Naperville North gets defensive,
stops Barrington for 3A state title
Huskies dethrone 2-time champion Barrington without a shot
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NAPERVILLE -- Amanda Johnson dreamed of the moment. Coming through the Naperville North program, she apprenticed behind two all-state keepers in Elizabeth Cablk (Illinois) and Maddie Haussmann (Loyola).
As a junior last year, she saw action in eight games and never allowed a goal. At nearly 6-feet, she has the all the prerequisites of the position with an ideal combination of size, agility and athleticism.
Even so, making the leap to full-time starter for one o the state’s elite programs constitutes the ultimate blank text. She symbolized the great unknown. Johnson was the first to admit as much.
“I have been lucky to play with some great goalkeepers,” she said. “I knew this year, being my senior year, I had to step up to the plate. I needed to make the year memorable. It happened to be the biggest way possible.”
Johnson posted seven saves and made two game-altering stops during the penalty shootout as the Huskies stunned two-time defending state champion Barrington 3-1 in the penalty kick shootout for the championship of the Class 3A state tournament Saturday night at North Central College.
For her accomplishments, Amanda Johnson earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. She made her final game a revolutionary one. Johnson is attending, but not playing soccer at Purdue University.
Johnson created her own masterpiece. It surpassed her performance from the night before when she made three saves in the Huskies’ 4-2 shootout victory over Lyons in the state semifinals.
In the title game, she made a great first step and bolted to her left to smother a shot by Tina Teik. That set the tone.
“The biggest thing I look for is when the shooters walk up to the ball, and I try to figure out if they are left- or right-footed,” Johnson said. “Then I watch throughout the game where they generally shoot the ball. That is where I get my guess from, and where I look to go first.
“As soon as they hit the ball, I am not looking at anything except trying to save the ball.”
Johnson nearly shutout the Fillies in the shootout. Barrington’s third shooter, Christine Batliner, went upper right corner and Johnson actually deflected the ball but it had enough velocity to cross above her and over the line.
The Huskies’ first and third shooters, Leah Shumate and Emily Dulik, converted for the 2-1 edge. Senior midfielder Maddie Schlecht, a Wisconsin recruit in her first year with the high school program, secured the title by smashing a ball into the upper right corner
Johnson is clearly her own player, but she adopted a page, brilliantly at that, from her Huskies’ counterpart, All-American Tommy Welch, as she repeatedly nullified the superior firepower and offensive diversity of the Fillies.
Naperville North (15-5-4) won its first state title since capturing back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013. The Huskies became the first program since St. Charles in 1996-97 to win the boys and girls state championships in the same academic year.
Only Naperville North (three times), New Trier (three times) and Barrington (two times) have won state championships in the large school class since 2012. Barrington defeated New Trier on penalty kicks in 2017 and 2018.
Head coach Steve Goletz, who also serves as the lead assistant to boys’ coach Jim Konrad, appropriated a tactic from his mentor. Just as the boys had to alter their style to offset the greater offensive game of Libertyville in the last two state title games, Naperville North had to try to slow down a dynamic and explosive Barrington attack.
The Huskies only had to think to their first game of the year, a 2-0 loss against the Fillies. Then Naperville North pulled off the unimaginable. They won the state title despite not taking a shot on goal.
“The national coach of the year [Konrad] is my assistant coach, and somebody I have learned so much from,” Goletz said. “This program has mirrored so closely with what our boys’ program does because we both believe, when it comes down to winning we have a great formula for how to do it.
“It takes a tough group of kids to accept that role and execute it to the best of their abilities, and this group did that.”
Until the semifinal on Friday night, Naperville North hadn't won a game on penalty kicks this season. The Huskies lost to Stevenson in a shootout in the semifinals of Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic.
In 2017, Naperville North also lost a supersectional against Downers Grove North in a shootout.
Barrington (22-2-1) was attempting one of the most challenging repeats in the history of the sport. Last year, the Fillies defeated St. Charles North in the supersectional, Naperville North in a state seminal and New Trier in the championship game.
At the time of the games, St. Charles North and New Trier were the top two ranked teams in the country by Top Drawer Soccer. The Fillies’ path was equally ferocious with another supersectional matchup with St. Charles North on Tuesday, a tight 2-1 victory over New Trier in the state semifinal Friday night and the title showdown with Naperville North.
