Naperville C. seeks end to drought
Granite City loss is Redhawks' 3rd-straight shutout loss
By Keith Schildroth
BELLEVILLE -- Naperville Central is in search of goals, any kind of goals: including own goals by the opposition, wind-aided goals or goals from any mistakes made by the opposing goalie. Unfortunately the Redhawks came up empty again Saturday in a nonconference contest against Granite City at Belleville West High School.
The Warriors posted a 1-0 win to drop the visitors to 1-3-0 on the early season. Add a 2-0 loss Friday night to Belleville West and a 2-0 loss Wednesday to Burlington Central and there is room for concern. It has Naperville Central coach Ed Watson searching for a solution.
The goal drought dates to after the season opener on March 12 when the Redhawks defeated West Aurora 2-0. At the end of Week 1 of the season, Naperville Central, ranked the preseason no. 15 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, finds its offense stalled. Watson said the no-goal streak can't continue.
"We played very well today, and we played well in stints last night as well," said Watson. "But when you don't score, it's tough. We gave them their goal. It was a defensive lapse. Our two center backs didn't have their ducks in a row. I'm sitting here trying to direct them during the throw-in and then that thing all breaks down."
Granite City, playing for the first time in the 2018 season, took advantage of the mistake in the Redhawks backline with 11 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first half. Freshman midfielder Kasey Neidhardt slid a quick pass to Emma Dutko. The Warriors junior midfielder beat Redhawks goalie Sophie Epelbaum from just outside the box to the lower left corner of the goal.
"What kids don't understand -- they can be great players, and they can play a lot of soccer," said Watson. "But they don't understand the game at the level that they need to. Before that ball was thrown in, I knew we were in trouble. It's not chess. I can't pick the piece up and move them where they need to go. Our girls are going to have to figure it out for us to win games. We're going to have to have a clean-sheet defensively.
"The goals last night, they had a great restart in the second half with a 35-mile-per-hour wind at their back," said Watson. "There's nothing we can do about that other than not foul the girl where we did. But the first goal was our fault because we didn't deal with a situation the way we should. We gave up three goals and two of them were on mistakes. You have got to make teams beat you. You can't beat yourselves."
Granite City coach Kenny Prazma was especially pleased with the outcome in the season opener because of their talented opponent .
"I had watched them last night against Belleville West, and I knew they were going to be tough," said Prazma. "They have great speed, and they handle the ball extremely well. And they keep their positions on the field very well. I thought we would match up with them very well. They're going to be very dangerous all season long."
The Redhawks scoring touch looked like it had returned early in the game. Junior forward Caroline Reedy had the ball inside the box just two minutes into the game and had Warriors goalie Viktoria Johnson alone on the line.
Reedy fired a quick shot headed for the left side of the goal but Johnson made a nifty kick save to stop the scoring chance.
"We should have been up 1-0 two minutes into the game," said Watson. "We wouldn't have had zero at that point. That has been our week. Any goal, we'd take anything. That's got to be finished. She (Reedy) knows that too. Forwards have to score goals there. Hopefully next time she gets an opportunity she does better with it."
Prazma said Johnson's save was a key to the win.
"I think we would have had our heads down if she scores that early in the game," said Prazma. "First game of the year against a team like Naperville Central, and we give uo a goal that quickly. I don't know how we would have responded."
Redhawks defender Sarah Avery said the scoring slump is bothersome.
"We create good opportunities but it's really frustrating when we're not able to finish," said Avery. "I think it's something we're still going to work on in practice."
Granite City took the play to the Redhawks after the save. Junior midfielder Megan Jones tested the Naperville Central defense most of the match with a pretty consistent flip throw-in. She couldn't connect with a teammate about 10 minutes into the half, and Epelbaum came off her line quickly to negate the scoring threat.
Reeves had her first good schance of the game minutes later when she beat defenders down the right side and hit a strong cross that Epelbaum once again came out to grab.
Warriors junior forward MacKenzie Hawkins followed with a header after a free kick from senior defender Maya Ware. The shot sailed just over the Redhawks crossbar.
Naperville Central sophomore midfielder Hannah Bradley-Leon created a good scoring chance midway through the half when her cross from the left wing landed inside the box but no Redhawks forward could connect with it. Granite City had similar problems in the first half when Neidhardt put the ball inside the box but couldn't get a shot on net. Redhawks senior midfielder Jessica Sonner started another good scoring chance late in the half with a free kick from the left side but her teammates couldn't finish.
"We should have had at least two goals before halftime," said Watson. "I can't say that we're snakebit. You've got to finish them."
Granite City sophomore defender Anna Stearns almost made it 2-0 right before the end of the half but her shot was blocked by a Naperville Central defender.
