No rest for Naperville North,
Joliet West in Friday night tie
Teams produce 1-1 draw after ranked battles night before
By Dave Owen
NAPERVILLE- So much for coasting into the postseason.
For the second weekend in a row, Naperville North (11-3-4) has embarked on a marathon schedule of three strong opponents in three days.
And after a 1-1 tie with St. Charles East on Thursday, the host Huskies produced a matching 1-1 result with Joliet West on Friday night. The three-games-in-40 hours challenge concluded Saturday morning when Naperville North downed Oswego East 3-2.
“Obviously last night was a tough matchup too: St. Charles East is a good team,” Huskies senior Caden Hill said. “It's a tough stretch towards the end of the year. We play a tough Oswego East team tomorrow. It's just getting rest and going on to the next game and getting results.”
Said Huskies sophomore forward Jaxon Stokes: “We just have to recover and stretch and be ready for tomorrow.”
Stokes was certainly ready Friday, putting frequent pressure on the defense of Joliet West (13-5-3).
His persistence paid off just 27 seconds into the second half, when Stokes burst in on right wing and powered a 12-yard liner into the net for a 1-0 Huskies lead.
“We talked (at the half) about creating more chances and being more aggressive up-top,” said Stokes, who upped his 2022 goal total to nine with the finish.
“I took it from the left and saw Alex (Barger) dragging the defender out. And then I took to it to the right and hit it, because I was open.”
Stokes earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his play.
“Stokes was fantastic,” Huskies coach Jim Konrad said. “He’s come out this weekend and done really well. And I thought Sam Hess came in off the bench as a freshman and did a fantastic job for us.
“Alex Arredondo and Caden Hill at the outside backs were also really good tonight. They had to handle a lot of pressure and did it well. And Barger is always good. It gets boring saying that.”
Success never gets boring at Naperville North as the Huskies three state titles and two sectional crowns in the last five years attest.
The Huskies’ recent series with Joliet West has also produced a series of spirited early October battles, such as a 1-0 win last year and a 3-1 Huskies victory in 2019.
“We don't get another challenge like this,” Joliet West assistant coach Neil Lucchetti said. “That's why we love this game at the end of the year. They (the Huskies) are always a team that finishes strong, and you want to see how you match up with the best. We know coming into it that this is one of the best teams in the state.
“They’ve got two really solid strikers up-top (Barger and Stokes) who create a lot of danger for our backline. And their backline through the midfield, they're strong at every position. And they're always disciplined. So going into the playoffs we always want that big last challenge, and this is the perfect way to get that.”
The Tigers got a challenge, and even a nice reward for their efforts with 29:09 to go when Ozzie Ortiz’s goal produced an eventual 1-1 draw.
“The ball came to me, I tried to take the first shot with the right (foot),” Ortiz said. “I ended up faking the defender, and I just took it with my left (and scored).
“We didn't give up. We knew we had a chance. We fought for every ball. We had nothing really to lose, so just play and have fun.”
Matching the well-earned respect Naperville North gets from opponents, Konrad had high praise for the Tigers.
“That's a really, really good team,” Konrad said. “They've done a fantastic job growing that program over the years.
“It's always a tough game with them, but this year they were especially good. They did a great job in the back, with some kids who are good on the ball and can hold under pressure and create chances. They're going to make a great run in the playoffs for sure.”
After Joliet West tied the game, Naperville North did everything but retake the lead.
With 26:50 left, Stokes was back in on a right-side rush. But his shot was steered aside on a sliding kick save at the right post by Tigers keeper Daniel Gudino.
A Barger shot off a Stokes cross with 23 minutes left was also saved by Gudino, and a Barger corner kick one minute later set up an Adam Zielke back post header that landed atop the net.
A one-minute sequence of Huskies heat followed with 18:30 to go. Hess and Stokes keyed the extended offensive threat, in which Barger also had a shot blocked and Connor Hanrahan eventually sent a right-side shot wide.
“Soccer's tough,” Konrad said. “You leave a couple chances to score on the field, and it comes back to bite you. They could say the same thing too, but we need to do a better job in the last 15 or 20 yards of finding the back of the net.
“But it was a fair result (the tie), a good game. And we’re thrilled to have so many good games in a stretch.”
This good game continued on at a frantic pace. A Barger 30-yard free kick with 10:30 left was partially blocked and skipped to Gudino on one hop.
