Naperville North knocks
off no. 1 Lyons for title shot
Fitzgerald goal gives Huskies 1-0 win, revenge
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- The point-blank shot came in so fast that Naperville North goalkeeper Abby Haskell had no time to react, but she positioned herself well and held her ground.
The ball hit Haskell square in the face, knocking the SIU-Edwardsville recruit flat on her back. After being tended to by a trainer, Haskell walked off under her own power, replaced by backup Emma Gaspari.
Huskies defender Maggie Fitzgerald was worried, though not about Gaspari, who a minute later saved an open 15-yard shot from Lyons striker Riley Wengerd to preserve a one-goal lead.
Gaspari went back to the bench shortly after that when Haskell checked back in, but her two-minute relief appearance helped the Huskies preserve a 1-0 victory over the top-ranked and previously unbeaten Lions at Friday’s Naperville Invitational semifinals at Memorial Stadium.
Naperville North (13-1-2), which is ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, avenged its only loss of the season and advanced to Saturday’s championship match opposite no. 6 Barrington (14-1), which edged no. 2 and previously unbeaten Naperville Central 1-0 in the other semifinal.
“Emma stepped in big,” Fitzgerald said. “That was awesome.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ but ‘Emma, you totally had it.’ We have confidence in every single player on our team that they’re going to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
“It was just awesome that Emma was there, and she was able to stop that and step up for Abby.”
Haskell, who was bruised but not seriously hurt, didn’t have to make a save the rest of the way and finished with only one save in recording her 12th shutout of the season. She got plenty of help from her backline of Fitzgerald, Norah Barry, Lucy Iverson and Peyton Hegner, and not only for their defense.
Fitzgerald scored the only goal of the game off a long throw-in from Barry with 36:59 left in the second half, just four minutes before Haskell’s brief absence.
Gaspari had appeared in only two other games and had never been called on to enter such a big game during her varsity career.
“I’ve played a couple games, but obviously Abby is Abby,” Gaspari said. “It’s always very jarring to go in cold, but I got a little bit of work in with Sean, one of our assistant coaches.
“That definitely helps, but it’s just about kind of being ready. A lot of stuff, especially that, is how we train, and so that helps a lot in those situations.”
So how did it feel going into a game with the Huskies clinging to a 1-0 lead with a berth in the invite finals on the line?
“It was definitely exciting,” Gaspari said. “I felt pretty confident going in.”
Confidence comes naturally to the Huskies, who know they can always depend on their defense, which has allowed only three goals this season. Those defenders also get plenty of opportunities on offense when the Huskies force opponents to concede throw-ins or other restarts.
“There’s a lot to be said about the discipline of this group, their willingness to buy in and put everything that you’ve got on those opportunities,” Goletz said.
“We value that in our program and it’s something that (assistant coach) Jim (Konrad) and I feel strongly about.
“We’ve won a lot of big games with restarts, but I think what goes unnoticed is the girls have generated a ton of chances for us off the restarts.
“I thought today in the first half we could have had two or three more. We hit the crossbar, their goalkeeper makes a ridiculous save on Olivia (Anderson) and then makes another great foot save on Maggie’s rebound.
“I really did think we were more dangerous today against them.”
The statistics bear that out. The Huskies outshot Lyons (13-1-0) by a 10-5 margin, including 5-1 in the first half when the Lions had the wind.
The Illinois-bound Lee made five saves, including a point-blank denial on Fitzgerald, but the junior outside back bagged her third goal of the season -- and second game-winner -- off Barry’s long toss from deep down the right sideline.
The ball went straight through the crease. Cameron Dinkla dummied it, and Fitzgerald was open on the back porch.
“It was a pretty great ball in,” Fitzgerald said. “I just saw it go under Cam’s legs, and we just stress being in the right spot at the right time.
“So, I was just there when Cam let it go through on her near-post run. All I had to do was tap it.”
Getting a goal so soon after getting the wind at their backs fluffed up North’s sails, and it was smooth sailing after that.
“I think it was really big, because we had been really focusing on defending in the first half,” Fitzgerald said. “We had to focus more on finishing our chances and putting stuff away.
“We were getting closer and knocking on the door. So, we just had to put our heads down and get a goal, and then we’d be set and keep going and keep pushing at them. They’re a great team so it’s really hard to do.”
Indeed, it was only the third goal scored against Lyons this season, which won 33 of its previous 34 matches dating to the start of the 2021 season. Naperville North is the first Chicago-area squad to beat the Lions, who lost to O’Fallon in the 2021 Class 3A state title game, since 2019.
