald, who were members of the 2019 championship squad along with three others who are also on this season's roster, seniors Julie Grubisic and Michelle Schabacker and junior Ellie Gerner, hope that their experience from the state championship season helps a squad that's off to a good start with a 3-2 DVC victory over Neuqua Valley on April 22 in their opener and a 4-0 nonconference win at Batavia on April 24.
"We ended on such a high. It was such a great group, and we had some returning as well; so we knew that we would be good again," Dulik said. "It was hard reaching that peak and then having it all kind of crumble down.
“That's kind of what's big for this season, starting with the group that we had and know that we can get back there again and try to win another state championship.
"This program as a whole and our coaches set us up for success. We knew that we'd have tough games, and we would not win every game, but it was just us playing true to ourselves and just hammering down on the little things, and that ended up making us successful. And just having the will to win helped us, as well.
"This just shows how diverse our team is that if one person gets hurt or gets down that we have so many people on the bench who can step in and help us. It might not be like scoring a goal but there's so many different roles that contribute to a win. We have that, which will be a key to our success. I like our competitive will to win and always fighting and even on the sideline, everybody is always engaged and cheering each other on. It's really big since we all have the same goal."
The team has many Huskies who would have gained valuable experience playing for the first time on the 2020 varsity that would have had as many as 11 returning players from the title team, but that season began with practices and ended without a match being played.
Now Naperville North hopes to get big contributions for those in their first varsity season. Based on the team's good start, that's exactly what's happening.
Junior Taylor Korosec scored two goals in her team's opener and then did that again Tuesday with an assist. The Huskies scored four times in the first 17 minutes and build a 5-0 lead midway through the match.
Korosec opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a close-range effort off of an assist from Gerner. After Korosec was denied on a liner shortly after that, Cameron DeCook sent a pass to Dulik, who got past defenders for a score in the 10th minute to make it 2-0. After setting up DeCook for a short try in the 15th minute, Korosec connected again in the 17th minute following an assist from Olivia Anderson.
"It's been a lot of fun getting everyone together and actually playing games this year," Korosec said. "It was really disappointing getting through our first two weeks of practice and then being let down when things got cancelled right before our games.
"It's really great to just be able to play together. We have a lot of fun that we're allowed to put onto the field. I think that all of the work that we've put in individually and as a team, we're getting a chance to show it. We're really good at connecting throughout the field and our defenders and mids are putting in the same amount of work as our forwards.
"This was our third game so as we go through the season and work things out, the team will be able to do really great things. We're all putting in 100 percent in the game, and that will really show in the tournament. I really like how dedicated everyone is and how willing we are to put in the work to win. And at the same time we're working hard and doing our best, we're also able to have a lot of fun together."
Savannah Hamman scored in the 32nd minute off an assist from DeCook to give the Huskies a 5-0 lead. In the final half, Megan Cablk connected following an assist from Maggie Fitzgerald and Abby Haskell, who played in goal in the first half, concluded the match's scoring following an assist from Peyton Hegner. Sierra Rioux, Paige Davis Maggie Fitzgerald and Anderson were others who had good scoring chances but Barbs' keeper Guadalupe Carrillo came up with some big stops.
Meanwhile, a defense of Norah Barry, Lucy Iverson, Maggie Fitzgerald and Gerner kept DeKalb from seriously threatening to score during the opening half. Rosy Viton took over for Haskell in goal for the second half to secure the squad's second-straight shutout.
"We're grateful to first have any opportunity to play, and today was no different and we were excited about having a home game, which was our first one in over a year," Nora Fitzgerald said. "A lot of this group was a part of the team last year, so we've just kept our chemistry and we've been waiting to get out here.
"It was extremely tough, especially coming off of a state championship. We were really excited to get back out there and kind of prove to people that we did deserve to win that title. We have a great group of juniors on this team, so we're a pretty seasoned team with mostly juniors and seniors, so there's a lot of leadership experience on the team.
"A lot of the girls are very driven and committed to the team and you can feel that. And another thing is that everyone has just been putting in the work day in and day out. We never have a bad practice and everyone is always working hard and pushing each other. And we like to see it all come together on the field. The key for us is if our hearts are in it, since that's how we ended up winning last time, it was all heart and battling. If we keep playing like we've been and keep our hearts in it, there's no team we can't beat."