Noah Radeke then generated a nice dribble drive, snaked between two defenders into the box before a Tigers defender finally denied the chance 10 yards out. An ensuing Barger one-timer off the clearing attempt went wide left.
Joliet West wasn’t quiet down the stretch. Zielke made a nice block in the box with 5:20 left to deny a Jake Polacek attack, and Hess and Hill followed with nice sliding blocks of crosses or shots in the ensuing minutes as the Tigers hardly sat back and settled for a tie.
“It's a little hectic back there sometimes, but I love it,” Hill said. “It’s just about staying in the game. We believe we're a pretty mentally tough team. If things aren't going our way we're always still in the game. We hang in there and stick around.”
The Huskies’ offense was hardly done either.
With 2:25 left, Radeke rocketed a low 18-yard shot just wide left. A Radeke and Barger rush with 1:10 to go ended in a Tigers goal kick. Finally with 10 seconds to go, an Arredondo throw-in from the 18 was cleared to near midfield by a Tigers defender, and the 1-1 result was sealed.
“I feel we played a good game,” Stokes said. “I feel like we got caught off guard the one time, and they scored. It was a pretty even match though.”
The best chances in the scoreless first half began with two-consecutive Huskies corner kicks in the eighth minute, then a Radeke shot wide in the 10th minute. Owen Gaccione hit a free kick that went low and wide right 14 minutes in.
Naperville North goalkeeper Reed Goss got into the act with a right-post catch of a 35-yard Joliet West free kick in the 22nd minute.
But the Huskies answered that with quality chances by Hess in the 23rd minute (an eight-yard shot off a throw-in saved at the left post) and an Arredondo 25th-minute throw-in from six yards when goalkeeper Gudino managed to step in front of Ryan Konrad and make the grab.
Barger’s excellent final minutes of the half included a shot wide right with 3:15 left and drawing a foul with 10 seconds left. His ensuing 22-yard right-side free kick was headed out of bounds by a Tigers defender as the half ended 0-0.
“It was a good game,” Hill said. “They (Joliet West) are a good team that should go far in the playoffs.
“I thought we did good in the first half. We probably could have finished a few more chances. Obviously Stokes had a really good goal, and we did a good job building out of the midfield and getting our forwards involved. This new system we have is working out pretty well.
“We started off (the season) with a 4-3-3 and weren't generating as many chances as we wanted to,” Hill added. “And we know we have a lot of firepower on the team, so we decided to switch to a 4-4-2. And it's obviously helping a lot more. A lot of our skill players are at the midfield, and are setting up our strikers for more chances.”
That potent Huskies offense put Joliet West to the test.
“We played Plainfield North last night and had a couple lapses in the back (in a 4-2 loss),” Lucchetti said, “and one thing we talked about after the game was coming out more focused. Especially when you play a team as disciplined as Naperville North, you have to match them and their discipline.”
The 1-1 draw indicates that the Tigers mission was achieved. And both sides Friday have plenty of reasons for October optimism.
“We have a two seed (for sectionals), and we're excited,” Lucchetti said. “We have a really talented group, and we're hosting our regional. This is a nice boost to come in and play a tough team this tough.”
Old hands at postseason glory, the Huskies have plenty of reasons of their own to have high confidence.
“We have some really good strikers up-top,” Hill said, “and we're hoping to start putting more goals away toward the postseason.
“We feel pretty good about where we're at,” Hill added. “Obviously we were looking forward to being the one seed in our sectional, but a two seed is not bad. We'll settle for that and hopefully make another state run."
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK: Reed Goss
D: Adan McMahon
D: Caden Hill
D: Ryan Konrad
D: Alex Arredondo
M: Adam Zielke
M: Hindo Allie
M: Noah Radeke
M: Owen Gaccione
F: Jaxon Stokes
F: Alex Barger
Joliet West
GK: Daniel Gudino
D: Richard Pacheco
D: Marcus Hernandez
D: Tommy Polacek
D: Ivan Moreno
M: Adrian Maldonado
M: A.J. Romero
M: Victor Antomez
M: Landon Brouwer
F: Alex Garcia
F: Ozzie Ortiz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Jaxon Stokes, so., F, Naperville N.
