Season recap: DuPage Valley Conference
By Matt Le Cren
On the evening of May 7, three teams were still in contention for the DuPage Valley Conference championship.
Neuqua Valley was closest to every team’s goal of league supremacy. The Wildcats could clinch at least a share of the title by beating Waubonsie Valley.
Naperville North, which had tied Neuqua the week before, still controlled its own destiny. A win that night over Metea Valley, followed by a victory over Naperville Central the following night in the weather-delayed annual crosstown clash, would give the Huskies no worse than a share of the crown.
Waubonsie Valley also had a shot but needed help. The Warriors would need to knock off Neuqua and have Metea Valley beat Naperville North, a combination which most observers deemed unlikely. However that formula would give Waubonsie the title outright.
When the stadium lights were turned off at both ends of Eola Road, the last scenario is what actually happened.
Waubonsie Valley got two goals from unparalleled striker Megan Burling and one from her running mate, Grace Setter, and edged visiting Neuqua Valley 3-2, thus eliminating the Wildcats from the title hunt.
Down the street, meanwhile, host Metea stunned Naperville North 1-0 on a penalty kick from Sydney Rohm, knocking the Huskies out of the race and, ironically, enabling their District 204 rivals to win their first DVC championship.
It was an unexpected end to a compressed -- and unique -- league season for the District 203 and 204 schools. The first and last DVC season contested among only five schools -- DeKalb joins the conference next year -- produced the tight race many expected, but also a champion few anticipated.
The overall 10-game league slate provided plenty of thrills for the fans who witnessed the great athleticism, typical tenacity and competitiveness which the conference has been known for. Seven of the matches were decided by one goal, another by two goals and one by three. There also was one tie – a 2-2 draw between Naperville North and Neuqua Valley -- which played a huge role in deciding the race.
The stunning turn of events on May 7 proved to be both the dénouement of the DVC drama and a preview of a playoff season that saw the five squads demonstrate the dominance of their programs. All of the teams were seeded in the top 6 at the Class 3A East Aurora Sectional, with Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley earning the top three places respectively.
All four sectional semifinal berths were captured by DVC teams, with Naperville Central denying Neuqua a spot thanks to a 1-0 upset in a regional final.
In the end, though, it was preseason favorite Naperville North which again proved to be the top team, knocking out Metea and Waubonsie en route to winning its fourth-straight sectional title and, one week later, the state championship with a shootout upset of two-time defending champion Barrington after 100 scoreless minutes.
Here’s a closer look at each team's season.
WAUBONSIE VALLEY
DVC RECORD: 3-1-0 (CHAMPION) OVERALL RECORD: 17-3-2
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Naperville North in sectional final. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 18
The Warriors were not the least-talented team in the league, but they weren’t expected to contend for the title after dropping their first league game 3-1 to Naperville North.
But this young bunch, which consisted of only three seniors, jelled quickly and put together a terrific campaign. It won the program’s first regional title since 2014 and advance to the sectional final before Naperville North ended their season with a 3-0 decision.
Rebounding from the opening loss to North, the Warriors stunned Naperville Central by scoring five times in the first 30 minutes in a 5-2 win that Burling and Setter combined for three goals and four assists. They later edged Metea 1-0 on a goal from Setter before the huge win over Neuqua.
Burling, a junior who played her first high school season, recorded 27 goals and eight assists, instantly meshing with the 6-foot-2 Setter, a matchup nightmare who can dribble and pass with aplomb and terrorize goalkeepers with a cannon of a left foot.
Burling and Setter, who finished with 19 goals and 12 assists, accounted for 73 percent of the team’s goals and were the main reason why the Warriors returned to elite status.
The Warriors defeated Oswego and Plainfield North to advance to the sectionals; there they faced a rematch with Naperville Central.
This time the match was close. Burling scored in the first half to give Waubonsie the lead, but the Redhawks tied it early in the second half when Caroline Reedy recovered from a collision with goalkeeper Nicole Kleronomos and scored on the empty net.
Kleronomos, the only goalie on Waubonsie’s roster, had to leave the game with a leg injury, forcing the Warriors to use a field player, sophomore Jessica Keeley, in goal.
Keeley made eight saves in 55 minutes of action to get the Warriors to a penalty kick shootout. Waubonsie then turned to Burling, who had never played goalie before, to man the nets.
Burling made an athletic diving save on the Redhawks’ first shooter and got a finger on the third shooter’s attempt, which went over the crossbar, and the Warriors advanced to face the Huskies, who edged Metea 1-0 on a goal from star Hannah Martin.
