Naperville North's 3-goal
1st half stuns St. Charles East
3 restart goals power Huskies to 4-1 road win
By Matt Le Cren
ST. CHARLES -- Three games into the new season, Naperville North defender Lucy Iverson has noticed something different about her team.
“I think last year we struggled a little with our restarts,” Iverson said. “Now we’re learning them, and I think this year is going to be better for restarts.”
She might be on to something there.
The Huskies, who are ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, scored three times in that manner in the first half en route to a stunningly lopsided 4-1 road victory over no. 12 St. Charles East on Monday night at Norris Stadium.
The Calvin-bound Iverson assisted on the first two goals, which Norah Barry and Cameron DeCook scored, to finish off plays which began with Leah Jacobs throw-ins.
“To put three on St. Charles East in the first half, all on restarts, was fantastic,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “I thought the first half was probably the best half of soccer we’ve played.
“Even though we did score three goals off of restarts, I thought in the run of play we were very good. I thought our girls were very tough in a game where the ref really let the kids play a ton.”
The Huskies are well-known for their reliance – and reliability – on set pieces. That’s what made the Saints’ inability to stop them so frustrating for St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo.
“Everything we saw today is stuff we saw on tape, things we rehearsed in training,” DiNuzzo said. “We just didn’t execute on the field.
“We really lacked a presence in the box. There were a couple that were unfortunate errors to make in a game like this. When you make mistakes like that, they make you pay.”
While the Saints (2-1-0) could have defended the first two goals better, there was nothing to be done about North’s third strike, which sophomore Audrey Hartmann scored on a header near the far post off a corner kick from Madison Korosec with 5:20 to go in the first half.
Hartmann’s goal was the first of her varsity career and gave the Huskies (3-0) a comfortable 3-0 cushion.
“I’m super happy for her,” Goletz said. “She was in the right spot.
“We pride ourselves on restarts and being in the right spot when the ball gets to you and finishing your chances. She did that.”
For Hartmann, it was a thrilling moment.
“It was literally awesome,” Hartmann said. “I feel like when everyone knows their individual roles, they can play their part and we can all execute well and dominate other teams.
“It was definitely great knowing I was in the right spot, because sometimes it gets hard to remember all of our cues and all of our plays. But once we really focus, we can execute well and score.”
Hartmann had hopes of playing on varsity last year as a freshman but spent the season on the JV team. With nine returning senior starters, she’s not likely to crack the starting lineup this spring, but she will make an impact.
“Audrey is a kid who’s starting to come into her own a little bit,” Goletz said. “When you come into a group with this many seniors, this many kids who have had so many varsity minutes, it takes some time to get used to it.
“I think she’s slowly continuing to get more and more time for us, and she just battles.
This is a super physical, super athletic St. Charles East team, and Audrey went in and definitely battled.”
Iverson was pleased to see the spunk from someone who could be a member of the next generation of North stars.
“It’s always good to see people coming in new to this team and doing exactly what they’re told,” Iverson said. “It’s paying off, and it’s awesome.
“We’re definitely going to need some leadership next year with a lot of us leaving. Audrey will definitely be one of those players.”
As an underclassman, Hartmann understands the process of moving up the ranks.
“I’m really happy to be on varsity this year,” Hartmann said. “I was really hoping to be on varsity last year, but it ended up working out fine being on JV. I got a lot of minutes.
“With there being nine senior starters this year, I totally have respect for all of them. “They all deserve their spot, and I’m just lucky enough to be able to go in and play.”
Hartmann doesn’t take it for granted.
“I enjoy every minute I’m out on the field,” she said. “I’m happy to be on this team with the girls. We all have such great relationships with each other, and it’s so fun.”
While enjoyment was at a minimum for the Saints, they had their share of fun moments in a second half where both teams created multiple scoring chances.
Taylor-bound senior Libby Thomas gave the home fans something to cheer about when she scored on a great run up the right wing with 24:58 left. She faked a pass to a teammate while dribbling against a defender, cut back to her left and beat Naperville North goalkeeper Abby Haskell inside the right post.
It was the first goal surrendered by the Huskies this year and cut their lead to 3-1.
“She turned that (defender) a couple times and was unlucky not to have a couple more,” DiNuzzo said of Thomas. “She’s creating chances.
“She’s being dangerous, which is good, but we have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be.”
Thomas concurred.
“They were super good with their set pieces, and I think we weren’t really ready, especially organizationally,” Thomas said. “We didn’t have the fire during corner kicks and set pieces, and so they got around us, which was disappointing.
“We definitely had a chance. In the first half we didn’t show enough fire and heart, which we showed in the second half. It’s kind of disappointing that we lost by so much when in the second half I feel like we kind of dominated.”