Furthermore, junior defender and midfielder Alexis Armando suffered a knee injury moments after scoring the game-winner in the 76th minute against New Trier. Her absence deprived Stengren of his positional flexibility and ability to run numbers at the Huskies.
By a conservative estimate, Barrington enjoyed an overwhelming 85 percent of the possession time. Junior forward Ellie McAuley made repeated forays to the Huskies’ goal. Junior midfielder Rebecca Shomaker also excelled.
“That is soccer,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “That is the first time I have ever lost a game against a team that did not have a shot on goal. They defended the box very well.”
In a single-game, winner-take-all format, Naperville North was built for the challenge. With elite all-state defender Reilly Riggs setting the tone, the Huskies simply swallowed space. This team resembled a basketball team with its uncanny blend of size, length and physical prowess.
A Northwestern recruit, Riggs made an impression playing her fifth game since recovery from the effects of a concussion she suffered late in the regular season. Riggs was dangerous inside the box off a couple of corner kicks. That threat held the Huskies aloft.
One unintended consequence of her absence was the discovery of two natural and gifted players who went from seldom-used offensive players to defensive stalwarts.
A natural forward, Kaitlyn Castillo was inserted into the back and made an instant mark. Her 6-foot frame proved difficult to negotiate in space. The same with senior Avery Kotrba, a 5-foot-11 defender, who demonstrated a toughness and physical style that meshed perfectly with the rest of the Huskies’ backline.
“When I looked at them in the team room before the game, I said all we had to do is what we have done the whole year and be the best team tonight,” Goletz said. “We did not have to beat Barrington three or four times, because we probably couldn’t do that. All we had to be was the best team tonight.”
Barrington finished with seven shots on goal. As great as Barrington has been this year, the season was italicialized by a void, the absence of Illinois recruit Ashley Prell. The state’s best senior, Prell suffered a devastating ACL tear last fall.
She was the leading scorer in each of her first three seasons with the Fillies. She scored both goals in the Fillies’ shootout victory in the state championship last year. She formed a devastating combination with rising star Tina Teik.
Teik suffered a lower leg injury in the Fillies’ loss to rival Fremd on April 24. She worked diligently to get her timing and rhythm back. Prell made a near miraculous return to the field, just months after her surgery. Her return elevated the Fillies emotionally.
Her play in the state title game signified a private lament of what might have been an untouchable Barrington team had she been fully healthy. Playing her most impressive soccer since her return, Prell looked fantastic and lively, outrunning the bigger Huskies.
In one transfixing moment at the start of the first overtime, Prell cut down the left edge and unleashed a rocket ball that was just wide of the mark. At the start of the second overtime, Teik hammered a ball that pushed just left of the near post.
“I have never been part of a championship game like this where the play was so one-sided, but we couldn’t finish,” Stengren said. “Not having [Alexis Armando] hurt our depth. This was a great game. We were coming at them pretty good. The last two years, we were on the other side and that is why I am fine with this.
“The girls, when they reflect on this, with two state titles and a second place, they will understand all the great things we did this year, especially with having the target on them throughout the whole year. We did everything right tonight except finish.”
On May 9, Naperville North concluded a three-game performance in the final week of the regular season of 1-1-1, scoring just three goals in those games. Naperville North won nearly as many games (seven) in the state tournament as they did during the regular season (eight).
“After the regular season, we knew the playoffs were starting, so we just need to start to really work hard,” Shumate said. “Every single one of us really wanted this more than ever. We knew exactly what we were looking for.
“We were holding on and defending as hard as we could. Realistically [penalty kicks] was the best spot for us because we had the confidence from last night to finish those kicks. Being in this [championship] game makes every injury, or soreness, go away because you just want it so much.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK: Leah Eisenbarth
D: Christine Batliner
D: Julianna Moreno
D: Kate McGreevy
D: Madi Rosen
MF: Ashley Rocco
MF: Rebecca Shomaker
MF: Tina Teik
F: Ashley Armando
F: Ellie McAuley
F: Jen Devona
Naperville North
GK: Amanda Johnson
D: Paige Sylvester
D: Reilly Riggs
D: Kaitlyn Castillo
D: Emily Magee
MF: Taylor Klaiber
MF: Leah Shumate
MF: Maddie Schlecht
MF: Emily Dulik
F: Hannah Martin
F: Katie Murphy
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Amanda Johnson, sr., GK, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
Shootout
Barrington—Christine Batliner
Naperville North—Leah Shumate, Emily Dulik, Maddie Schlecht
stops Barrington for 3A state title
Huskies dethrone 2-time champion Barrington without a shot
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NAPERVILLE -- Amanda Johnson dreamed of the moment. Coming through the Naperville North program, she apprenticed behind two all-state keepers in Elizabeth Cablk (Illinois) and Maddie Haussmann (Loyola).