“I think (winning the DVC) was really a confidence booster,” Burling said after the sectional semifinal win. “The DVC has such strong teams.
“I can’t even point to one team that may be weaker. Everyone is even, as tonight’s games showed. It’s all so close.”
The Warriors did it despite starting nine underclassmen. They had five all-conference picks, with seniors Jessica Wallace and Jennifer Garcia joining juniors Burling, Setter and Mollie Valek.
NAPERVILLE NORTH
DVC RECORD: 2-1-1 (TIED FOR SECOND) OVERALL RECORD: 15-5-4
PLAYOFF RESULT: Beat Barrington to win state 3A championship. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 1
After graduating six Division I players from a team that finished third in the state, Naperville North coach Steve Goletz put together the toughest schedule in the program’s history.
It probably caught up to the Huskies in the final week of the season as injuries and fatigue hampered a team made up of seven new starters that always got everyone’s best shot.
The 2-2 tie with Neuqua, in which the Wildcats outplayed the Huskies, salvaged a point for Naperville North thanks to a pair of goals from Martin but put their DVC title hopes in jeopardy.
However they still controlled their own destiny heading into the game against Metea, and they controlled most of the action in that match. The defense was solid and did not allow a shot on goal in the run of play.
But Rohm’s penalty kick -- her first goal of the season -- was enough for the Mustangs to pull the upset.
“The DVC is always going to be one goal, maybe two goals, a close game, so you can’t win if you can’t score,” Naperville North senior defender Reilly Riggs said after the game. “We had it in their defensive half most of the second half, but couldn’t put it together, though.”
But the Northwestern-bound Riggs, who suffered a concussion against Metea and missed two weeks of action, including her team’s first two playoff games, returned for sectional action and helped the Huskies put another great postseason run together.
They did it despite a pedestrian offense that scored 45 goals in 24 games and never found any consistent scoring threats outside of the uber-athletic Martin, who tallied 17 goals, and fellow junior Leah Shumate, who bagged eight goals. No one else had more than four.
And North’s defense wasn’t as sharp as it's been in recent years, though expecting a repeat of the record number of shutouts from the previous three seasons would have been unrealistic.
Yet a new group of kids, led by Wisconsin-bound senior Maddie Schlecht, a club defender who played high school for the first time and switched to midfield, kept the Huskies among the state’s elite, earning the program’s third state tile in eight years and fourth overall. North now has captured 10 state trophies.
Two other unsung players -- senior forward Katie Murphy and sophomore forward Emily Dulik -- scored in the second half of the Lewis University Supersectional to rally North to a 2-1 win over Minooka.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the kids,” Goletz said after that game. “We’re excited to be back in the Final Four for the second year in a row.
“It’s just an incredible thing when you think about how many kids we lost last year.
It’s something that’s special.”
Even more special was the play of senior goalkeeper Amanda Johnson, who opted not to play in college. She literally saved her best for last, stopping two penalty kicks in back-to-back shootout wins at the state finals. The first set of saves came in a semifinal victory over Lyons and then the incredible finish to the title match, which came after the Huskies did not record a shot while defending almost exclusively for 100 minutes.
“I attribute it to the coaches,” Johnson said. “We have 100 percent the best coaches in the DVC and in the state.
“(Jim) Konrad, Goletz, Nick (Maksa), and both the Kuehnes are incredible coaches. They’ve really helped us both on the field and off the field.
“Both the boys and girls programs have won state this year because of them.”
The players, of course, did the work that put the Huskies over the top. But Goletz and his staff planted the seeds in the minds of the players that they had a shot at being just as good as the star-studded group they replaced.
“I think that gave us a stronger drive to win because we knew we were losing so many good players, so a lot of girls had to step up,” Johnson said. “That’s a big part of our identity as a team.”
NEUQUA VALLEY
DVC RECORD: 2-1-1 (TIED FOR SECOND) OVERALL RECORD: 10-5-4
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Naperville Central in regional final. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 11
If any team could say they played nearly as tough of a schedule as Naperville North, it was Neuqua.
The Wildcats played only one team that ended the season with a losing record. After a slow start they found their footing, Neuqua Valley embarked on a seven-game unbeaten streak to reach the quarterfinals of the Naperville Invite. Of their five losses, one was by two goals to St. Charles North, which at the time hadn’t lost to an Illinois team in three years, two were by one goal and two were on penalty kicks.
