Naperville Central wins
rust buster over Normal
Schubel-Norkett connection strikes twice in 3-1 win
By Randy Sharer
NORMAL – While shedding 13 months of pandemic-induced rust, both Naperville Central and host Normal got things they wanted from the season-opener for both programs Wednesday.
The Redhawks, fueled by two Sullivan Schubel goals and a pair of Megan Norkett assists, got a 3-1 victory while the Lady Iron got a roadmap for improvement.
“I was happy with the entire group,” said Naperville Central coach Ed Watson, whose team is ranked no. 12 in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 state-wide preseason poll. The team took a long bus ride to meet 34th-ranked Normal.
“You never know what it’s going to be like in game one," he said. “We had a whole bunch of girls making their first varsity start. A lot of these girls play high-level club so they are used to playing important games, but it’s always special to play your first varsity game.”
Matt Chapman, in his 19th year at Normal, wasn’t unhappy afterward.
“Seeing those goals happen, we know what we need to fix,” he said. “I think a lot of it is training all of our kids on the little basic things in terms of where they need to be (and) when … basic positioning, especially defensively.”
A senior midfielder, Schubel’s goals were similar. The first off a Norkett pass from the left opened the scoring in the 12th minute against goalie Avery Melrose.
“The first goal, I was just going near post, because that’s what Watson tells us is the most important run,” Schubel said. “I took on the defender, and I think we both collided, and it went in.”
The Redhawks outshot their host 13-3 in the first half,, but the score was tied at 1-1 at intermission thanks to Normal star Ryann Anderson, who has committed to Division II Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn.
“I think we were just really happy to get something going in the last five minutes of that first half,” Anderson said. “We had a little bit of momentum and a little bit of energy.”
Anderson camped in the middle of the box and converted off an assist from Megan O’Connell with 1:24 left in the half.
“I think we kind of got looking at attacking and forgot about our primary job as defenders,” Watson said. “I think there was a miscommunication between our center backs and our center mids. We’ll see it on video and be able to make a better determination.”
Overall, however, Watson was pleased with his defense which was rarely tested as the Redhawks dominated time of possession and kept their host pinned in its defensive half.
Going forward, Watson sees a lot to like in goalies Abigail O’Connor and Trinity Strang, who played the first and second halves, respectively.
“Unfortunately, the one goal, (O’Connor) had no chance on,” he said. “We left one of their best players wide open in our box. That was a glitch. We’re very fortunate we have two very solid junior goalkeepers.”
Schubel put Naperville Central ahead to stay in the 56th minute off another cross from the sophomore Norkett.
“I knew going down the line that that was the person I was going to look for,” Norkett said.
Watson loved the way Norkett thought, and Schubel finished.
“Her two goals were sort of carbon copies,” Watson said. “Megan got to the end line and played balls across. Sully pounced on them and made great runs. That’s two kids who were in synch.
“The second one was really important, because we gave up that goal right before halftime. That’s probably the worst time to give up a goal.”
Watson said Normal uses a unique defensive tactic.
“They always play an interesting style for us, because we don’t see a lot of that high line,” he said. “Maybe we’ve got one or two other teams in our area that employ that. We had a couple offsides (calls) but only a couple were lazy offsides. I thought the girls did a great job of finding the timing.”
In both 2019 and 2018, Normal topped the Redhawks 2-0. Anderson had an assist for the Lady Iron in that 2019 contest when her team went on to finish 19-5-2 while Naperville Central ended up 11-9-1.
“They are really, really good,” Anderson said. “That’s probably one of the best, if not the best, teams that we’ll play. Every year we’ve played, they’ve been a really good competitor.”
Watson gave his host credit.
“They kept the game close,” he said. “The years we have played them, (Anderson) has been really dangerous. She’s a nice player. We really enjoy coming down here.”
Madison Mogg ended the scoring in the 63rd minute off an assist from Grace Granato.
“She buried it,” Watson said.
Among those helping the Redhawks outshoot their host, 28-4, was Loyola recruit Emma Irle, a shifty dribbler with a creative flair.