“The girls tonight were great again defensively,” Goletz said. “To go back-to-back games against Oak Park and then against Lyons with shutouts says something about this group.
“Abby came up huge with a great save. Emma then comes in and makes a great save, and our backline and midfield group was just fantastic today. I couldn’t be more happy to advance to the finals.”
While disappointed with the result, Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary was pleased with the high level of play from both teams.
“It was a good game,” Lanspeary said. “I thought there were stretches where it was pretty even back-and-forth and stretches where they had us on our heels, and we had some stretches where we had them pressed in a little bit.”
As Goletz noted, nothing can duplicate the feel of the state tournament quite like the Naperville Invitational can. Whoever wins the invite has to beat three ranked opponents in less than 48 hours over three days.
“Going back-to-back is tough,” Lanspeary said. “After playing Oswego East last night, coming back and playing this one was tough.
“Everybody is in the same boat … our kids played hard. They always do, so always proud of the effort.”
If there was a silver lining to the defeat, it was that the Lions get an extra day of rest instead of playing the final in possibly inclement weather.
“That’s what I told them after the game,” Lanspeary said. “After the tough tournament and schedule that we’ve had, a day off is not the worst thing.”
For Goletz and the Huskies, rest can wait until Sunday.
“There’s no replicating the win-and-advance feeling before the playoffs, and that’s something this has definitely done for us,” Goletz said. “Now we’ve got another great test against a very, very good Barrington team that just beat Naperville Central.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Abby Haskell
D Peyton Hegner
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Lucy Iverson
D Norah Barry
M Cameron Dinkla
M Madison Korosec
M Ellie Gerner
F Taylor Korosec
F Olivia Anderson
F Rachael Noren
Lyons
GK Izzy Lee
D Izzy Wirtz
D Ava Pike
D Kaite Fulscher
D Brennan Israel
M Caroline McKenna
M Josie Pochocki
M Eleanor Musgrove
F Chandlar Lay
F Katie O’Malley
F Riley Wengerd
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Fitzgerald, jr., D, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Naperville North – Maggie Fitzgerald (Norah Barry) 36:59 remaining
off no. 1 Lyons for title shot
Fitzgerald goal gives Huskies 1-0 win, revenge
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- The point-blank shot came in so fast that Naperville North goalkeeper Abby Haskell had no time to react, but she positioned herself well and held her ground.
The ball hit Haskell square in the face, knocking the SIU-Edwardsville recruit flat on her back. After being tended to by a trainer, Haskell walked off under her own power, replaced by backup Emma Gaspari.
Huskies defender Maggie Fitzgerald was worried, though not about Gaspari, who a minute later saved an open 15-yard shot from Lyons striker Riley Wengerd to preserve a one-goal lead.
Gaspari went back to the bench shortly after that when Haskell checked back in, but her two-minute relief appearance helped the Huskies preserve a 1-0 victory over the top-ranked and previously unbeaten Lions at Friday’s Naperville Invitational semifinals at Memorial Stadium.
Naperville North (13-1-2), which is ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, avenged its only loss of the season and advanced to Saturday’s championship match opposite no. 6 Barrington (14-1), which edged no. 2 and previously unbeaten Naperville Central 1-0 in the other semifinal.
“Emma stepped in big,” Fitzgerald said. “That was awesome.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ but ‘Emma, you totally had it.’ We have confidence in every single player on our team that they’re going to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
“It was just awesome that Emma was there, and she was able to stop that and step up for Abby.”
Haskell, who was bruised but not seriously hurt, didn’t have to make a save the rest of the way and finished with only one save in recording her 12th shutout of the season. She got plenty of help from her backline of Fitzgerald, Norah Barry, Lucy Iverson and Peyton Hegner, and not only for their defense.
Fitzgerald scored the only goal of the game off a long throw-in from Barry with 36:59 left in the second half, just four minutes before Haskell’s brief absence.
Gaspari had appeared in only two other games and had never been called on to enter such a big game during her varsity career.
“I’ve played a couple games, but obviously Abby is Abby,” Gaspari said. “It’s always very jarring to go in cold, but I got a little bit of work in with Sean, one of our assistant coaches.
“That definitely helps, but it’s just about kind of being ready. A lot of stuff, especially that, is how we train, and so that helps a lot in those situations.”
So how did it feel going into a game with the Huskies clinging to a 1-0 lead with a berth in the invite finals on the line?
