Naperville North ends
Wheaton Warrenville South upset run
Barger bags 2 in 5-2 win, Huskies earn 8th-straight sectional final
By Matt Le Cren
BOLINGBROOK – Alex Barger did it again.
And again.
The Naperville North star has a well-known reputation for scoring spectacular goals. He bagged two more, including the game-winner, on Tuesday as the second-seeded Huskies knocked off 11th-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South 5-2 in a Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional semifinal.
Naperville North (17-3-4), which is ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will play top-seeded and third-ranked Naperville Central (22-3-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday for the sectional championship.
“Central has got a ton of good players, and we love that for the rivalry,” Barger said. “They’re always a tough opponent.
“We know Saturday we’re going to come prepared, and they’re going to come prepared as well. It’s going to be a good fight.”
Underdog Wheaton Warrenville South (10-7-3) put up a good fight against the Huskies, who had the wind at their backs and more firepower at their disposal. They tilted the field consistently to their advantage in the first half.
The Huskies pressured relentlessly and forced nine corner kicks before intermission. But the Tigers hung in thanks to a gritty defense and the play of sophomore goalkeeper Jarek Ferreya, who made seven of his eight saves in the opening 40 minutes.
That effort kept the game scoreless until the 17:01 mark, when Barger bent in a corner kick from the right side for a 1-0 lead.
“We’re practicing set pieces all week,” Barger said. “It’s a big part of how we can score.
“We always look to grab an extra one if we can. Tonight, God was on my favor, and I was able to bury one off the corner.”
As spectacular as the goal was, it was almost inevitable the Huskies would find a way to break through given the constant pressure.
“Give them credit,” ‘Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “They played very intelligently, they played to their strengths.
“They put you under and especially when they had the wind at their backs in the first half. They had one opportunity after another in a dead ball environment. We can bend and bend and bend. Eventually you might break, and unfortunately, we did.”
It only took 24 more seconds for Naperville North to double its lead. Jaxon Stokes took a long pass from Connor Hanrahan in stride and finished from in-close.
“I just basically followed the ball, and I was right there,” Stokes said.
The sophomore has 12 goals, two behind Barger for the team lead, and has become a reliable scorer.
“You can’t sleep on Jaxon at all,” Barger said. “He’s a great player.
“It was a great feeling to have us score and Jaxon follow it right back up. I think that gave us a lot of momentum going into halftime.”
The Huskies would have had even more if not for Ferreya, who made a great sprawling save on Barger’s open 10-yard shot in the waning seconds of the half.
The Indiana-bound Barger leads the way for the Huskies.
“He’s a special kid,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said of the Indiana-bound Barger. “We had a good first half, but we left a couple goals on the field.
“Alex had the ball come to his foot with 3 seconds left, and the keeper makes a good save. Barger knows like, ‘I should have scored, coach.’ That would have changed the game, up three at half.”
Instead, Wheaton Warrenville South still felt like it had life. They were correct. Senior Gael Alfaro put wind under his team’s wings when he took a pass from Nikhil Bawa and buried a 15-yard shot under the crossbar just 2:45 after the break.
“I thought we did a nice job getting back (into it),” Callipari said. “We were spirited in the second half.
“We missed a couple opportunities where we could have framed the goal a little bit better and perhaps equalized. Then maybe everything would have perhaps been different, but we had to risk a little bit in the back to move people up.”
The Tigers forced Naperville North goalkeeper Reed Goss to make three of his four saves in the second half, but the Huskies again showed their mettle, scoring three times against the cold wind.
Once again, it was Barger who delivered a back-breaking goal, ripping a shot from outside the box for his second goal of the night just 1:37 after Alfaro scored, restoring a two-goal lead.
“We felt pretty good going into halftime 2-0 up. When they came out and scored, it was a little setback for us,” Barger said. “But I know our team, and we love to fight back.
“We showed that tonight, and it was really good to get that goal right back. It was a great feeling.
“We’re always looking to bounce right back, and I think that was a great example of how we can do that.”
Konrad said it was a great example of how Barger impacts the game.
“They got the goal, they’re going with the wind, they’re a good team going forward. Alex always finds the right time in the big moments,” Konrad said. “He’s just got that calmness about him.
