Early WV blitz buries Naperville Central
5 goals in 1st 30 minutes lead Warriors to easy win at home
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Naperville Central coach Ed Watson made a prediction before his team’s DuPage Valley Conference clash with Waubonsie Valley on Friday night.
“I did say we would score two today,” Watson said. “I thought that that would enough.”
Watson was right about the first part but wrong, so wrong, on the second.
That’s because the host Warriors were so good in their home opener that the two goals Naperville Central scored were much too little and much too late.
Waubonsie Valley scored 16 seconds into the game and led 5-0 at the half-hour mark en route to a stunningly dominant 5-2 victory. It was the first time the Redhawks have surrendered five goals in a game since 2011.
“It wasn’t really the Naperville Central team that we’ve seen thus far this season,” Naperville Central senior forward Caroline Reedy said. “I think there was a little discrepancy over marks.
“Their attacking mids and their forwards are very good, so it was tough marking them, and we had to look for communication in the beginning.”
There was little bck-and-forth and no marking at the outset as the Warriors (3-1-1, 1-1-0) wasted no time getting down to business. They attacked straight up the field off the opening kickoff as junior sensation Megan Burling raced to the left endline and crossed in front to senior Sophia Majher, who knocked home the first goal of the game.
“That was lucky,” Majher claimed. “Honestly, I didn’t really know if I was going to get there in time."
The score ranks as one of the quickest in state history. The IHSA record book lists three goals scored in 14 seconds as the 19th-fastest of all time.
“We came out with a lot of energy," Majher said. "When we were in the shed (before the game) everyone was like let’s go, we’ve got this.
“We wanted our intensity to be higher than theirs with our first home game, and we came out and attacked. We were focusing on our confidence today.”
The Warriors soon were brimming with confidence and that was especially true for Majher, who recorded her first point in a Waubonsie uniform. She played her freshmen and sophomore years at Metea Valley before transferring to Waubonsie, but missed her junior season with a torn ACL.
“I’ve kind of recovered and am getting back into the game,” Majher said. “It took a little while to get back to 100 percent, but I had to work for a starting position.”
That’s because the Warriors appear to have a potent offense, spearheaded by junior Grace Setter and Burling, who scored two goals and an assist in this game and already has seven goals in her first high school season after playing club the past two years.
“Megan is kind of similar to (graduated star) Kennedy Metzger,” Maher said. “Kennedy was our goal-scorer, she was really fast and really quick.
“That’s kind of how Megan is too. So although we lost Kennedy, we kind of got lucky with Megan and balanced it out this year.”
Waubonsie’s attack was balanced and that quickly tipped the tables in their favor against the Redhawks. Setter ripped a 20-yard shot just inside the left post at the 31:17 mark of the first half to make it 2-0 and the Warriors extended the lead to 3-0 10 minutes later.
Naperville Central’s Maddie Mills headed a ball out of the box, only to have Waubonsie’s Mollie Valek send a shot back in. Goalkeeper Amber Hunter punched at the ball, but Roxy Zieba held it in the box and fired a 12-yard shot under the crossbar.
The Redhawks (4-2-1, 1-1-0) finally threatened a minute later. Sophomore defender Emma Irle blasted a 35-yard free kick, but Waubonsie goalie Nicole Kleronomos jumped to make the first of her seven saves.
Irle had another good chance at the 13:48 mark but sent a 19-yard free kick just over the crossbar.
Burling then flashed her considerable talent again, and again, in scoring on back-to-back shots two minutes apart.
Her first goal came at the 11:47 mark when she got the ball 30 yards from the net, made a nifty move to elude a defender and then raced into the box before launching a 16-yard runner into the upper 90.
Setter set up the second strike, ambling into the left corner before sending a high cross in front, where Burling sent a line-drive header crashing into the net for a 5-0 cushion.
“I think we came out with a lot of energy, because it was our first home game,” Setter said. “It felt good.
“It was nice to have that (big lead) after our last game against (Naperville) North. Playing all these good teams early in the season is tough.”
You don’t have to tell Reedy that. The Redhawks haven’t played any cupcakes, either, and they actually won the final 50 minutes, though it didn’t change the outcome.
“I do think that getting scored on so early was a bit defeating, but I think we did an OK job of staying positive for the most part,” Reedy said. “I think the main part of why we were getting scored on in the first half was just we were lacking our marks.”