As a junior last year, she saw action in eight games and never allowed a goal. At nearly 6-feet, she has the all the prerequisites of the position with an ideal combination of size, agility and athleticism.
Even so, making the leap to full-time starter for one o the state’s elite programs constitutes the ultimate blank text. She symbolized the great unknown. Johnson was the first to admit as much.
“I have been lucky to play with some great goalkeepers,” she said. “I knew this year, being my senior year, I had to step up to the plate. I needed to make the year memorable. It happened to be the biggest way possible.”
Johnson posted seven saves and made two game-altering stops during the penalty shootout as the Huskies stunned two-time defending state champion Barrington 3-1 in the penalty kick shootout for the championship of the Class 3A state tournament Saturday night at North Central College.
For her accomplishments, Amanda Johnson earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match. She made her final game a revolutionary one. Johnson is attending, but not playing soccer at Purdue University.
Johnson created her own masterpiece. It surpassed her performance from the night before when she made three saves in the Huskies’ 4-2 shootout victory over Lyons in the state semifinals.
In the title game, she made a great first step and bolted to her left to smother a shot by Tina Teik. That set the tone.
“The biggest thing I look for is when the shooters walk up to the ball, and I try to figure out if they are left- or right-footed,” Johnson said. “Then I watch throughout the game where they generally shoot the ball. That is where I get my guess from, and where I look to go first.
“As soon as they hit the ball, I am not looking at anything except trying to save the ball.”
Johnson nearly shutout the Fillies in the shootout. Barrington’s third shooter, Christine Batliner, went upper right corner and Johnson actually deflected the ball but it had enough velocity to cross above her and over the line.
The Huskies’ first and third shooters, Leah Shumate and Emily Dulik, converted for the 2-1 edge. Senior midfielder Maddie Schlecht, a Wisconsin recruit in her first year with the high school program, secured the title by smashing a ball into the upper right corner
Johnson is clearly her own player, but she adopted a page, brilliantly at that, from her Huskies’ counterpart, All-American Tommy Welch, as she repeatedly nullified the superior firepower and offensive diversity of the Fillies.
Naperville North (15-5-4) won its first state title since capturing back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013. The Huskies became the first program since St. Charles in 1996-97 to win the boys and girls state championships in the same academic year.
Only Naperville North (three times), New Trier (three times) and Barrington (two times) have won state championships in the large school class since 2012. Barrington defeated New Trier on penalty kicks in 2017 and 2018.
Head coach Steve Goletz, who also serves as the lead assistant to boys’ coach Jim Konrad, appropriated a tactic from his mentor. Just as the boys had to alter their style to offset the greater offensive game of Libertyville in the last two state title games, Naperville North had to try to slow down a dynamic and explosive Barrington attack.
The Huskies only had to think to their first game of the year, a 2-0 loss against the Fillies. Then Naperville North pulled off the unimaginable. They won the state title despite not taking a shot on goal.
“The national coach of the year [Konrad] is my assistant coach, and somebody I have learned so much from,” Goletz said. “This program has mirrored so closely with what our boys’ program does because we both believe, when it comes down to winning we have a great formula for how to do it.
“It takes a tough group of kids to accept that role and execute it to the best of their abilities, and this group did that.”
Until the semifinal on Friday night, Naperville North hadn't won a game on penalty kicks this season. The Huskies lost to Stevenson in a shootout in the semifinals of Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic.
In 2017, Naperville North also lost a supersectional against Downers Grove North in a shootout.
Barrington (22-2-1) was attempting one of the most challenging repeats in the history of the sport. Last year, the Fillies defeated St. Charles North in the supersectional, Naperville North in a state seminal and New Trier in the championship game.
At the time of the games, St. Charles North and New Trier were the top two ranked teams in the country by Top Drawer Soccer. The Fillies’ path was equally ferocious with another supersectional matchup with St. Charles North on Tuesday, a tight 2-1 victory over New Trier in the state semifinal Friday night and the title showdown with Naperville North.
Furthermore, junior defender and midfielder Alexis Armando suffered a knee injury moments after scoring the game-winner in the 76th minute against New Trier. Her absence deprived Stengren of his positional flexibility and ability to run numbers at the Huskies.