This team arguably was more talented than Naperville North, featuring an all-state midfielder in Danielle Hopkins and a terrific freshman defender in Brooke Miller. Neuqua coach Joe Moreau made two risky yet brilliant decisions in moving senior defenders Erin McCarthy and Shannon Tagler up-top, where they helped boost the squad’s pedestrian offense. Winger Piper Biziorek added speed and elan on the outside.
It wasn’t quite enough to win the conference, though, as the late-season stumble against Waubonsie proved. But none of the players at any school realistically thought that an unbeaten run through the DVC was likely. The wide-open race made all the teams better.
“I think it just really raised the intensity of the whole conference,” senior forward Alison Dovalovsky said after the Wildcats rebounded from the loss to Waubonsie to beat Hinsdale Central 3-1 in their regular-season finale. “We knew how important all these games were, and it just made them that much more important for us.”
Dovalovsky and her teammates were excited going into the postseason and with good reason. If the seeds held, they would get a rematch with Waubonsie in the sectional finals.
“For sure, we’re going to go into these games and we’re definitely going to go at it just as hard as before or even harder,” Dovalovsky said. “Because if we see Waubonsie again we want to show that we can take them.”
Alas, they never got the chance. After beating Yorkville 5-1 in their playoff opener, the Wildcats had to play fifth-seeded Naperville Central on its home field. It was yet another example of the travesty that can befall teams every postseason. Putting two of the top five seeds in the sectional into the same regional, and having the lower seed host, was unfair to both teams. Naperville Central coach Ed Watson complained to IHSA officials about the matter, to no avail.
Ironically, Watson’s troops emerged with a 1-0 victory in the regional final and ended Neuqua’s season.
NAPERVILLE CENTRAL
DVC RECORD: 1-3-0 (TIED FOR FOURTH) OVERALL RECORD: 11-9-1
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Waubonsie Valley in sectional semifinal. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 40
The Redhawks, as they have been wont to do in recent years, struggled mightily to score all season. They wound up with just 30 goals and at one point were shut out in four-straight games.
Central also struggled defensively in the early going, giving up several sloppy goals.
Yet for the second-straight season, the Redhawks won a regional title as a no. 5 seed.
Last year, they took down Waubonsie Valley in double overtime. This year it was Neuqua, beaten 1-0 on a second half goal from senior forward Caroline Reedy. That avenged a 1-0 regular-season loss to the Wildcats.
The Redhawks won their league opener, 1-0, over Metea Valley. They lost their next three DVC contests but that only firmed up their desire, and they took Naperville North to the wire in a 2-1 loss to close out the conference slate.
“The competition this year is really strong,” Naperville Central junior Liz Barker said after the crosstown game. “Every team has really good players and (Naperville North) especially has really strong players.
“We compete with them very well and everyone else in the DVC; Metea and Neuqua and Waubonsie are strong.”
Barker sensed something about the team that night that proved prescient.
“A month ago, we were winning more games, but I think we’ve just grown so much as a team playing harder teams,” Barker said. “We’ve definitely gotten a lot better and the energy is so high, and everyone wants it so much more.
“I think the energy tonight was really good. I think it has been for the past couple weeks.”
So it went into the playoffs, where the Redhawks eased past Plainfield East 4-1 in the opening round before playing a great defensive game against Neuqua, which controlled most of the action yet couldn’t solve the backline led by Barker, Loyola recruit Abbey Hillman, sophomore Emma Irle and freshman Sophia Skoubis.
“The girls executed what we needed to do,” Watson said. “They kept the game in front of them. We battled on their restarts because they’re so dangerous on those.
“When the goal was out there, Caroline Reedy got a goal.”
It was an unlikely result for the Redhawks, made even more special because it came on their home turf against a DVC rival.
“I’m so happy for these girls, because they’ve battled their fannies off all year long,” Watson said. “I really feel for the Wildcats because they are a really good team and only in soccer can a team like that end up not winning a regional. It’s not fair.
“With that being said, I’m awfully happy that we won.”
So was Barker.
“I think we just came into the game with really high hopes,” Barker said. “Beating the no. 2 seed was a really awesome feeling.
“We all worked really together, our motivation was super high. Beating Waubonsie last year was awesome so keeping the (regional) plaque at Central is really awesome, too.”
So was playing a tough schedule worth it?
“Oh, my God, yes,” Barker said. “It makes it so worth it.
“Playing harder teams and then beating them after going through losing so many games is a really good feeling.”
