Shooting star Martin leads NN over NV
Soph’s goal beats Neuqua Valley in important 1-0 DVC victory
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North coach Steve Goletz has been waiting all season for one of his forwards to step up and be a difference-maker on a regular basis.
Hannah Martin is answering his call.
The sophomore bagged her fifth goal of the season – and fourth game-winner – on Tuesday as the visiting Huskies edged Neuqua Valley 1-0 Tuesday afternoon to move into a tie for the DuPage Valley Conference lead.
Naperville North (9-2-3, 4-1-0, 12 points) kept a share of the DuPage Valley lead with Waubonsie Valley (9-2-2, 4-2-0, 12), but has played one fewer league game in hand over the Warriors.
Neuqua Valley (6-4-0, 3-1-0) and Metea Valley (10-4-0, 3-1-0) are three points back, each with a game in hand compared to the Huskies. Wheaton Warrenville South (9-4-0, 2-1-0), which fell 3-1 Tuesday at Waubonsie Valley, sits in fourth tied with Wheaton North (4-9-0, 2-1-0).
Click here for DuPage Valley Conference standings
A loss Tuesday could have knocked Naperville North, ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, out of the title chase.
“It’s a big win for us,” Martin said. “They’re just as good as us.
“They’re a great program, and they’re physical, and they played a great game today. I think it just comes down to that one chance, and we had it tonight.”
That came courtesy of Martin, who won a 50-50 ball in the left side of the Wildcats’ penalty area and outmaneuvered a pair of defenders. Finding herself with space just 10 yards from the goal, she fired blindly into the upper right corner of the net with 24:18 left in the second half.
“It was a great team effort to get down into the corner, and I just happened to get the right turn off the corner and those girls just happened to go the other way,” Martin said. “I just took a shot knowing that we had to put one in tonight.”
Martin didn’t know what would happen when she took the shot.
“Honestly, I couldn’t see the goal,” she said. “I just took a shot because I figured everyone was in there, you never know if it will take a lucky bounce or somebody will get the rebound and knock it in.”
Goletz was delighted to see Martin knock it in and anticipates her doing it more often.
“Hannah had the moment of brilliance to score a great goal, bring it down between two kids and finish it,” Goletz said. “Hannah has got a ton of potential.
“Hannah is a gifted athlete. She’s good enough technically, I think she knows she can be better. I think with Hannah it is the mindset of knowing she can step on the field and be the best attacking kid.
“We expect that out of her every day, but (when) she really deep down believes that she can be that good in moments like this in good games, it should really give her that confidence. We’ve been very happy as a coaching staff with her development as a sophomore this season. We’re going to need that going down the stretch.”
Martin’s teammates have been happy with the varsity rookie’s performance, too.
“She really does (have potential),” Naperville North senior defender Sarah Stokes said. “(The coaches) really push her to be the best she can be and have taught her to just take a shot. It was a really big thing for her to score that for us.”
With the way the Huskies play defense, one goal is often enough. That was the case again as the backline of Stokes, Reilly Riggs, Alyssa Siebers and Paige Sylvester, with help from holding midfielders Jessica Siebers and Katelynn Buescher, shut out the Wildcats on nine shots, only a couple of which were truly dangerous.
Loyola-bound goalkeeper Maddie Hausmann made five saves, the toughest of which was a reflex stop on a snap-shot by Neuqua Valley star Alyssa Bombacino at the 17:45 mark of the second half.
One shot did get past Hausmann, but Stokes cleared a rebound try by Erin McCarthy off the line following Shannon Tagler’s corner kick with 16 minutes to go in the first half. It was Naperville North’s fourth-straight shutout and ninth overall; the Huskies have allowed just six goals so far.
“We all just really care about each other, so it’s hard to get past us when there is so much passion between the four of us,” Stokes said. “Once we get organized and get our stuff together, it’s pretty hard to get past us because we don’t quit easy.”
North’s defense had plenty of work to do in the first half when fourth-ranked Neuqua Valley had the better of the run of play with the wind at their backs. But despite earning five corner kicks, the hosts could not capitalize.
Stokes’ clearance off the line was one of only two real chances Neuqua had before intermission. The other came with 4:35 remaining when Julia Rushing passed into the box to Bombacino, but the Marquette recruit missed a shot wide right with Hausmann off her line.