By a conservative estimate, Barrington enjoyed an overwhelming 85 percent of the possession time. Junior forward Ellie McAuley made repeated forays to the Huskies’ goal. Junior midfielder Rebecca Shomaker also excelled.
“That is soccer,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said. “That is the first time I have ever lost a game against a team that did not have a shot on goal. They defended the box very well.”
In a single-game, winner-take-all format, Naperville North was built for the challenge. With elite all-state defender Reilly Riggs setting the tone, the Huskies simply swallowed space. This team resembled a basketball team with its uncanny blend of size, length and physical prowess.
A Northwestern recruit, Riggs made an impression playing her fifth game since recovery from the effects of a concussion she suffered late in the regular season. Riggs was dangerous inside the box off a couple of corner kicks. That threat held the Huskies aloft.
One unintended consequence of her absence was the discovery of two natural and gifted players who went from seldom-used offensive players to defensive stalwarts.
A natural forward, Kaitlyn Castillo was inserted into the back and made an instant mark. Her 6-foot frame proved difficult to negotiate in space. The same with senior Avery Kotrba, a 5-foot-11 defender, who demonstrated a toughness and physical style that meshed perfectly with the rest of the Huskies’ backline.
“When I looked at them in the team room before the game, I said all we had to do is what we have done the whole year and be the best team tonight,” Goletz said. “We did not have to beat Barrington three or four times, because we probably couldn’t do that. All we had to be was the best team tonight.”
Barrington finished with seven shots on goal. As great as Barrington has been this year, the season was italicialized by a void, the absence of Illinois recruit Ashley Prell. The state’s best senior, Prell suffered a devastating ACL tear last fall.
She was the leading scorer in each of her first three seasons with the Fillies. She scored both goals in the Fillies’ shootout victory in the state championship last year. She formed a devastating combination with rising star Tina Teik.
Teik suffered a lower leg injury in the Fillies’ loss to rival Fremd on April 24. She worked diligently to get her timing and rhythm back. Prell made a near miraculous return to the field, just months after her surgery. Her return elevated the Fillies emotionally.
Her play in the state title game signified a private lament of what might have been an untouchable Barrington team had she been fully healthy. Playing her most impressive soccer since her return, Prell looked fantastic and lively, outrunning the bigger Huskies.
In one transfixing moment at the start of the first overtime, Prell cut down the left edge and unleashed a rocket ball that was just wide of the mark. At the start of the second overtime, Teik hammered a ball that pushed just left of the near post.
“I have never been part of a championship game like this where the play was so one-sided, but we couldn’t finish,” Stengren said. “Not having [Alexis Armando] hurt our depth. This was a great game. We were coming at them pretty good. The last two years, we were on the other side and that is why I am fine with this.
“The girls, when they reflect on this, with two state titles and a second place, they will understand all the great things we did this year, especially with having the target on them throughout the whole year. We did everything right tonight except finish.”
On May 9, Naperville North concluded a three-game performance in the final week of the regular season of 1-1-1, scoring just three goals in those games. Naperville North won nearly as many games (seven) in the state tournament as they did during the regular season (eight).
“After the regular season, we knew the playoffs were starting, so we just need to start to really work hard,” Shumate said. “Every single one of us really wanted this more than ever. We knew exactly what we were looking for.
“We were holding on and defending as hard as we could. Realistically [penalty kicks] was the best spot for us because we had the confidence from last night to finish those kicks. Being in this [championship] game makes every injury, or soreness, go away because you just want it so much.”
Starting lineups
Barrington
GK: Leah Eisenbarth
D: Christine Batliner
D: Julianna Moreno
D: Kate McGreevy
D: Madi Rosen
MF: Ashley Rocco
MF: Rebecca Shomaker
MF: Tina Teik
F: Ashley Armando
F: Ellie McAuley
F: Jen Devona
Naperville North
GK: Amanda Johnson
D: Paige Sylvester
D: Reilly Riggs
D: Kaitlyn Castillo
D: Emily Magee
MF: Taylor Klaiber
MF: Leah Shumate
MF: Maddie Schlecht
MF: Emily Dulik
F: Hannah Martin
F: Katie Murphy
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Amanda Johnson, sr., GK, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
Shootout
Barrington—Christine Batliner
Naperville North—Leah Shumate, Emily Dulik, Maddie Schlecht