The good feelings nearly continued into the sectional semifinals, when a goal from Reedy again put them on the brink of an upset.
Reedy’s goal five minutes into the second half tied the game against Waubonsie at 1-1, but the Warriors won the shootout 4-2 to extinguish Central’s upset bid.
“Our girls played great,” Watson said. “I give them a lot of credit because what we’re asking them to do is not easy.
“We found the goal. I thought we were going to get another one. I’m proud of our seniors; they were great all year long, and I feel so bad for them.”
METEA VALLEY
DVC RECORD: 1-3-0 (TIED FOR FOURTH) OVERALL RECORD: 11-9-2
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Naperville North in sectional semifinal. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: NR
If you attended a Metea Valley game this spring, you didn’t see many goals scored.
Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on if you prefer to watch great offense or great defense.
The Mustangs struggled mightily to score. Their 20 goals scored were the least in program history.
Yet they were in nearly every game and gave opponents fits thanks to the superb goalkeeping of junior Nikki Coryell, a Valparaiso recruit who continued to improve in her third year as a starter.
Coryell, as fearless as she is talented, allowed only 19 goals in 22 games for an 0.86 goals-against average and poste nine shutouts. Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider the Mustangs rarely got the better of the run of play.
Aside from a pair of 3-0 losses, the first to eventual Class AAA champion Benet in the season opener and the second to Missouri power Eureka, all of the Mustangs losses were one-goal decisions, as were eight of their 11 wins.
Metea scored only one goal in DVC action, that being Rohm’s penalty kick in the upset of Naperville North, but gave up only three goals. All three losses were 1-0 setbacks.
But the grind of a good schedule bore fruit late. The Mustangs reached the final of the PepsiCo Showdown, losing a 2-1 nail-biter to a Wheaton Warrenville South squad that had its most potent offense in nearly 15 years.
After that came four-consecutive wins, starting with the defeat of Naperville North, which was followed by a 1-0 win over 2018 Class AA state champion St. Francis.
“Our schedule has definitely been tough,” Metea senior forward Kayla Hurst said after scoring her first goal of the season in the PepsiCo final. “We’ve played a lot of good teams, and our conference is really hard. But I think playing these teams has helped us defensively get a lot stronger and shown us that we have to work really hard to get the ball in the back of the net.
“(The DVC) is really tough. All the teams are really good but I think it makes our team better. Honestly, all the teams we can contend with but sometimes we struggle.”
That wasn’t the case on the defensive end, which is where most of Metea’s veteran and most talented players plied their trade. Coryell, the best goalie in the area, earned coaches' all-state honors, while defenders Paige Buranosky, Morgan McCrary and Nicole Dawson anchored the league’s best backline. Buranosky, a junior, was an all-sectional pick and McCrary, a senior, earned an honorable mention all-sectional nod.
Unlike in recent years, the Mustangs lacked the star attacking players that had lifted the program to five-straight regional titles, including four sectional final appearances.
That doesn’t mean Metea coach Chris Whaley expected anything less from his players.
“There is always high expectations no matter who we have (on the roster),” Whaley said. “You lose your top three goal scorers from a year ago, and you’re going to struggle a little bit there. But our strength is in defending and working hard, so we’re going to be in games.”
Indeed, the sixth-seeded Mustangs proved their mettle again in the postseason, crushing Oswego East 6-0 in the opening round before eliminating fourth-seeded Lockport 2-1 on Lockport’s home field to extend their regional championship streak to six.
The fun finally ended in the sectional semifinals, when Naperville North avenged the regular-season defeat by getting a first half goal from Hannah Martin and winning 1-0.
By Matt Le Cren
On the evening of May 7, three teams were still in contention for the DuPage Valley Conference championship.
Neuqua Valley was closest to every team’s goal of league supremacy. The Wildcats could clinch at least a share of the title by beating Waubonsie Valley.
Naperville North, which had tied Neuqua the week before, still controlled its own destiny. A win that night over Metea Valley, followed by a victory over Naperville Central the following night in the weather-delayed annual crosstown clash, would give the Huskies no worse than a share of the crown.
Waubonsie Valley also had a shot but needed help. The Warriors would need to knock off Neuqua and have Metea Valley beat Naperville North, a combination which most observers deemed unlikely. However that formula would give Waubonsie the title outright.
When the stadium lights were turned off at both ends of Eola Road, the last scenario is what actually happened.