“It’s good to start off strong, so we’re happy we got the win down here,” Schubel said. “We just want to do well in our (DuPage Valley) conference and win as many games as we can. We just want to keep getting better.”
Naperville Central left back Malia Velker, who has committed to Division I Purdue Fort Wayne, was rarely tested.
“It’s nice when you put a kid out there and you go, ‘I don’t have to ever think about what’s going to happen with her,’” Watson said.
His counterpart at Normal hopes to develop similar players.
“They were getting to the ball first quite a bit and making good runs,” Chapman said. “I thought our goalkeeping was excellent. We just have a lot of stuff we need to figure out how to do in positioning and talking … a lot of little things. That is what we knew this game would give us, the ideas of what we’ve got to figure out.”
Anderson probably spoke for every player when discussing the joy of playing for the first time since the end of the 2019 season.
“That is a lifetime for us,” she said. “This is what we love. We love this program, and we love coach Chapman. It’s been really tough and really long. It’s nice to be back.
“We’ve got really small numbers and most of us haven’t played in a really long time. I think it’s starting to come together. My hope is we’ll be able to win some games and have fun doing it and hopefully have a really good season.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Abigail O’Connor
D Malia Velker
D Samantha Sharp
D Ella Burke
D Sophia Skoubis
M Sullivan Schubel
M Taylor Walk
M Megan Norkett
F Emma Irle
F Molly O’Rear
F Alexandra Jonaitis
Normal
GK Avery Melrose
D Lia Ward
D Avery Mize
D Avery Parks
D Erin Norieko
M Kylie Simonson
M Reese Anderson
M Hanah Crowder
M Teagan Fahy
M Ella Jimenez
F Ryann Anderson
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sullivan Schubel, sr., MF, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
First half
NC – Schubel (Norkett) 12th
Nor – R. Anderson (O’Connell) 38th
Second half
NC – Schubel (Norkett) 56th
NC – Mogg (Granato) 63rd
rust buster over Normal
Schubel-Norkett connection strikes twice in 3-1 win
By Randy Sharer
NORMAL – While shedding 13 months of pandemic-induced rust, both Naperville Central and host Normal got things they wanted from the season-opener for both programs Wednesday.
The Redhawks, fueled by two Sullivan Schubel goals and a pair of Megan Norkett assists, got a 3-1 victory while the Lady Iron got a roadmap for improvement.
“I was happy with the entire group,” said Naperville Central coach Ed Watson, whose team is ranked no. 12 in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 state-wide preseason poll. The team took a long bus ride to meet 34th-ranked Normal.
“You never know what it’s going to be like in game one," he said. “We had a whole bunch of girls making their first varsity start. A lot of these girls play high-level club so they are used to playing important games, but it’s always special to play your first varsity game.”
Matt Chapman, in his 19th year at Normal, wasn’t unhappy afterward.
“Seeing those goals happen, we know what we need to fix,” he said. “I think a lot of it is training all of our kids on the little basic things in terms of where they need to be (and) when … basic positioning, especially defensively.”
A senior midfielder, Schubel’s goals were similar. The first off a Norkett pass from the left opened the scoring in the 12th minute against goalie Avery Melrose.
“The first goal, I was just going near post, because that’s what Watson tells us is the most important run,” Schubel said. “I took on the defender, and I think we both collided, and it went in.”
The Redhawks outshot their host 13-3 in the first half,, but the score was tied at 1-1 at intermission thanks to Normal star Ryann Anderson, who has committed to Division II Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn.
“I think we were just really happy to get something going in the last five minutes of that first half,” Anderson said. “We had a little bit of momentum and a little bit of energy.”
Anderson camped in the middle of the box and converted off an assist from Megan O’Connell with 1:24 left in the half.
“I think we kind of got looking at attacking and forgot about our primary job as defenders,” Watson said. “I think there was a miscommunication between our center backs and our center mids. We’ll see it on video and be able to make a better determination.”
