Naperville 'déjà vu' all over again,
North drops Central in 80th minute
Huskies score with :37 left after throw-in to win crosstown battle
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North junior Zach Smith is new to the Huskies’ storied rivalry with Naperville Central.
That didn’t stop the transfer from Kaneland from etching his name onto the list of memorable moments.
Playing in his first crosstown game, Smith headed home a long throw-in from Christian Romano with 37 seconds remaining to give the host Huskies another dramatic 1-0 victory.
Incredibly, the ending was nearly a carbon copy of how the last meeting between the two teams ended. The Huskies beat the Redhawks 1-0 in last year’s sectional championship game when Colin Iverson scored on a header off Jack Barry’s throw-in with 47 seconds left and eventually went on to win their second-straight state championship.
“It’s fantastic,” Smith said. “It was a dream goal.
“That’s what everyone talks about in a game versus Central and so to score like that in the last 30 seconds feels great.”
For the Redhawks, the finish felt like a gut punch. Naperville Central defended well throughout the game, especially on set pieces. The visitor's backline of Mitch Becker, Andrew Zain, Seth Lendzion, Jake Crawford and Cameron Strang gave up only five shots on frame and were particularly successful in shutting down the 6-foot-4 Iverson.
“Yeah, (it is tough), especially coming off of last year in that sectional final game,” Crawford said. “It’s a bad déjà vu feeling to have.
“I thought Cam and Seth did a great job of locking Iverson down for the most part and at the end of the day it came down to one too many throw-ins, one too many clearances that didn’t quite go up the line like we wanted to. They have great players in the air, and they put it away.”
Indeed, the names change from year to year but the results do not. While Iverson remains the main target on restarts, Romano has replaced the graduated Barry as North’s designated thrower, and he has done so with aplomb.
Asked how he does it, Romano disclosed what he called a secret tip.
“I’ve been stretching out a lot more before games,” Romano said. “That’s been helping out a lot, and I’ve just been practicing over and over. It adds some length.”
Romano’s throws have gotten longer, and he has gained confidence as the Huskies continue to score off of them. But on the decisive play, he wasn’t looking for Iverson.
Knowing the Redhawks had been double-teaming Iverson all night, the Huskies switched tactics and had Romano throw it over Iverson’s head.
Romano tried it several times and on a couple of them he got it over the head of Redhawks’ goalie Brad Palagi, only for it to be cleared by defenders.
But on the victorious play, only Smith was in the clear when the ball came sailing over everyone’s head.
“I know that’s always been a strong suit of ours,” Smith said. “I guess it just got drawn up perfectly.
“Christian had a great throw, everyone pressured Colin and the ball came right over. They were putting all the bigger guys on Colin.
“I just had to run in and the ball popped out of nowhere. I was just waiting for it the whole game, and it came at the right time.”
Romano said he made a slight adjustment on final play.
“I just lowered it more, made it more driven and tried to get it right over Colin’s head, so he drew the defenders,” Romano said. “And it worked.”
That’s what is so frustrating for Naperville Central coach Troy Adams and his brethren. They all know what is coming but haven’t been able to stop it for years.
“They do something very well,” Adams said. “You don’t have to have (a unique) talent to do it, so it can be replicated year-in and year-out.
“You just find the players that plug into the system, and you do it.”
Of course, North’s players are smart enough to adjust. Naperville North coach Jim Konrad heard Smith describing the play that led to the goal to a reporter and told him not to give away the Huskies’ secrets.
Smith wasn’t worried.
“It’s OK,” he said. “We’ll just change the play.”
That’s the sign of an intelligent team. The squad that adapts best usually wins the chess game these matches often resemble.
“(The Redhawks) played well,” Smith noted. “They took away a lot of what we had going for us previously.
“They worked really well against our strong suits, and we had to find a way around it. That came in the form of a throw-in in the last 30 seconds.”
Few secrets can be kept for long in this rivalry and that makes the games all the more tense. That allowed Central to defend North better than any other team has this season.
“I think it kind of helps that we know them from last year as well as the club teams that we play for,” Crawford said. “We really know who they look for and want to go to.
“I think Cam did a fantastic job of blocking out Colin. But Zach’s a wonderful player in the air as well.”
While the game appeared headed for overtime, there were inklings that a North breakthrough might be in the offing. The Huskies began winning the midfield and the Redhawks starting booting balls out of bounds in their own end, giving North plenty of chances for throw-ins.
“Part of it is you have to keep your composure level up,” Adams said. “You have to know what we want to do versus what they want to do.
“We don’t want to play into their defense. We talked about before the game, get it down on the ground, look to run at them, make them play defense and not let them drop.
“I thought we did it in the first half, and unfortunately in the second half ... we didn’t play the same style we wanted. We were getting comfortable just kicking it and letting them get it.”