Naperville North senior midfielder Olivia Anderson dashed the Saints’ comeback hopes when she matched Thomas’ great individual effort, scoring her team-leading third goal of the season with 7:24 to go.
Anderson, a North Alabama recruit, got the ball at the top of the box, swerved to her left to juke a defender and then walked in on St. Charles East goalkeeper Sofia Iori. She slotted home a short shot to cap the scoring.
“I think Olivia has had all the talent in the world,” Goletz said. “Olivia is a special kid when the ball is at her feet.
“It’s getting her to buy into consistently playing hard and working hard and doing the little things. Tonight she did that.”
Goletz said the addition of Anderson, who was limited by a knee injury last year, to the starting lineup adds heft to an experienced attack that already includes DeCook, Korosec and twin sister Taylor, and Cameron Dinkla.
“When Olivia does that out wide for us, it gives us another dimension as a team,” Goletz said. “Her ability to get us out of pressure tonight, to go 1-v.-1 and generate a ton of chances, was absolutely fantastic.
“I’m super happy for her, because she’s such a fun-loving kid. I want her to continue to remember how special she can be when she plays hard all the time. If we can get that out of her consistently, I think our attack could be something that carries us hopefully a long way this year.”
Despite the loss, the Saints have the talent to do the same.
“Set pieces aside, I thought we competed and played pretty well at times,” DiNuzzo said. “We created some chances; they created some chances.
“It felt much more competitive in the second half. They executed better than us in the first half, and hopefully we can learn from it.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Abby Haskell
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Leah Jacobs
D Lucy Iverson
D Norah Barry
M Olivia Anderson
M Cameron Dinkla
M Madison Korosec
M Ellie Gerner
F Cameron DeCook
F Taylor Korosec
St. Charles East
GK Sofia Iori
D Laruen Silvestri
D Anna Champine
D Madison Flanders
D Libby Thomas
M Yazmin Martinez
M Mckenna Gahagan
M Kara Machala
F Mia Raschke
F Ella Stehman
F Grace Williams
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lucy Iverson, sr., D, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
Naperville North: Norah Barry (Lucy Iverson) 32:49 remaining
Naperville North: Cameron DeCook (Iverson) 11:26 remaining
Naperville North: Audrey Hartmann (Madison Korosec) 5:20 remaining
Second half
St. Charles East: Libby Thomas (unassisted) 24:58 remaining
Naperville North: Olivia Anderson (unassisted) 7:24 remaining
1st half stuns St. Charles East
3 restart goals power Huskies to 4-1 road win
By Matt Le Cren
ST. CHARLES -- Three games into the new season, Naperville North defender Lucy Iverson has noticed something different about her team.
“I think last year we struggled a little with our restarts,” Iverson said. “Now we’re learning them, and I think this year is going to be better for restarts.”
She might be on to something there.
The Huskies, who are ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, scored three times in that manner in the first half en route to a stunningly lopsided 4-1 road victory over no. 12 St. Charles East on Monday night at Norris Stadium.
The Calvin-bound Iverson assisted on the first two goals, which Norah Barry and Cameron DeCook scored, to finish off plays which began with Leah Jacobs throw-ins.
“To put three on St. Charles East in the first half, all on restarts, was fantastic,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “I thought the first half was probably the best half of soccer we’ve played.
“Even though we did score three goals off of restarts, I thought in the run of play we were very good. I thought our girls were very tough in a game where the ref really let the kids play a ton.”
The Huskies are well-known for their reliance – and reliability – on set pieces. That’s what made the Saints’ inability to stop them so frustrating for St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo.
“Everything we saw today is stuff we saw on tape, things we rehearsed in training,” DiNuzzo said. “We just didn’t execute on the field.
“We really lacked a presence in the box. There were a couple that were unfortunate errors to make in a game like this. When you make mistakes like that, they make you pay.”
While the Saints (2-1-0) could have defended the first two goals better, there was nothing to be done about North’s third strike, which sophomore Audrey Hartmann scored on a header near the far post off a corner kick from Madison Korosec with 5:20 to go in the first half.
Hartmann’s goal was the first of her varsity career and gave the Huskies (3-0) a comfortable 3-0 cushion.
“I’m super happy for her,” Goletz said. “She was in the right spot.
“We pride ourselves on restarts and being in the right spot when the ball gets to you and finishing your chances. She did that.”
For Hartmann, it was a thrilling moment.
“It was literally awesome,” Hartmann said. “I feel like when everyone knows their individual roles, they can play their part and we can all execute well and dominate other teams.
“It was definitely great knowing I was in the right spot, because sometimes it gets hard to remember all of our cues and all of our plays. But once we really focus, we can execute well and score.”
Hartmann had hopes of playing on varsity last year as a freshman but spent the season on the JV team. With nine returning senior starters, she’s not likely to crack the starting lineup this spring, but she will make an impact.