Aside from Bombacino’s 15-yarder that Hausmann stopped, the Wildcats had only weak shots from distance in the second half.
“We can’t go lateral so much,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “How many times did we take a ball near the offensive third and we go 30 yards across rather than turning and facing up and attacking? We went east-west too much instead of going north-south.”
While the wind was a factor, it was equal for both teams. The grass field meant the pace was slower than normal. That would usually favor Neuqua Valley , but not this time.
“It was a pretty ugly game,” Moreau said. “There was no fight, no fire until the last 15 minutes. If we had that fight in the first half, we’re up two.
“You;ve got to be able to finish in the first half when you have opportunities.”
The Wildcats didn’t and then Martin did.
“It was a good strike by them,” Moreau said. “They had two good strikes and one went in and one went wide.”
Goletz admitted the Huskies didn’t do much in the first 40 minutes.
“We just weren’t good in the first half,” Goletz said. “We played hard, but technically we weren’t good.
“We were turning the ball over too easy; we weren’t making them defend and they were able to get numbers forward. I thought we matched up in the middle of the field better.
“But I thought our backline battled, and I thought Buescher did a fantastic job on Bombacino. We knew that we needed to really try to take her out of the game to keep them at bay, and we were able to do that.”
While North is still not as prolific offensively as he would like, Goletz said he senses a potential breakthrough coming.
“Scoring goals is something we haven’t been great at this year,” Goletz said. “I still think we’ve got another level, but second half performances like this show the grittiest and the toughness in this group, and we’ve just got to get it on a consistent basis.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Maddie Housmann
D Paige Sylvester
D Reilly Riggs
D Alyssa Siebers
D Sarah Stokes
M Jessica Siebers
M Leah Shumate
M Katelynn Buescher
F Megan Benmore
F Shaina Dudas
F Hannah Martin
Neuqua Valley
GK Yanel Ortiz
D Shannon Tagler
D Erin McCarthy
D Leah Senese
D Megan Olah
M Alyssa Bombacino
M Paige Munar
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Danielle Hopkins
F Sydney Rushing
F Alison Dovalovsky
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Hannah Martin, so., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Naperville North – Hannah Martin (unassisted) 24:18
Soph’s goal beats Neuqua Valley in important 1-0 DVC victory
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North coach Steve Goletz has been waiting all season for one of his forwards to step up and be a difference-maker on a regular basis.
Hannah Martin is answering his call.
The sophomore bagged her fifth goal of the season – and fourth game-winner – on Tuesday as the visiting Huskies edged Neuqua Valley 1-0 Tuesday afternoon to move into a tie for the DuPage Valley Conference lead.
Naperville North (9-2-3, 4-1-0, 12 points) kept a share of the DuPage Valley lead with Waubonsie Valley (9-2-2, 4-2-0, 12), but has played one fewer league game in hand over the Warriors.
Neuqua Valley (6-4-0, 3-1-0) and Metea Valley (10-4-0, 3-1-0) are three points back, each with a game in hand compared to the Huskies. Wheaton Warrenville South (9-4-0, 2-1-0), which fell 3-1 Tuesday at Waubonsie Valley, sits in fourth tied with Wheaton North (4-9-0, 2-1-0).
Click here for DuPage Valley Conference standings
A loss Tuesday could have knocked Naperville North, ranked fifth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, out of the title chase.
“It’s a big win for us,” Martin said. “They’re just as good as us.
“They’re a great program, and they’re physical, and they played a great game today. I think it just comes down to that one chance, and we had it tonight.”
That came courtesy of Martin, who won a 50-50 ball in the left side of the Wildcats’ penalty area and outmaneuvered a pair of defenders. Finding herself with space just 10 yards from the goal, she fired blindly into the upper right corner of the net with 24:18 left in the second half.
“It was a great team effort to get down into the corner, and I just happened to get the right turn off the corner and those girls just happened to go the other way,” Martin said. “I just took a shot knowing that we had to put one in tonight.”
Martin didn’t know what would happen when she took the shot.
“Honestly, I couldn’t see the goal,” she said. “I just took a shot because I figured everyone was in there, you never know if it will take a lucky bounce or somebody will get the rebound and knock it in.”
Goletz was delighted to see Martin knock it in and anticipates her doing it more often.
“Hannah had the moment of brilliance to score a great goal, bring it down between two kids and finish it,” Goletz said. “Hannah has got a ton of potential.