The Huskies coach is encouraged about what he's seen from his team thus far.
"The girls played well and had a great team performance from across the board," Goletz said. "We have done a nice job of consistently getting a little better each game so far at some of the areas we know we have to improve to be able to compete with the best teams in this area.
"I have been very pleased with this group's work-rate and willingness to battle each time out on the field. The next two weeks will tell a lot about what we truly have as a group against some top-notch opponents."
Starting lineups
Naperville North
G Abby Haskell
D Norah Barry
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Ellie Gerner
D Lucy Iverson
M Cameron Dinkla
M Nora Fitzgerald
M Madison Korosec
F Cameron DeCook
F Emily Dulik
F Taylor Korosec
DeKalb
G Guadalupe Carrillo
D Isabella Delacruz
D Madison McNeil
D Emilee Mendez
D Natalie Rosenow
M Lindsey Bargiel
M Claire Bettner
M Ashley Diedrich
M Autumn Foltz
F Kendra Sullivan
F Carolyn Szostak
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Taylor Korosec, jr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
NN- T. Korosec (Gerner), 4
NN- Dulik (DeCook), 10
NN- DeCook (T. Korosec), 15
NN- T. Korosec (Anderson), 17
NN- Hamman (DeCook), 32
Second half
NN - Cablk (M. Fitzgerald), 56
NN - Haskell (Hegner), 72
drive Naperville North
Huskies demonstrate depth in 7-0 win over DeKalb
By Curt Herron
NAPERVILLE -- While all high school athletes throughout Illinois have had to deal with the unique scenario of missing out on a sport that they love for a very long time, only a handful missed out on getting the opportunity to do something that's truly special, being able to repeat as a state champion.
One of the programs that had the longest time off following a title win was Naperville North's girls soccer team, which entered this year without having played a match since June 1, 2019, the date they edged Barrington on penalties to capture their school's fourth state championship and third in eight seasons under coach Steve Goletz.
While that victory to cap a 15-5-4 campaign was played in Naperville at nearby North Central College, the Huskies finally got the chance to play a home match at Harshbarger-Welzel Stadium on Tuesday, their first in 102 weeks, when they met DeKalb in DuPage Valley Conference play.
Although Thursday's home match against rival Naperville Central is clearly a much bigger deal for the Huskies, just being back on the field again at their school and having everyone on the team see plenty of playing time on a beautiful evening was a big deal for the Huskies, who improved to 3-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the DVC with a 7-0 victory over the Barbs.
Senior captains Emily Dulik and Nora Fitzgerald, who were members of the 2019 championship squad along with three others who are also on this season's roster, seniors Julie Grubisic and Michelle Schabacker and junior Ellie Gerner, hope that their experience from the state championship season helps a squad that's off to a good start with a 3-2 DVC victory over Neuqua Valley on April 22 in their opener and a 4-0 nonconference win at Batavia on April 24.
"We ended on such a high. It was such a great group, and we had some returning as well; so we knew that we would be good again," Dulik said. "It was hard reaching that peak and then having it all kind of crumble down.
“That's kind of what's big for this season, starting with the group that we had and know that we can get back there again and try to win another state championship.
"This program as a whole and our coaches set us up for success. We knew that we'd have tough games, and we would not win every game, but it was just us playing true to ourselves and just hammering down on the little things, and that ended up making us successful. And just having the will to win helped us, as well.
"This just shows how diverse our team is that if one person gets hurt or gets down that we have so many people on the bench who can step in and help us. It might not be like scoring a goal but there's so many different roles that contribute to a win. We have that, which will be a key to our success. I like our competitive will to win and always fighting and even on the sideline, everybody is always engaged and cheering each other on. It's really big since we all have the same goal."
The team has many Huskies who would have gained valuable experience playing for the first time on the 2020 varsity that would have had as many as 11 returning players from the title team, but that season began with practices and ended without a match being played.
Now Naperville North hopes to get big contributions for those in their first varsity season. Based on the team's good start, that's exactly what's happening.