Indeed, the Redhawks managed only four shots in the game and North goalkeeper Tom Welch had to make two saves, both routine, in recording his team’s 11th shutout of the season to extend the Huskies’ winning streak to 32 games.
“Their backs did a better job of clearing it out than our backs did,” Adams said. “Their backs didn’t give us opportunities to throw the ball in, and we gave them a ton.”
Konrad attributed that to organization.
“I think the first half we did not do a good job of staying with them in the midfield,” Konrad said. “It allowed them to shake free and put us under a little more pressure.
“Second half I thought the boys did a way better job of marking up, especially Zach and Cesar (Recendez) were great. It allowed Nata (Rojas) to float forward and get into the attack, and then we were able to put them under a little more pressure.”
Despite coming in undefeated, the Huskies (13-0-0, 3-0-0) would have been eliminated from the DuPage Valley Conference title race with a loss, which would have given the Redhawks (4-5-4, 2-1-1) at least a share of the crown.
Both sides know the margin of victory or defeat is tiny and that they could meet again in the playoffs. Neither was completely happy with their performance in what Adams called “one of the ugliest games of soccer I’ve seen in my life.”
Smith said the Huskies have a lot of room for improvement.
“It wasn’t our best game,” he said. “We’ve still got to keep working every day to get better.
“Next time we see them I think we’re going to play a better game.”
Crawford had similar thoughts about the Redhawks.
“I see a lot of positives coming out of this game even though it’s not the result that we wanted,” Crawford said. “Our work ethic, while it was good, wasn’t quite what we’ve seen from us before, and I’m confident that our guys can get back there as a team.
“I know that we can play better than what we showed today.”
That’s what concerns Konrad.
“They’re a great team,” Konrad said. “Their record is not indicative of who they are. That’s a terrifying tournament draw, as are most teams around here.
“(This) is another chance to learn. Central is going to do things other teams haven’t done to us and put us under pressure. We’ve got to learn from it and get better.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Mitch Becker
D Andrew Zain
D Seth Lendzion
D Jake Crawford
D Cameron Strang
M Owen Jarrell
M Rokas Burnos
M Rohan Bhargava
F Finn Wolfe
F Roman Krupka
Naperville North
GK Tom Welch
D Cam Ferus
D Cesar Recendez
D Christian Romano
D Colin Iverson
M Myles Barry
M Nata Rojas
M Zach Smith
M Ali Khorfan
F Patrick Koenig
F Ty Konrad
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Zach Smith, jr. M, Naperville North.
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second half
Naperville North – Zach Smith (Christian Romano), 80th minute
North drops Central in 80th minute
Huskies score with :37 left after throw-in to win crosstown battle
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North junior Zach Smith is new to the Huskies’ storied rivalry with Naperville Central.
That didn’t stop the transfer from Kaneland from etching his name onto the list of memorable moments.
Playing in his first crosstown game, Smith headed home a long throw-in from Christian Romano with 37 seconds remaining to give the host Huskies another dramatic 1-0 victory.
Incredibly, the ending was nearly a carbon copy of how the last meeting between the two teams ended. The Huskies beat the Redhawks 1-0 in last year’s sectional championship game when Colin Iverson scored on a header off Jack Barry’s throw-in with 47 seconds left and eventually went on to win their second-straight state championship.
“It’s fantastic,” Smith said. “It was a dream goal.
“That’s what everyone talks about in a game versus Central and so to score like that in the last 30 seconds feels great.”
For the Redhawks, the finish felt like a gut punch. Naperville Central defended well throughout the game, especially on set pieces. The visitor's backline of Mitch Becker, Andrew Zain, Seth Lendzion, Jake Crawford and Cameron Strang gave up only five shots on frame and were particularly successful in shutting down the 6-foot-4 Iverson.
“Yeah, (it is tough), especially coming off of last year in that sectional final game,” Crawford said. “It’s a bad déjà vu feeling to have.
“I thought Cam and Seth did a great job of locking Iverson down for the most part and at the end of the day it came down to one too many throw-ins, one too many clearances that didn’t quite go up the line like we wanted to. They have great players in the air, and they put it away.”
Indeed, the names change from year to year but the results do not. While Iverson remains the main target on restarts, Romano has replaced the graduated Barry as North’s designated thrower, and he has done so with aplomb.
Asked how he does it, Romano disclosed what he called a secret tip.
“I’ve been stretching out a lot more before games,” Romano said. “That’s been helping out a lot, and I’ve just been practicing over and over. It adds some length.”
Romano’s throws have gotten longer, and he has gained confidence as the Huskies continue to score off of them. But on the decisive play, he wasn’t looking for Iverson.
Knowing the Redhawks had been double-teaming Iverson all night, the Huskies switched tactics and had Romano throw it over Iverson’s head.
Romano tried it several times and on a couple of them he got it over the head of Redhawks’ goalie Brad Palagi, only for it to be cleared by defenders.
But on the victorious play, only Smith was in the clear when the ball came sailing over everyone’s head.