“Hannah is a gifted athlete. She’s good enough technically, I think she knows she can be better. I think with Hannah it is the mindset of knowing she can step on the field and be the best attacking kid.
“We expect that out of her every day, but (when) she really deep down believes that she can be that good in moments like this in good games, it should really give her that confidence. We’ve been very happy as a coaching staff with her development as a sophomore this season. We’re going to need that going down the stretch.”
Martin’s teammates have been happy with the varsity rookie’s performance, too.
“She really does (have potential),” Naperville North senior defender Sarah Stokes said. “(The coaches) really push her to be the best she can be and have taught her to just take a shot. It was a really big thing for her to score that for us.”
With the way the Huskies play defense, one goal is often enough. That was the case again as the backline of Stokes, Reilly Riggs, Alyssa Siebers and Paige Sylvester, with help from holding midfielders Jessica Siebers and Katelynn Buescher, shut out the Wildcats on nine shots, only a couple of which were truly dangerous.
Loyola-bound goalkeeper Maddie Hausmann made five saves, the toughest of which was a reflex stop on a snap-shot by Neuqua Valley star Alyssa Bombacino at the 17:45 mark of the second half.
One shot did get past Hausmann, but Stokes cleared a rebound try by Erin McCarthy off the line following Shannon Tagler’s corner kick with 16 minutes to go in the first half. It was Naperville North’s fourth-straight shutout and ninth overall; the Huskies have allowed just six goals so far.
“We all just really care about each other, so it’s hard to get past us when there is so much passion between the four of us,” Stokes said. “Once we get organized and get our stuff together, it’s pretty hard to get past us because we don’t quit easy.”
North’s defense had plenty of work to do in the first half when fourth-ranked Neuqua Valley had the better of the run of play with the wind at their backs. But despite earning five corner kicks, the hosts could not capitalize.
Stokes’ clearance off the line was one of only two real chances Neuqua had before intermission. The other came with 4:35 remaining when Julia Rushing passed into the box to Bombacino, but the Marquette recruit missed a shot wide right with Hausmann off her line.
Aside from Bombacino’s 15-yarder that Hausmann stopped, the Wildcats had only weak shots from distance in the second half.
“We can’t go lateral so much,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “How many times did we take a ball near the offensive third and we go 30 yards across rather than turning and facing up and attacking? We went east-west too much instead of going north-south.”
While the wind was a factor, it was equal for both teams. The grass field meant the pace was slower than normal. That would usually favor Neuqua Valley , but not this time.
“It was a pretty ugly game,” Moreau said. “There was no fight, no fire until the last 15 minutes. If we had that fight in the first half, we’re up two.
“You;ve got to be able to finish in the first half when you have opportunities.”
The Wildcats didn’t and then Martin did.
“It was a good strike by them,” Moreau said. “They had two good strikes and one went in and one went wide.”
Goletz admitted the Huskies didn’t do much in the first 40 minutes.
“We just weren’t good in the first half,” Goletz said. “We played hard, but technically we weren’t good.
“We were turning the ball over too easy; we weren’t making them defend and they were able to get numbers forward. I thought we matched up in the middle of the field better.
“But I thought our backline battled, and I thought Buescher did a fantastic job on Bombacino. We knew that we needed to really try to take her out of the game to keep them at bay, and we were able to do that.”
While North is still not as prolific offensively as he would like, Goletz said he senses a potential breakthrough coming.
“Scoring goals is something we haven’t been great at this year,” Goletz said. “I still think we’ve got another level, but second half performances like this show the grittiest and the toughness in this group, and we’ve just got to get it on a consistent basis.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Maddie Housmann
D Paige Sylvester
D Reilly Riggs
D Alyssa Siebers
D Sarah Stokes
M Jessica Siebers
M Leah Shumate
M Katelynn Buescher
F Megan Benmore
F Shaina Dudas
F Hannah Martin
Neuqua Valley
GK Yanel Ortiz
D Shannon Tagler
D Erin McCarthy
D Leah Senese
D Megan Olah
M Alyssa Bombacino
M Paige Munar
M Katelyn Nardulli
M Danielle Hopkins
F Sydney Rushing
F Alison Dovalovsky
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Hannah Martin, so., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Naperville North – Hannah Martin (unassisted) 24:18