Road gets tough for Naperville C. after trip
Plainfield N. seeks to beat Redhawks for 3rd-straight time
By Steve Millar
Naperville Central coach Ed Watson got everything he wanted from the Redhawks' downstate trip last weekend.
The DuPage Valley Conference squad played two games at Belleville West: a scoreless draw Friday against the hosts; and a 2-0 win Saturday over Granite City. The results moved Naperville Central’s record to 3-0-1.
More importantly, Watson said, the trip was an opportunity for the team to bond off the field.
“It was fantastic,” he said. “31 of our 34 girls made the trip down. We created opportunities for girls to get to know each other. We had different partners to sit with during different times during the trip. We switched up room assignments and made sure we had seniors staying with sophomores and things like that. We wanted to make sure that girls that probably didn’t know each other too well got to know each other better.”
Watson is hoping the improved chemistry will help the Redhawks when they host Plainfield North (1-0-1) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Redhawks have dropped 2-0 decisions to the Tigers each of the last two seasons, but Watson sees an even playing field this time around.
“The last couple years, the games with them have been really competitive,” Watson said. “The last couple years they’ve had great goal scorers, and we didn’t. They had game changers, Division I players up top while our Division I players were in the back like always.
“This year, both teams are very comparable. We’re both looking for that legit scoring threat. I think it’ll be a classic midfield battle and whoever can knock one in, probably off a set piece, will probably win it.”
Watson, who calls the Redhawks “a work in progress” has been happy with the play of several of his seniors, including midfielders Meredith Tunney, Alison Kincaide and Mackenzie Sisko.
“Meredith runs the middle of the field,” Watson said. “She runs the show for us and gets a lot of players involved. All those seniors have been playing well and leading the way.”
Watson is happy, overall, with what he’s seen so far.
“I’m pleased with how the girls are playing together,” he said. “They’re starting to understand what we want to accomplish. Some girls are fitting in at positions and there a few we’ve had to move around. That’s what I expect to happen this time of the year, though. I consider anything before Spring Break to be preseason basically.”
Plainfield North is coming off a 2-2 tie against Metea Valley. Junior forward Raven Withaar has led the Tigers’ offense so far, scoring in each of the team’s first two games.
Senior defender Brooke Polonus, a Wisconsin-Milwaukee signee, scored against Metea in her first game of the season after missing the opener while recovering from mono.
Sophomores Jessica Christmas and Megan Breier have also started the season strong for the Tigers.
Plainfield N. seeks to beat Redhawks for 3rd-straight time
By Steve Millar
Naperville Central coach Ed Watson got everything he wanted from the Redhawks' downstate trip last weekend.
The DuPage Valley Conference squad played two games at Belleville West: a scoreless draw Friday against the hosts; and a 2-0 win Saturday over Granite City. The results moved Naperville Central’s record to 3-0-1.
More importantly, Watson said, the trip was an opportunity for the team to bond off the field.
“It was fantastic,” he said. “31 of our 34 girls made the trip down. We created opportunities for girls to get to know each other. We had different partners to sit with during different times during the trip. We switched up room assignments and made sure we had seniors staying with sophomores and things like that. We wanted to make sure that girls that probably didn’t know each other too well got to know each other better.”
Watson is hoping the improved chemistry will help the Redhawks when they host Plainfield North (1-0-1) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Redhawks have dropped 2-0 decisions to the Tigers each of the last two seasons, but Watson sees an even playing field this time around.
“The last couple years, the games with them have been really competitive,” Watson said. “The last couple years they’ve had great goal scorers, and we didn’t. They had game changers, Division I players up top while our Division I players were in the back like always.
“This year, both teams are very comparable. We’re both looking for that legit scoring threat. I think it’ll be a classic midfield battle and whoever can knock one in, probably off a set piece, will probably win it.”
Watson, who calls the Redhawks “a work in progress” has been happy with the play of several of his seniors, including midfielders Meredith Tunney, Alison Kincaide and Mackenzie Sisko.
“Meredith runs the middle of the field,” Watson said. “She runs the show for us and gets a lot of players involved. All those seniors have been playing well and leading the way.”
Watson is happy, overall, with what he’s seen so far.
“I’m pleased with how the girls are playing together,” he said. “They’re starting to understand what we want to accomplish. Some girls are fitting in at positions and there a few we’ve had to move around. That’s what I expect to happen this time of the year, though. I consider anything before Spring Break to be preseason basically.”
Plainfield North is coming off a 2-2 tie against Metea Valley. Junior forward Raven Withaar has led the Tigers’ offense so far, scoring in each of the team’s first two games.
Senior defender Brooke Polonus, a Wisconsin-Milwaukee signee, scored against Metea in her first game of the season after missing the opener while recovering from mono.
Sophomores Jessica Christmas and Megan Breier have also started the season strong for the Tigers.