The Redhawks started quickly in the second half. Naperville Central came close to tying the game when Sonner beat Ware fighting for a loose ball. Sonner chipped the ball over Johnson's head. However the ball hit the crossbar, bounced down off the goal line and out of danger.
"I think we played better than last night, I thought we were a little quicker," said Avery. "We still need to work on possession and keeping the ball and playing faster. But overall, I thought we were better. And we need to keep working on marking up as well."
Ware said she was pleased with Granite City's effort for a first game.
"It was a little rough, but I think we can clean it up a lot more. But overall I thought we did good," said Ware.
She said Johnson's early save was important.
"Our keeper really helps us a lot," said Ware. "She talks in the back a lot and organizes us."
Ware said the Warriors attempted to change the pace of the game in the second half.
"We tried to slow it down a bit," said Ware. "We had that 1-0 lead, and we wanted to control the play. Especially since they had the wind, and we wanted to drop off more and not get beat by the long ball. We talked in the locker room before the game about not giving up anything and try to stay solid."
Naperville Central continued to have more of the play in the second half. Junior midfielder Maddie Mills and Bradley-Leon had good scoring chances late in the game.
Bradley-Leons' might have been the best when she beat Ware and was in alone on Johnson but sophomore defender Emma Vanbuskirk managed to catch the Redhawks midfielder.
"I think we just need to find a way to put it in the back of the net," said Maddie Redeker. "We have had opportunities, and we've come close. But we need to figure out that end piece. We need to keep working to figure this out."
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK - Sophie Epelbaum
D - Emma Irle
D - Grace Anderson
D - Emma Phillips
D - Abbey Hillman
D - Sarah Avery
M - Jessica Sonner
M - Hannah Bradley-Leon
M - Maddie Mills
M - Maddie Redeker
F - Caroline Reedy
Granite City
GK- Viktoria Johnson
D- Anna Stearns
D- Emma Vanbuskirk
D - Abby Reeves
D- Maya Ware
M- Megan Jones
M- Kasey Neidhardt
M- Emma Dutko
M - Analise Sampson
F- Bailey Whitehead
F- MacKenzie Hawkins
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Dutko, jr., MF, Granite City
Scoring summary
First half
Granite City: Emma Dutko (Kasey Neidhardt), 29th minute
Granite City loss is Redhawks' 3rd-straight shutout loss
By Keith Schildroth
BELLEVILLE -- Naperville Central is in search of goals, any kind of goals: including own goals by the opposition, wind-aided goals or goals from any mistakes made by the opposing goalie. Unfortunately the Redhawks came up empty again Saturday in a nonconference contest against Granite City at Belleville West High School.
The Warriors posted a 1-0 win to drop the visitors to 1-3-0 on the early season. Add a 2-0 loss Friday night to Belleville West and a 2-0 loss Wednesday to Burlington Central and there is room for concern. It has Naperville Central coach Ed Watson searching for a solution.
The goal drought dates to after the season opener on March 12 when the Redhawks defeated West Aurora 2-0. At the end of Week 1 of the season, Naperville Central, ranked the preseason no. 15 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, finds its offense stalled. Watson said the no-goal streak can't continue.
"We played very well today, and we played well in stints last night as well," said Watson. "But when you don't score, it's tough. We gave them their goal. It was a defensive lapse. Our two center backs didn't have their ducks in a row. I'm sitting here trying to direct them during the throw-in and then that thing all breaks down."
Granite City, playing for the first time in the 2018 season, took advantage of the mistake in the Redhawks backline with 11 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first half. Freshman midfielder Kasey Neidhardt slid a quick pass to Emma Dutko. The Warriors junior midfielder beat Redhawks goalie Sophie Epelbaum from just outside the box to the lower left corner of the goal.
"What kids don't understand -- they can be great players, and they can play a lot of soccer," said Watson. "But they don't understand the game at the level that they need to. Before that ball was thrown in, I knew we were in trouble. It's not chess. I can't pick the piece up and move them where they need to go. Our girls are going to have to figure it out for us to win games. We're going to have to have a clean-sheet defensively.
"The goals last night, they had a great restart in the second half with a 35-mile-per-hour wind at their back," said Watson. "There's nothing we can do about that other than not foul the girl where we did. But the first goal was our fault because we didn't deal with a situation the way we should. We gave up three goals and two of them were on mistakes. You have got to make teams beat you. You can't beat yourselves."
Granite City coach Kenny Prazma was especially pleased with the outcome in the season opener because of their talented opponent .