“It was definitely exciting,” Gaspari said. “I felt pretty confident going in.”
Confidence comes naturally to the Huskies, who know they can always depend on their defense, which has allowed only three goals this season. Those defenders also get plenty of opportunities on offense when the Huskies force opponents to concede throw-ins or other restarts.
“There’s a lot to be said about the discipline of this group, their willingness to buy in and put everything that you’ve got on those opportunities,” Goletz said.
“We value that in our program and it’s something that (assistant coach) Jim (Konrad) and I feel strongly about.
“We’ve won a lot of big games with restarts, but I think what goes unnoticed is the girls have generated a ton of chances for us off the restarts.
“I thought today in the first half we could have had two or three more. We hit the crossbar, their goalkeeper makes a ridiculous save on Olivia (Anderson) and then makes another great foot save on Maggie’s rebound.
“I really did think we were more dangerous today against them.”
The statistics bear that out. The Huskies outshot Lyons (13-1-0) by a 10-5 margin, including 5-1 in the first half when the Lions had the wind.
The Illinois-bound Lee made five saves, including a point-blank denial on Fitzgerald, but the junior outside back bagged her third goal of the season -- and second game-winner -- off Barry’s long toss from deep down the right sideline.
The ball went straight through the crease. Cameron Dinkla dummied it, and Fitzgerald was open on the back porch.
“It was a pretty great ball in,” Fitzgerald said. “I just saw it go under Cam’s legs, and we just stress being in the right spot at the right time.
“So, I was just there when Cam let it go through on her near-post run. All I had to do was tap it.”
Getting a goal so soon after getting the wind at their backs fluffed up North’s sails, and it was smooth sailing after that.
“I think it was really big, because we had been really focusing on defending in the first half,” Fitzgerald said. “We had to focus more on finishing our chances and putting stuff away.
“We were getting closer and knocking on the door. So, we just had to put our heads down and get a goal, and then we’d be set and keep going and keep pushing at them. They’re a great team so it’s really hard to do.”
Indeed, it was only the third goal scored against Lyons this season, which won 33 of its previous 34 matches dating to the start of the 2021 season. Naperville North is the first Chicago-area squad to beat the Lions, who lost to O’Fallon in the 2021 Class 3A state title game, since 2019.
“The girls tonight were great again defensively,” Goletz said. “To go back-to-back games against Oak Park and then against Lyons with shutouts says something about this group.
“Abby came up huge with a great save. Emma then comes in and makes a great save, and our backline and midfield group was just fantastic today. I couldn’t be more happy to advance to the finals.”
While disappointed with the result, Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary was pleased with the high level of play from both teams.
“It was a good game,” Lanspeary said. “I thought there were stretches where it was pretty even back-and-forth and stretches where they had us on our heels, and we had some stretches where we had them pressed in a little bit.”
As Goletz noted, nothing can duplicate the feel of the state tournament quite like the Naperville Invitational can. Whoever wins the invite has to beat three ranked opponents in less than 48 hours over three days.
“Going back-to-back is tough,” Lanspeary said. “After playing Oswego East last night, coming back and playing this one was tough.
“Everybody is in the same boat … our kids played hard. They always do, so always proud of the effort.”
If there was a silver lining to the defeat, it was that the Lions get an extra day of rest instead of playing the final in possibly inclement weather.
“That’s what I told them after the game,” Lanspeary said. “After the tough tournament and schedule that we’ve had, a day off is not the worst thing.”
For Goletz and the Huskies, rest can wait until Sunday.
“There’s no replicating the win-and-advance feeling before the playoffs, and that’s something this has definitely done for us,” Goletz said. “Now we’ve got another great test against a very, very good Barrington team that just beat Naperville Central.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Abby Haskell
D Peyton Hegner
D Maggie Fitzgerald
D Lucy Iverson
D Norah Barry
M Cameron Dinkla
M Madison Korosec
M Ellie Gerner
F Taylor Korosec
F Olivia Anderson
F Rachael Noren
Lyons
GK Izzy Lee
D Izzy Wirtz
D Ava Pike
D Kaite Fulscher
D Brennan Israel
M Caroline McKenna
M Josie Pochocki
M Eleanor Musgrove
F Chandlar Lay
F Katie O’Malley
F Riley Wengerd
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Maggie Fitzgerald, jr., D, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Naperville North – Maggie Fitzgerald (Norah Barry) 36:59 remaining