Overall, however, Watson was pleased with his defense which was rarely tested as the Redhawks dominated time of possession and kept their host pinned in its defensive half.
Going forward, Watson sees a lot to like in goalies Abigail O’Connor and Trinity Strang, who played the first and second halves, respectively.
“Unfortunately, the one goal, (O’Connor) had no chance on,” he said. “We left one of their best players wide open in our box. That was a glitch. We’re very fortunate we have two very solid junior goalkeepers.”
Schubel put Naperville Central ahead to stay in the 56th minute off another cross from the sophomore Norkett.
“I knew going down the line that that was the person I was going to look for,” Norkett said.
Watson loved the way Norkett thought, and Schubel finished.
“Her two goals were sort of carbon copies,” Watson said. “Megan got to the end line and played balls across. Sully pounced on them and made great runs. That’s two kids who were in synch.
“The second one was really important, because we gave up that goal right before halftime. That’s probably the worst time to give up a goal.”
Watson said Normal uses a unique defensive tactic.
“They always play an interesting style for us, because we don’t see a lot of that high line,” he said. “Maybe we’ve got one or two other teams in our area that employ that. We had a couple offsides (calls) but only a couple were lazy offsides. I thought the girls did a great job of finding the timing.”
In both 2019 and 2018, Normal topped the Redhawks 2-0. Anderson had an assist for the Lady Iron in that 2019 contest when her team went on to finish 19-5-2 while Naperville Central ended up 11-9-1.
“They are really, really good,” Anderson said. “That’s probably one of the best, if not the best, teams that we’ll play. Every year we’ve played, they’ve been a really good competitor.”
Watson gave his host credit.
“They kept the game close,” he said. “The years we have played them, (Anderson) has been really dangerous. She’s a nice player. We really enjoy coming down here.”
Madison Mogg ended the scoring in the 63rd minute off an assist from Grace Granato.
“She buried it,” Watson said.
Among those helping the Redhawks outshoot their host, 28-4, was Loyola recruit Emma Irle, a shifty dribbler with a creative flair.
“It’s good to start off strong, so we’re happy we got the win down here,” Schubel said. “We just want to do well in our (DuPage Valley) conference and win as many games as we can. We just want to keep getting better.”
Naperville Central left back Malia Velker, who has committed to Division I Purdue Fort Wayne, was rarely tested.
“It’s nice when you put a kid out there and you go, ‘I don’t have to ever think about what’s going to happen with her,’” Watson said.
His counterpart at Normal hopes to develop similar players.
“They were getting to the ball first quite a bit and making good runs,” Chapman said. “I thought our goalkeeping was excellent. We just have a lot of stuff we need to figure out how to do in positioning and talking … a lot of little things. That is what we knew this game would give us, the ideas of what we’ve got to figure out.”
Anderson probably spoke for every player when discussing the joy of playing for the first time since the end of the 2019 season.
“That is a lifetime for us,” she said. “This is what we love. We love this program, and we love coach Chapman. It’s been really tough and really long. It’s nice to be back.
“We’ve got really small numbers and most of us haven’t played in a really long time. I think it’s starting to come together. My hope is we’ll be able to win some games and have fun doing it and hopefully have a really good season.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Abigail O’Connor
D Malia Velker
D Samantha Sharp
D Ella Burke
D Sophia Skoubis
M Sullivan Schubel
M Taylor Walk
M Megan Norkett
F Emma Irle
F Molly O’Rear
F Alexandra Jonaitis
Normal
GK Avery Melrose
D Lia Ward
D Avery Mize
D Avery Parks
D Erin Norieko
M Kylie Simonson
M Reese Anderson
M Hanah Crowder
M Teagan Fahy
M Ella Jimenez
F Ryann Anderson
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Sullivan Schubel, sr., MF, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
First half
NC – Schubel (Norkett) 12th
Nor – R. Anderson (O’Connell) 38th
Second half
NC – Schubel (Norkett) 56th
NC – Mogg (Granato) 63rd