Junior Taylor Korosec scored two goals in her team's opener and then did that again Tuesday with an assist. The Huskies scored four times in the first 17 minutes and build a 5-0 lead midway through the match.
Korosec opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a close-range effort off of an assist from Gerner. After Korosec was denied on a liner shortly after that, Cameron DeCook sent a pass to Dulik, who got past defenders for a score in the 10th minute to make it 2-0. After setting up DeCook for a short try in the 15th minute, Korosec connected again in the 17th minute following an assist from Olivia Anderson.
"It's been a lot of fun getting everyone together and actually playing games this year," Korosec said. "It was really disappointing getting through our first two weeks of practice and then being let down when things got cancelled right before our games.
"It's really great to just be able to play together. We have a lot of fun that we're allowed to put onto the field. I think that all of the work that we've put in individually and as a team, we're getting a chance to show it. We're really good at connecting throughout the field and our defenders and mids are putting in the same amount of work as our forwards.
"This was our third game so as we go through the season and work things out, the team will be able to do really great things. We're all putting in 100 percent in the game, and that will really show in the tournament. I really like how dedicated everyone is and how willing we are to put in the work to win. And at the same time we're working hard and doing our best, we're also able to have a lot of fun together."
Savannah Hamman scored in the 32nd minute off an assist from DeCook to give the Huskies a 5-0 lead. In the final half, Megan Cablk connected following an assist from Maggie Fitzgerald and Abby Haskell, who played in goal in the first half, concluded the match's scoring following an assist from Peyton Hegner. Sierra Rioux, Paige Davis Maggie Fitzgerald and Anderson were others who had good scoring chances but Barbs' keeper Guadalupe Carrillo came up with some big stops.
Meanwhile, a defense of Norah Barry, Lucy Iverson, Maggie Fitzgerald and Gerner kept DeKalb from seriously threatening to score during the opening half. Rosy Viton took over for Haskell in goal for the second half to secure the squad's second-straight shutout.
"We're grateful to first have any opportunity to play, and today was no different and we were excited about having a home game, which was our first one in over a year," Nora Fitzgerald said. "A lot of this group was a part of the team last year, so we've just kept our chemistry and we've been waiting to get out here.
"It was extremely tough, especially coming off of a state championship. We were really excited to get back out there and kind of prove to people that we did deserve to win that title. We have a great group of juniors on this team, so we're a pretty seasoned team with mostly juniors and seniors, so there's a lot of leadership experience on the team.
"A lot of the girls are very driven and committed to the team and you can feel that. And another thing is that everyone has just been putting in the work day in and day out. We never have a bad practice and everyone is always working hard and pushing each other. And we like to see it all come together on the field. The key for us is if our hearts are in it, since that's how we ended up winning last time, it was all heart and battling. If we keep playing like we've been and keep our hearts in it, there's no team we can't beat."
The Huskies coach is encouraged about what he's seen from his team thus far.
"The girls played well and had a great team performance from across the board," Goletz said. "We have done a nice job of consistently getting a little better each game so far at some of the areas we know we have to improve to be able to compete with the best teams in this area.
"I have been very pleased with this group's work-rate and willingness to battle each time out on the field. The next two weeks will tell a lot about what we truly have as a group against some top-notch opponents."
Starting lineups
Naperville North
G Abby Haskell
D Norah Barry
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Ellie Gerner
D Lucy Iverson
M Cameron Dinkla
M Nora Fitzgerald
M Madison Korosec
F Cameron DeCook
F Emily Dulik
F Taylor Korosec
DeKalb
G Guadalupe Carrillo
D Isabella Delacruz
D Madison McNeil
D Emilee Mendez
D Natalie Rosenow
M Lindsey Bargiel
M Claire Bettner
M Ashley Diedrich
M Autumn Foltz
F Kendra Sullivan
F Carolyn Szostak
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Taylor Korosec, jr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
NN- T. Korosec (Gerner), 4
NN- Dulik (DeCook), 10
NN- DeCook (T. Korosec), 15
NN- T. Korosec (Anderson), 17
NN- Hamman (DeCook), 32
Second half
NN - Cablk (M. Fitzgerald), 56
NN - Haskell (Hegner), 72