“Audrey is a kid who’s starting to come into her own a little bit,” Goletz said. “When you come into a group with this many seniors, this many kids who have had so many varsity minutes, it takes some time to get used to it.
“I think she’s slowly continuing to get more and more time for us, and she just battles.
This is a super physical, super athletic St. Charles East team, and Audrey went in and definitely battled.”
Iverson was pleased to see the spunk from someone who could be a member of the next generation of North stars.
“It’s always good to see people coming in new to this team and doing exactly what they’re told,” Iverson said. “It’s paying off, and it’s awesome.
“We’re definitely going to need some leadership next year with a lot of us leaving. Audrey will definitely be one of those players.”
As an underclassman, Hartmann understands the process of moving up the ranks.
“I’m really happy to be on varsity this year,” Hartmann said. “I was really hoping to be on varsity last year, but it ended up working out fine being on JV. I got a lot of minutes.
“With there being nine senior starters this year, I totally have respect for all of them. “They all deserve their spot, and I’m just lucky enough to be able to go in and play.”
Hartmann doesn’t take it for granted.
“I enjoy every minute I’m out on the field,” she said. “I’m happy to be on this team with the girls. We all have such great relationships with each other, and it’s so fun.”
While enjoyment was at a minimum for the Saints, they had their share of fun moments in a second half where both teams created multiple scoring chances.
Taylor-bound senior Libby Thomas gave the home fans something to cheer about when she scored on a great run up the right wing with 24:58 left. She faked a pass to a teammate while dribbling against a defender, cut back to her left and beat Naperville North goalkeeper Abby Haskell inside the right post.
It was the first goal surrendered by the Huskies this year and cut their lead to 3-1.
“She turned that (defender) a couple times and was unlucky not to have a couple more,” DiNuzzo said of Thomas. “She’s creating chances.
“She’s being dangerous, which is good, but we have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be.”
Thomas concurred.
“They were super good with their set pieces, and I think we weren’t really ready, especially organizationally,” Thomas said. “We didn’t have the fire during corner kicks and set pieces, and so they got around us, which was disappointing.
“We definitely had a chance. In the first half we didn’t show enough fire and heart, which we showed in the second half. It’s kind of disappointing that we lost by so much when in the second half I feel like we kind of dominated.”
Naperville North senior midfielder Olivia Anderson dashed the Saints’ comeback hopes when she matched Thomas’ great individual effort, scoring her team-leading third goal of the season with 7:24 to go.
Anderson, a North Alabama recruit, got the ball at the top of the box, swerved to her left to juke a defender and then walked in on St. Charles East goalkeeper Sofia Iori. She slotted home a short shot to cap the scoring.
“I think Olivia has had all the talent in the world,” Goletz said. “Olivia is a special kid when the ball is at her feet.
“It’s getting her to buy into consistently playing hard and working hard and doing the little things. Tonight she did that.”
Goletz said the addition of Anderson, who was limited by a knee injury last year, to the starting lineup adds heft to an experienced attack that already includes DeCook, Korosec and twin sister Taylor, and Cameron Dinkla.
“When Olivia does that out wide for us, it gives us another dimension as a team,” Goletz said. “Her ability to get us out of pressure tonight, to go 1-v.-1 and generate a ton of chances, was absolutely fantastic.
“I’m super happy for her, because she’s such a fun-loving kid. I want her to continue to remember how special she can be when she plays hard all the time. If we can get that out of her consistently, I think our attack could be something that carries us hopefully a long way this year.”
Despite the loss, the Saints have the talent to do the same.
“Set pieces aside, I thought we competed and played pretty well at times,” DiNuzzo said. “We created some chances; they created some chances.
“It felt much more competitive in the second half. They executed better than us in the first half, and hopefully we can learn from it.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Abby Haskell
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Leah Jacobs
D Lucy Iverson
D Norah Barry
M Olivia Anderson
M Cameron Dinkla
M Madison Korosec
M Ellie Gerner
F Cameron DeCook
F Taylor Korosec
St. Charles East
GK Sofia Iori
D Laruen Silvestri
D Anna Champine
D Madison Flanders
D Libby Thomas
M Yazmin Martinez
M Mckenna Gahagan
M Kara Machala
F Mia Raschke
F Ella Stehman
F Grace Williams
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Lucy Iverson, sr., D, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
Naperville North: Norah Barry (Lucy Iverson) 32:49 remaining
Naperville North: Cameron DeCook (Iverson) 11:26 remaining
Naperville North: Audrey Hartmann (Madison Korosec) 5:20 remaining
Second half
St. Charles East: Libby Thomas (unassisted) 24:58 remaining
Naperville North: Olivia Anderson (unassisted) 7:24 remaining