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
NN- Jaxon Stokes (unassisted), 41’
JW- Ozzie Ortiz (unassisted), 51’
Joliet West in Friday night tie
Teams produce 1-1 draw after ranked battles night before
By Dave Owen
NAPERVILLE- So much for coasting into the postseason.
For the second weekend in a row, Naperville North (11-3-4) has embarked on a marathon schedule of three strong opponents in three days.
And after a 1-1 tie with St. Charles East on Thursday, the host Huskies produced a matching 1-1 result with Joliet West on Friday night. The three-games-in-40 hours challenge concluded Saturday morning when Naperville North downed Oswego East 3-2.
“Obviously last night was a tough matchup too: St. Charles East is a good team,” Huskies senior Caden Hill said. “It's a tough stretch towards the end of the year. We play a tough Oswego East team tomorrow. It's just getting rest and going on to the next game and getting results.”
Said Huskies sophomore forward Jaxon Stokes: “We just have to recover and stretch and be ready for tomorrow.”
Stokes was certainly ready Friday, putting frequent pressure on the defense of Joliet West (13-5-3).
His persistence paid off just 27 seconds into the second half, when Stokes burst in on right wing and powered a 12-yard liner into the net for a 1-0 Huskies lead.
“We talked (at the half) about creating more chances and being more aggressive up-top,” said Stokes, who upped his 2022 goal total to nine with the finish.
“I took it from the left and saw Alex (Barger) dragging the defender out. And then I took to it to the right and hit it, because I was open.”
Stokes earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his play.
“Stokes was fantastic,” Huskies coach Jim Konrad said. “He’s come out this weekend and done really well. And I thought Sam Hess came in off the bench as a freshman and did a fantastic job for us.
“Alex Arredondo and Caden Hill at the outside backs were also really good tonight. They had to handle a lot of pressure and did it well. And Barger is always good. It gets boring saying that.”
Success never gets boring at Naperville North as the Huskies three state titles and two sectional crowns in the last five years attest.
The Huskies’ recent series with Joliet West has also produced a series of spirited early October battles, such as a 1-0 win last year and a 3-1 Huskies victory in 2019.
“We don't get another challenge like this,” Joliet West assistant coach Neil Lucchetti said. “That's why we love this game at the end of the year. They (the Huskies) are always a team that finishes strong, and you want to see how you match up with the best. We know coming into it that this is one of the best teams in the state.
“They’ve got two really solid strikers up-top (Barger and Stokes) who create a lot of danger for our backline. And their backline through the midfield, they're strong at every position. And they're always disciplined. So going into the playoffs we always want that big last challenge, and this is the perfect way to get that.”
The Tigers got a challenge, and even a nice reward for their efforts with 29:09 to go when Ozzie Ortiz’s goal produced an eventual 1-1 draw.
“The ball came to me, I tried to take the first shot with the right (foot),” Ortiz said. “I ended up faking the defender, and I just took it with my left (and scored).
“We didn't give up. We knew we had a chance. We fought for every ball. We had nothing really to lose, so just play and have fun.”
Matching the well-earned respect Naperville North gets from opponents, Konrad had high praise for the Tigers.
“That's a really, really good team,” Konrad said. “They've done a fantastic job growing that program over the years.
“It's always a tough game with them, but this year they were especially good. They did a great job in the back, with some kids who are good on the ball and can hold under pressure and create chances. They're going to make a great run in the playoffs for sure.”
After Joliet West tied the game, Naperville North did everything but retake the lead.
With 26:50 left, Stokes was back in on a right-side rush. But his shot was steered aside on a sliding kick save at the right post by Tigers keeper Daniel Gudino.
A Barger shot off a Stokes cross with 23 minutes left was also saved by Gudino, and a Barger corner kick one minute later set up an Adam Zielke back post header that landed atop the net.
A one-minute sequence of Huskies heat followed with 18:30 to go. Hess and Stokes keyed the extended offensive threat, in which Barger also had a shot blocked and Connor Hanrahan eventually sent a right-side shot wide.
“Soccer's tough,” Konrad said. “You leave a couple chances to score on the field, and it comes back to bite you. They could say the same thing too, but we need to do a better job in the last 15 or 20 yards of finding the back of the net.
“But it was a fair result (the tie), a good game. And we’re thrilled to have so many good games in a stretch.”
This good game continued on at a frantic pace. A Barger 30-yard free kick with 10:30 left was partially blocked and skipped to Gudino on one hop.