“I know that’s always been a strong suit of ours,” Smith said. “I guess it just got drawn up perfectly.
“Christian had a great throw, everyone pressured Colin and the ball came right over. They were putting all the bigger guys on Colin.
“I just had to run in and the ball popped out of nowhere. I was just waiting for it the whole game, and it came at the right time.”
Romano said he made a slight adjustment on final play.
“I just lowered it more, made it more driven and tried to get it right over Colin’s head, so he drew the defenders,” Romano said. “And it worked.”
That’s what is so frustrating for Naperville Central coach Troy Adams and his brethren. They all know what is coming but haven’t been able to stop it for years.
“They do something very well,” Adams said. “You don’t have to have (a unique) talent to do it, so it can be replicated year-in and year-out.
“You just find the players that plug into the system, and you do it.”
Of course, North’s players are smart enough to adjust. Naperville North coach Jim Konrad heard Smith describing the play that led to the goal to a reporter and told him not to give away the Huskies’ secrets.
Smith wasn’t worried.
“It’s OK,” he said. “We’ll just change the play.”
That’s the sign of an intelligent team. The squad that adapts best usually wins the chess game these matches often resemble.
“(The Redhawks) played well,” Smith noted. “They took away a lot of what we had going for us previously.
“They worked really well against our strong suits, and we had to find a way around it. That came in the form of a throw-in in the last 30 seconds.”
Few secrets can be kept for long in this rivalry and that makes the games all the more tense. That allowed Central to defend North better than any other team has this season.
“I think it kind of helps that we know them from last year as well as the club teams that we play for,” Crawford said. “We really know who they look for and want to go to.
“I think Cam did a fantastic job of blocking out Colin. But Zach’s a wonderful player in the air as well.”
While the game appeared headed for overtime, there were inklings that a North breakthrough might be in the offing. The Huskies began winning the midfield and the Redhawks starting booting balls out of bounds in their own end, giving North plenty of chances for throw-ins.
“Part of it is you have to keep your composure level up,” Adams said. “You have to know what we want to do versus what they want to do.
“We don’t want to play into their defense. We talked about before the game, get it down on the ground, look to run at them, make them play defense and not let them drop.
“I thought we did it in the first half, and unfortunately in the second half ... we didn’t play the same style we wanted. We were getting comfortable just kicking it and letting them get it.”
Indeed, the Redhawks managed only four shots in the game and North goalkeeper Tom Welch had to make two saves, both routine, in recording his team’s 11th shutout of the season to extend the Huskies’ winning streak to 32 games.
“Their backs did a better job of clearing it out than our backs did,” Adams said. “Their backs didn’t give us opportunities to throw the ball in, and we gave them a ton.”
Konrad attributed that to organization.
“I think the first half we did not do a good job of staying with them in the midfield,” Konrad said. “It allowed them to shake free and put us under a little more pressure.
“Second half I thought the boys did a way better job of marking up, especially Zach and Cesar (Recendez) were great. It allowed Nata (Rojas) to float forward and get into the attack, and then we were able to put them under a little more pressure.”
Despite coming in undefeated, the Huskies (13-0-0, 3-0-0) would have been eliminated from the DuPage Valley Conference title race with a loss, which would have given the Redhawks (4-5-4, 2-1-1) at least a share of the crown.
Both sides know the margin of victory or defeat is tiny and that they could meet again in the playoffs. Neither was completely happy with their performance in what Adams called “one of the ugliest games of soccer I’ve seen in my life.”
Smith said the Huskies have a lot of room for improvement.
“It wasn’t our best game,” he said. “We’ve still got to keep working every day to get better.
“Next time we see them I think we’re going to play a better game.”
Crawford had similar thoughts about the Redhawks.
“I see a lot of positives coming out of this game even though it’s not the result that we wanted,” Crawford said. “Our work ethic, while it was good, wasn’t quite what we’ve seen from us before, and I’m confident that our guys can get back there as a team.
“I know that we can play better than what we showed today.”
That’s what concerns Konrad.
“They’re a great team,” Konrad said. “Their record is not indicative of who they are. That’s a terrifying tournament draw, as are most teams around here.
“(This) is another chance to learn. Central is going to do things other teams haven’t done to us and put us under pressure. We’ve got to learn from it and get better.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Mitch Becker
D Andrew Zain
D Seth Lendzion
D Jake Crawford
D Cameron Strang
M Owen Jarrell
M Rokas Burnos
M Rohan Bhargava
F Finn Wolfe
F Roman Krupka
Naperville North
GK Tom Welch
D Cam Ferus
D Cesar Recendez
D Christian Romano
D Colin Iverson
M Myles Barry
M Nata Rojas
M Zach Smith
M Ali Khorfan
F Patrick Koenig
F Ty Konrad
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Zach Smith, jr. M, Naperville North.
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second half
Naperville North – Zach Smith (Christian Romano), 80th minute