Naperville Central allowed only six shots after intermission, including two on frame. Sophie Epelbaum, who relieved Hunter at halftime, made good saves on both of them.
“I think our mindset was that we weren’t going to lose 5-0, so we decided to come out stronger, connecting more passes and a lot more positive than we were in the first half,” Reedy said. “We don’t want to lose 5-0, so we were not going to let that happen.
“We’re not the type of team that likes to give up so we needed to push through and not let it be that big of a loss.”
The Redhawks succeeded in making things interesting, scoring twice in a 2:39 span early in the second half. Maddie Mills converted a penalty kick, her second in as many games, and Reedy ripped a 20-yard shot into the upper left corner of the net to trim the deficit to three with 34 minutes remaining.
The visitors continued to apply pressure and Kleronomos was forced to make four more saves, including a great diving save to deflect Liz Bayert’s open shot over the crossbar with 22:35 to go.
“I’ve said it before, and I will continue to say it: I like the makeup of this group of girls,” Watson said. “While I don’t ever want to find out how they handle being down 5-0 again, we have been down in almost every game this year and have found ways to claw back.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Amber Hunter
D Emma Irle
D Abbey Hillman
D Caroline Giannone
D Sophia Skoubis
M Grace Anderson
M Maddie Mills
M Liz Barker
F Sarah Scoles
F Sullivan Schubel
F Caroline Reedy
Waubonsie Valley
GK Nicole Kleronomos
D Brooke Mathews
D Mollie Valek
D Alexa Quaranta
D Jessica Wallace
M Colette Casey
M Jessica Keeley
M Brooke Nelson
F Grace Setter
F Megan Burling
F Sophia Majher
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Megan Burling, jr., F, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
WV – Sophia Majher (Megan Burling) 39:44
WV – Grace Setter (unassisted) 31:17
WV – Roxy Zieba (unassisted) 21:36
WV – Burling (unassisted) 11:47
WV – Burling (Setter) 9:26
Second half
NC – Maddie Mills (PK) 36:39
NC – Caroline Reedy (Sophia Skoubis) 34:00
5 goals in 1st 30 minutes lead Warriors to easy win at home
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Naperville Central coach Ed Watson made a prediction before his team’s DuPage Valley Conference clash with Waubonsie Valley on Friday night.
“I did say we would score two today,” Watson said. “I thought that that would enough.”
Watson was right about the first part but wrong, so wrong, on the second.
That’s because the host Warriors were so good in their home opener that the two goals Naperville Central scored were much too little and much too late.
Waubonsie Valley scored 16 seconds into the game and led 5-0 at the half-hour mark en route to a stunningly dominant 5-2 victory. It was the first time the Redhawks have surrendered five goals in a game since 2011.
“It wasn’t really the Naperville Central team that we’ve seen thus far this season,” Naperville Central senior forward Caroline Reedy said. “I think there was a little discrepancy over marks.
“Their attacking mids and their forwards are very good, so it was tough marking them, and we had to look for communication in the beginning.”
There was little bck-and-forth and no marking at the outset as the Warriors (3-1-1, 1-1-0) wasted no time getting down to business. They attacked straight up the field off the opening kickoff as junior sensation Megan Burling raced to the left endline and crossed in front to senior Sophia Majher, who knocked home the first goal of the game.
“That was lucky,” Majher claimed. “Honestly, I didn’t really know if I was going to get there in time."
The score ranks as one of the quickest in state history. The IHSA record book lists three goals scored in 14 seconds as the 19th-fastest of all time.
“We came out with a lot of energy," Majher said. "When we were in the shed (before the game) everyone was like let’s go, we’ve got this.
“We wanted our intensity to be higher than theirs with our first home game, and we came out and attacked. We were focusing on our confidence today.”
The Warriors soon were brimming with confidence and that was especially true for Majher, who recorded her first point in a Waubonsie uniform. She played her freshmen and sophomore years at Metea Valley before transferring to Waubonsie, but missed her junior season with a torn ACL.
“I’ve kind of recovered and am getting back into the game,” Majher said. “It took a little while to get back to 100 percent, but I had to work for a starting position.”