“He scores a great goal, it’s 3-1, all of a sudden the game changes because of Alex.”
Barger did it despite playing farther back after intermission. The Huskies priority was to preserve their lead.
“We asked him to play a more defensive role in the second half,” Konrad said. “We put him in the midfield, because we knew they would be pressing and pushing numbers forward.
“He’s so athletic and calm on the ball that he was able to find some cover in the second half and score. He had a great game.”
Barger’s teammates weren’t bad, either. Chasing two goals once again, the Tigers had no choice but to push numbers forward and the Huskies eventually took advantage.
Freshman Josh Pedersen and senior Aidan McMahon scored on consecutive shots only 91 seconds apart to increase the lead to 5-1 with 12:13 remaining. Sam Hess and Owen Gaccione got the assists.
Still, the Tigers didn’t back down. They got a goal back 67 seconds later when Bawa converted off an Alfaro corner kick at the 11:06 mark.
“We were able to string some stuff together at the end,” ‘Wheaton Warrenville South senior forward Marco Gonzalez said. “We felt like we had nothing to lose, coming in as the 11th seed.
“It was our last game so we just put it all out there.”
Gonzalez, who served as co-captain along with Alfaro, Jerry Cuatzo and Chase Kedzior, was proud how the Tigers battled.
“We fought for each other,” Gonzalez said. “We play for each other, so we were just fighting for even those last goals to keep with it. Any goal means a lot to us, especially in this type of game.”
It was the end of an unexpected postseason run that saw the Tigers win their first regional title since 2012, a feat that many did not expect after an 8-6-3 regular-season.
“It feels amazing,” Alfaro said of the regional crown. “We haven’t won one in 10 years. It felt really good for us seniors, and I think for the school and ourselves.”
Now the Tigers say goodbye to a group of 11 seniors, eight of whom started Tuesday’s match. The list includes Alfaro, Gonzalez, Bawa, Cuatzo, Kedzior, Tim Foley, Christian Triscik, Issa Husseini, Jack Beres, Chris Robles and Will Stec.
“Credit to our senior class,” Callipari said. “I thought they did a tremendous job of leading the latter part of the year.
“They didn’t give in and didn’t give up and brought their experience and pride. I think we turned some heads and earned a lot of respect along the way and raised the bar.”
The bar is always high for Naperville North, which will make its eighth-consecutive appearance in the sectional final. Awaiting them will be Naperville Central, which is hungry to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Huskies in last year’s sectional title match.
“I like to brag about our district in that sense,” Konrad said. “Since 2010 it’s been one of the two of us that have advanced to the supersectional. This year we’re guaranteed again there will be a District 203 school representing this section in the supersectional.”
This season it was the Redhawks who took the DuPage Valley Conference match against Naperville North by a 2-1 margin and the top-sectional seed.
“Obviously we have a ton of respect for (Central coach) Troy (Adams) and the boys,” Konrad said. “They’re great friends, and we’re proud of our town.
“We obviously want to beat each other very, very badly, but we also love and respect each other and are very proud of each other’s programs. So, it will be a fun day.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK: Reed Goss
D: Alex Arredondo
D: Adam Zielke
D: Ryan Konrad
M: Owen Gaccione
M: Caden Hill
M: Hindo Allie
M: Noah Radeke
F: Aidan McMahon
F: Alex Barger
F: Jaxon Stokes
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Jared Ferreyra
D: Tim Foley
D: Christian Triscik
D: Brooks Becker
M: Chase Kedzior
M: Edgar Guzman
M: Jack Beres
M: Gael Alfara
M: Nikhil Bawa
F: Jet Oehrlein
F: Marco Gonzalez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Alex Barger, sr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
NN: Alex Barger 17:01 remaining
NN: Jaxon Stokes (Connor Hanrahan) 16:37 rem
Second half
WWS: Gael Alfaro (Nikhil Bawa) 37:15 remaining
NN: Barger (unassisted) 35:38 remaining
NN: Josh Pedersen (Sam Hess), 13:46 remaining
NN: Aidan McMahon (Owen Gaccione), 12:13 rem.