Noah Radeke then generated a nice dribble drive, snaked between two defenders into the box before a Tigers defender finally denied the chance 10 yards out. An ensuing Barger one-timer off the clearing attempt went wide left.
Joliet West wasn’t quiet down the stretch. Zielke made a nice block in the box with 5:20 left to deny a Jake Polacek attack, and Hess and Hill followed with nice sliding blocks of crosses or shots in the ensuing minutes as the Tigers hardly sat back and settled for a tie.
“It's a little hectic back there sometimes, but I love it,” Hill said. “It’s just about staying in the game. We believe we're a pretty mentally tough team. If things aren't going our way we're always still in the game. We hang in there and stick around.”
The Huskies’ offense was hardly done either.
With 2:25 left, Radeke rocketed a low 18-yard shot just wide left. A Radeke and Barger rush with 1:10 to go ended in a Tigers goal kick. Finally with 10 seconds to go, an Arredondo throw-in from the 18 was cleared to near midfield by a Tigers defender, and the 1-1 result was sealed.
“I feel we played a good game,” Stokes said. “I feel like we got caught off guard the one time, and they scored. It was a pretty even match though.”
The best chances in the scoreless first half began with two-consecutive Huskies corner kicks in the eighth minute, then a Radeke shot wide in the 10th minute. Owen Gaccione hit a free kick that went low and wide right 14 minutes in.
Naperville North goalkeeper Reed Goss got into the act with a right-post catch of a 35-yard Joliet West free kick in the 22nd minute.
But the Huskies answered that with quality chances by Hess in the 23rd minute (an eight-yard shot off a throw-in saved at the left post) and an Arredondo 25th-minute throw-in from six yards when goalkeeper Gudino managed to step in front of Ryan Konrad and make the grab.
Barger’s excellent final minutes of the half included a shot wide right with 3:15 left and drawing a foul with 10 seconds left. His ensuing 22-yard right-side free kick was headed out of bounds by a Tigers defender as the half ended 0-0.
“It was a good game,” Hill said. “They (Joliet West) are a good team that should go far in the playoffs.
“I thought we did good in the first half. We probably could have finished a few more chances. Obviously Stokes had a really good goal, and we did a good job building out of the midfield and getting our forwards involved. This new system we have is working out pretty well.
“We started off (the season) with a 4-3-3 and weren't generating as many chances as we wanted to,” Hill added. “And we know we have a lot of firepower on the team, so we decided to switch to a 4-4-2. And it's obviously helping a lot more. A lot of our skill players are at the midfield, and are setting up our strikers for more chances.”
That potent Huskies offense put Joliet West to the test.
“We played Plainfield North last night and had a couple lapses in the back (in a 4-2 loss),” Lucchetti said, “and one thing we talked about after the game was coming out more focused. Especially when you play a team as disciplined as Naperville North, you have to match them and their discipline.”
The 1-1 draw indicates that the Tigers mission was achieved. And both sides Friday have plenty of reasons for October optimism.
“We have a two seed (for sectionals), and we're excited,” Lucchetti said. “We have a really talented group, and we're hosting our regional. This is a nice boost to come in and play a tough team this tough.”
Old hands at postseason glory, the Huskies have plenty of reasons of their own to have high confidence.
“We have some really good strikers up-top,” Hill said, “and we're hoping to start putting more goals away toward the postseason.
“We feel pretty good about where we're at,” Hill added. “Obviously we were looking forward to being the one seed in our sectional, but a two seed is not bad. We'll settle for that and hopefully make another state run."
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK: Reed Goss
D: Adan McMahon
D: Caden Hill
D: Ryan Konrad
D: Alex Arredondo
M: Adam Zielke
M: Hindo Allie
M: Noah Radeke
M: Owen Gaccione
F: Jaxon Stokes
F: Alex Barger
Joliet West
GK: Daniel Gudino
D: Richard Pacheco
D: Marcus Hernandez
D: Tommy Polacek
D: Ivan Moreno
M: Adrian Maldonado
M: A.J. Romero
M: Victor Antomez
M: Landon Brouwer
F: Alex Garcia
F: Ozzie Ortiz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Jaxon Stokes, so., F, Naperville N.
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
NN- Jaxon Stokes (unassisted), 41’
JW- Ozzie Ortiz (unassisted), 51’