That’s because the Warriors appear to have a potent offense, spearheaded by junior Grace Setter and Burling, who scored two goals and an assist in this game and already has seven goals in her first high school season after playing club the past two years.
“Megan is kind of similar to (graduated star) Kennedy Metzger,” Maher said. “Kennedy was our goal-scorer, she was really fast and really quick.
“That’s kind of how Megan is too. So although we lost Kennedy, we kind of got lucky with Megan and balanced it out this year.”
Waubonsie’s attack was balanced and that quickly tipped the tables in their favor against the Redhawks. Setter ripped a 20-yard shot just inside the left post at the 31:17 mark of the first half to make it 2-0 and the Warriors extended the lead to 3-0 10 minutes later.
Naperville Central’s Maddie Mills headed a ball out of the box, only to have Waubonsie’s Mollie Valek send a shot back in. Goalkeeper Amber Hunter punched at the ball, but Roxy Zieba held it in the box and fired a 12-yard shot under the crossbar.
The Redhawks (4-2-1, 1-1-0) finally threatened a minute later. Sophomore defender Emma Irle blasted a 35-yard free kick, but Waubonsie goalie Nicole Kleronomos jumped to make the first of her seven saves.
Irle had another good chance at the 13:48 mark but sent a 19-yard free kick just over the crossbar.
Burling then flashed her considerable talent again, and again, in scoring on back-to-back shots two minutes apart.
Her first goal came at the 11:47 mark when she got the ball 30 yards from the net, made a nifty move to elude a defender and then raced into the box before launching a 16-yard runner into the upper 90.
Setter set up the second strike, ambling into the left corner before sending a high cross in front, where Burling sent a line-drive header crashing into the net for a 5-0 cushion.
“I think we came out with a lot of energy, because it was our first home game,” Setter said. “It felt good.
“It was nice to have that (big lead) after our last game against (Naperville) North. Playing all these good teams early in the season is tough.”
You don’t have to tell Reedy that. The Redhawks haven’t played any cupcakes, either, and they actually won the final 50 minutes, though it didn’t change the outcome.
“I do think that getting scored on so early was a bit defeating, but I think we did an OK job of staying positive for the most part,” Reedy said. “I think the main part of why we were getting scored on in the first half was just we were lacking our marks.”
Naperville Central allowed only six shots after intermission, including two on frame. Sophie Epelbaum, who relieved Hunter at halftime, made good saves on both of them.
“I think our mindset was that we weren’t going to lose 5-0, so we decided to come out stronger, connecting more passes and a lot more positive than we were in the first half,” Reedy said. “We don’t want to lose 5-0, so we were not going to let that happen.
“We’re not the type of team that likes to give up so we needed to push through and not let it be that big of a loss.”
The Redhawks succeeded in making things interesting, scoring twice in a 2:39 span early in the second half. Maddie Mills converted a penalty kick, her second in as many games, and Reedy ripped a 20-yard shot into the upper left corner of the net to trim the deficit to three with 34 minutes remaining.
The visitors continued to apply pressure and Kleronomos was forced to make four more saves, including a great diving save to deflect Liz Bayert’s open shot over the crossbar with 22:35 to go.
“I’ve said it before, and I will continue to say it: I like the makeup of this group of girls,” Watson said. “While I don’t ever want to find out how they handle being down 5-0 again, we have been down in almost every game this year and have found ways to claw back.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Amber Hunter
D Emma Irle
D Abbey Hillman
D Caroline Giannone
D Sophia Skoubis
M Grace Anderson
M Maddie Mills
M Liz Barker
F Sarah Scoles
F Sullivan Schubel
F Caroline Reedy
Waubonsie Valley
GK Nicole Kleronomos
D Brooke Mathews
D Mollie Valek
D Alexa Quaranta
D Jessica Wallace
M Colette Casey
M Jessica Keeley
M Brooke Nelson
F Grace Setter
F Megan Burling
F Sophia Majher
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Megan Burling, jr., F, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
First half
WV – Sophia Majher (Megan Burling) 39:44
WV – Grace Setter (unassisted) 31:17
WV – Roxy Zieba (unassisted) 21:36
WV – Burling (unassisted) 11:47
WV – Burling (Setter) 9:26
Second half
NC – Maddie Mills (PK) 36:39
NC – Caroline Reedy (Sophia Skoubis) 34:00