WWS: Bawa (Alfaro) 11:06 remaining
Wheaton Warrenville South upset run
Barger bags 2 in 5-2 win, Huskies earn 8th-straight sectional final
By Matt Le Cren
BOLINGBROOK – Alex Barger did it again.
And again.
The Naperville North star has a well-known reputation for scoring spectacular goals. He bagged two more, including the game-winner, on Tuesday as the second-seeded Huskies knocked off 11th-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South 5-2 in a Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional semifinal.
Naperville North (17-3-4), which is ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will play top-seeded and third-ranked Naperville Central (22-3-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday for the sectional championship.
“Central has got a ton of good players, and we love that for the rivalry,” Barger said. “They’re always a tough opponent.
“We know Saturday we’re going to come prepared, and they’re going to come prepared as well. It’s going to be a good fight.”
Underdog Wheaton Warrenville South (10-7-3) put up a good fight against the Huskies, who had the wind at their backs and more firepower at their disposal. They tilted the field consistently to their advantage in the first half.
The Huskies pressured relentlessly and forced nine corner kicks before intermission. But the Tigers hung in thanks to a gritty defense and the play of sophomore goalkeeper Jarek Ferreya, who made seven of his eight saves in the opening 40 minutes.
That effort kept the game scoreless until the 17:01 mark, when Barger bent in a corner kick from the right side for a 1-0 lead.
“We’re practicing set pieces all week,” Barger said. “It’s a big part of how we can score.
“We always look to grab an extra one if we can. Tonight, God was on my favor, and I was able to bury one off the corner.”
As spectacular as the goal was, it was almost inevitable the Huskies would find a way to break through given the constant pressure.
“Give them credit,” ‘Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “They played very intelligently, they played to their strengths.
“They put you under and especially when they had the wind at their backs in the first half. They had one opportunity after another in a dead ball environment. We can bend and bend and bend. Eventually you might break, and unfortunately, we did.”
It only took 24 more seconds for Naperville North to double its lead. Jaxon Stokes took a long pass from Connor Hanrahan in stride and finished from in-close.
“I just basically followed the ball, and I was right there,” Stokes said.
The sophomore has 12 goals, two behind Barger for the team lead, and has become a reliable scorer.
“You can’t sleep on Jaxon at all,” Barger said. “He’s a great player.
“It was a great feeling to have us score and Jaxon follow it right back up. I think that gave us a lot of momentum going into halftime.”
The Huskies would have had even more if not for Ferreya, who made a great sprawling save on Barger’s open 10-yard shot in the waning seconds of the half.
The Indiana-bound Barger leads the way for the Huskies.
“He’s a special kid,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said of the Indiana-bound Barger. “We had a good first half, but we left a couple goals on the field.
“Alex had the ball come to his foot with 3 seconds left, and the keeper makes a good save. Barger knows like, ‘I should have scored, coach.’ That would have changed the game, up three at half.”
Instead, Wheaton Warrenville South still felt like it had life. They were correct. Senior Gael Alfaro put wind under his team’s wings when he took a pass from Nikhil Bawa and buried a 15-yard shot under the crossbar just 2:45 after the break.
“I thought we did a nice job getting back (into it),” Callipari said. “We were spirited in the second half.
“We missed a couple opportunities where we could have framed the goal a little bit better and perhaps equalized. Then maybe everything would have perhaps been different, but we had to risk a little bit in the back to move people up.”
The Tigers forced Naperville North goalkeeper Reed Goss to make three of his four saves in the second half, but the Huskies again showed their mettle, scoring three times against the cold wind.
Once again, it was Barger who delivered a back-breaking goal, ripping a shot from outside the box for his second goal of the night just 1:37 after Alfaro scored, restoring a two-goal lead.
“We felt pretty good going into halftime 2-0 up. When they came out and scored, it was a little setback for us,” Barger said. “But I know our team, and we love to fight back.
“We showed that tonight, and it was really good to get that goal right back. It was a great feeling.
“We’re always looking to bounce right back, and I think that was a great example of how we can do that.”
Konrad said it was a great example of how Barger impacts the game.
“They got the goal, they’re going with the wind, they’re a good team going forward. Alex always finds the right time in the big moments,” Konrad said. “He’s just got that calmness about him.