"I had watched them last night against Belleville West, and I knew they were going to be tough," said Prazma. "They have great speed, and they handle the ball extremely well. And they keep their positions on the field very well. I thought we would match up with them very well. They're going to be very dangerous all season long."
The Redhawks scoring touch looked like it had returned early in the game. Junior forward Caroline Reedy had the ball inside the box just two minutes into the game and had Warriors goalie Viktoria Johnson alone on the line.
Reedy fired a quick shot headed for the left side of the goal but Johnson made a nifty kick save to stop the scoring chance.
"We should have been up 1-0 two minutes into the game," said Watson. "We wouldn't have had zero at that point. That has been our week. Any goal, we'd take anything. That's got to be finished. She (Reedy) knows that too. Forwards have to score goals there. Hopefully next time she gets an opportunity she does better with it."
Prazma said Johnson's save was a key to the win.
"I think we would have had our heads down if she scores that early in the game," said Prazma. "First game of the year against a team like Naperville Central, and we give uo a goal that quickly. I don't know how we would have responded."
Redhawks defender Sarah Avery said the scoring slump is bothersome.
"We create good opportunities but it's really frustrating when we're not able to finish," said Avery. "I think it's something we're still going to work on in practice."
Granite City took the play to the Redhawks after the save. Junior midfielder Megan Jones tested the Naperville Central defense most of the match with a pretty consistent flip throw-in. She couldn't connect with a teammate about 10 minutes into the half, and Epelbaum came off her line quickly to negate the scoring threat.
Reeves had her first good schance of the game minutes later when she beat defenders down the right side and hit a strong cross that Epelbaum once again came out to grab.
Warriors junior forward MacKenzie Hawkins followed with a header after a free kick from senior defender Maya Ware. The shot sailed just over the Redhawks crossbar.
Naperville Central sophomore midfielder Hannah Bradley-Leon created a good scoring chance midway through the half when her cross from the left wing landed inside the box but no Redhawks forward could connect with it. Granite City had similar problems in the first half when Neidhardt put the ball inside the box but couldn't get a shot on net. Redhawks senior midfielder Jessica Sonner started another good scoring chance late in the half with a free kick from the left side but her teammates couldn't finish.
"We should have had at least two goals before halftime," said Watson. "I can't say that we're snakebit. You've got to finish them."
Granite City sophomore defender Anna Stearns almost made it 2-0 right before the end of the half but her shot was blocked by a Naperville Central defender.
The Redhawks started quickly in the second half. Naperville Central came close to tying the game when Sonner beat Ware fighting for a loose ball. Sonner chipped the ball over Johnson's head. However the ball hit the crossbar, bounced down off the goal line and out of danger.
"I think we played better than last night, I thought we were a little quicker," said Avery. "We still need to work on possession and keeping the ball and playing faster. But overall, I thought we were better. And we need to keep working on marking up as well."
Ware said she was pleased with Granite City's effort for a first game.
"It was a little rough, but I think we can clean it up a lot more. But overall I thought we did good," said Ware.
She said Johnson's early save was important.
"Our keeper really helps us a lot," said Ware. "She talks in the back a lot and organizes us."
Ware said the Warriors attempted to change the pace of the game in the second half.
"We tried to slow it down a bit," said Ware. "We had that 1-0 lead, and we wanted to control the play. Especially since they had the wind, and we wanted to drop off more and not get beat by the long ball. We talked in the locker room before the game about not giving up anything and try to stay solid."
Naperville Central continued to have more of the play in the second half. Junior midfielder Maddie Mills and Bradley-Leon had good scoring chances late in the game.
Bradley-Leons' might have been the best when she beat Ware and was in alone on Johnson but sophomore defender Emma Vanbuskirk managed to catch the Redhawks midfielder.
"I think we just need to find a way to put it in the back of the net," said Maddie Redeker. "We have had opportunities, and we've come close. But we need to figure out that end piece. We need to keep working to figure this out."
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK - Sophie Epelbaum
D - Emma Irle
D - Grace Anderson
D - Emma Phillips
D - Abbey Hillman
D - Sarah Avery
M - Jessica Sonner
M - Hannah Bradley-Leon
M - Maddie Mills
M - Maddie Redeker
F - Caroline Reedy
Granite City
GK- Viktoria Johnson
D- Anna Stearns
D- Emma Vanbuskirk
D - Abby Reeves
D- Maya Ware
M- Megan Jones
M- Kasey Neidhardt
M- Emma Dutko
M - Analise Sampson
F- Bailey Whitehead
F- MacKenzie Hawkins
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Emma Dutko, jr., MF, Granite City
Scoring summary
First half
Granite City: Emma Dutko (Kasey Neidhardt), 29th minute