“He scores a great goal, it’s 3-1, all of a sudden the game changes because of Alex.”
Barger did it despite playing farther back after intermission. The Huskies priority was to preserve their lead.
“We asked him to play a more defensive role in the second half,” Konrad said. “We put him in the midfield, because we knew they would be pressing and pushing numbers forward.
“He’s so athletic and calm on the ball that he was able to find some cover in the second half and score. He had a great game.”
Barger’s teammates weren’t bad, either. Chasing two goals once again, the Tigers had no choice but to push numbers forward and the Huskies eventually took advantage.
Freshman Josh Pedersen and senior Aidan McMahon scored on consecutive shots only 91 seconds apart to increase the lead to 5-1 with 12:13 remaining. Sam Hess and Owen Gaccione got the assists.
Still, the Tigers didn’t back down. They got a goal back 67 seconds later when Bawa converted off an Alfaro corner kick at the 11:06 mark.
“We were able to string some stuff together at the end,” ‘Wheaton Warrenville South senior forward Marco Gonzalez said. “We felt like we had nothing to lose, coming in as the 11th seed.
“It was our last game so we just put it all out there.”
Gonzalez, who served as co-captain along with Alfaro, Jerry Cuatzo and Chase Kedzior, was proud how the Tigers battled.
“We fought for each other,” Gonzalez said. “We play for each other, so we were just fighting for even those last goals to keep with it. Any goal means a lot to us, especially in this type of game.”
It was the end of an unexpected postseason run that saw the Tigers win their first regional title since 2012, a feat that many did not expect after an 8-6-3 regular-season.
“It feels amazing,” Alfaro said of the regional crown. “We haven’t won one in 10 years. It felt really good for us seniors, and I think for the school and ourselves.”
Now the Tigers say goodbye to a group of 11 seniors, eight of whom started Tuesday’s match. The list includes Alfaro, Gonzalez, Bawa, Cuatzo, Kedzior, Tim Foley, Christian Triscik, Issa Husseini, Jack Beres, Chris Robles and Will Stec.
“Credit to our senior class,” Callipari said. “I thought they did a tremendous job of leading the latter part of the year.
“They didn’t give in and didn’t give up and brought their experience and pride. I think we turned some heads and earned a lot of respect along the way and raised the bar.”
The bar is always high for Naperville North, which will make its eighth-consecutive appearance in the sectional final. Awaiting them will be Naperville Central, which is hungry to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Huskies in last year’s sectional title match.
“I like to brag about our district in that sense,” Konrad said. “Since 2010 it’s been one of the two of us that have advanced to the supersectional. This year we’re guaranteed again there will be a District 203 school representing this section in the supersectional.”
This season it was the Redhawks who took the DuPage Valley Conference match against Naperville North by a 2-1 margin and the top-sectional seed.
“Obviously we have a ton of respect for (Central coach) Troy (Adams) and the boys,” Konrad said. “They’re great friends, and we’re proud of our town.
“We obviously want to beat each other very, very badly, but we also love and respect each other and are very proud of each other’s programs. So, it will be a fun day.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK: Reed Goss
D: Alex Arredondo
D: Adam Zielke
D: Ryan Konrad
M: Owen Gaccione
M: Caden Hill
M: Hindo Allie
M: Noah Radeke
F: Aidan McMahon
F: Alex Barger
F: Jaxon Stokes
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Jared Ferreyra
D: Tim Foley
D: Christian Triscik
D: Brooks Becker
M: Chase Kedzior
M: Edgar Guzman
M: Jack Beres
M: Gael Alfara
M: Nikhil Bawa
F: Jet Oehrlein
F: Marco Gonzalez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Alex Barger, sr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
NN: Alex Barger 17:01 remaining
NN: Jaxon Stokes (Connor Hanrahan) 16:37 rem
Second half
WWS: Gael Alfaro (Nikhil Bawa) 37:15 remaining
NN: Barger (unassisted) 35:38 remaining
NN: Josh Pedersen (Sam Hess), 13:46 remaining
NN: Aidan McMahon (Owen Gaccione), 12:13 rem.
WWS: Bawa (Alfaro) 11:06 remaining