Waubonsie Valley got two goals from unparalleled striker Megan Burling and one from her running mate, Grace Setter, and edged visiting Neuqua Valley 3-2, thus eliminating the Wildcats from the title hunt.
Down the street, meanwhile, host Metea stunned Naperville North 1-0 on a penalty kick from Sydney Rohm, knocking the Huskies out of the race and, ironically, enabling their District 204 rivals to win their first DVC championship.
It was an unexpected end to a compressed -- and unique -- league season for the District 203 and 204 schools. The first and last DVC season contested among only five schools -- DeKalb joins the conference next year -- produced the tight race many expected, but also a champion few anticipated.
The overall 10-game league slate provided plenty of thrills for the fans who witnessed the great athleticism, typical tenacity and competitiveness which the conference has been known for. Seven of the matches were decided by one goal, another by two goals and one by three. There also was one tie – a 2-2 draw between Naperville North and Neuqua Valley -- which played a huge role in deciding the race.
The stunning turn of events on May 7 proved to be both the dénouement of the DVC drama and a preview of a playoff season that saw the five squads demonstrate the dominance of their programs. All of the teams were seeded in the top 6 at the Class 3A East Aurora Sectional, with Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley earning the top three places respectively.
All four sectional semifinal berths were captured by DVC teams, with Naperville Central denying Neuqua a spot thanks to a 1-0 upset in a regional final.
In the end, though, it was preseason favorite Naperville North which again proved to be the top team, knocking out Metea and Waubonsie en route to winning its fourth-straight sectional title and, one week later, the state championship with a shootout upset of two-time defending champion Barrington after 100 scoreless minutes.
Here’s a closer look at each team's season.
WAUBONSIE VALLEY
DVC RECORD: 3-1-0 (CHAMPION) OVERALL RECORD: 17-3-2
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Naperville North in sectional final. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 18
The Warriors were not the least-talented team in the league, but they weren’t expected to contend for the title after dropping their first league game 3-1 to Naperville North.
But this young bunch, which consisted of only three seniors, jelled quickly and put together a terrific campaign. It won the program’s first regional title since 2014 and advance to the sectional final before Naperville North ended their season with a 3-0 decision.
Rebounding from the opening loss to North, the Warriors stunned Naperville Central by scoring five times in the first 30 minutes in a 5-2 win that Burling and Setter combined for three goals and four assists. They later edged Metea 1-0 on a goal from Setter before the huge win over Neuqua.
Burling, a junior who played her first high school season, recorded 27 goals and eight assists, instantly meshing with the 6-foot-2 Setter, a matchup nightmare who can dribble and pass with aplomb and terrorize goalkeepers with a cannon of a left foot.
Burling and Setter, who finished with 19 goals and 12 assists, accounted for 73 percent of the team’s goals and were the main reason why the Warriors returned to elite status.
The Warriors defeated Oswego and Plainfield North to advance to the sectionals; there they faced a rematch with Naperville Central.
This time the match was close. Burling scored in the first half to give Waubonsie the lead, but the Redhawks tied it early in the second half when Caroline Reedy recovered from a collision with goalkeeper Nicole Kleronomos and scored on the empty net.
Kleronomos, the only goalie on Waubonsie’s roster, had to leave the game with a leg injury, forcing the Warriors to use a field player, sophomore Jessica Keeley, in goal.
Keeley made eight saves in 55 minutes of action to get the Warriors to a penalty kick shootout. Waubonsie then turned to Burling, who had never played goalie before, to man the nets.
Burling made an athletic diving save on the Redhawks’ first shooter and got a finger on the third shooter’s attempt, which went over the crossbar, and the Warriors advanced to face the Huskies, who edged Metea 1-0 on a goal from star Hannah Martin.
“I think (winning the DVC) was really a confidence booster,” Burling said after the sectional semifinal win. “The DVC has such strong teams.
“I can’t even point to one team that may be weaker. Everyone is even, as tonight’s games showed. It’s all so close.”
The Warriors did it despite starting nine underclassmen. They had five all-conference picks, with seniors Jessica Wallace and Jennifer Garcia joining juniors Burling, Setter and Mollie Valek.
NAPERVILLE NORTH
DVC RECORD: 2-1-1 (TIED FOR SECOND) OVERALL RECORD: 15-5-4
PLAYOFF RESULT: Beat Barrington to win state 3A championship. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 1
After graduating six Division I players from a team that finished third in the state, Naperville North coach Steve Goletz put together the toughest schedule in the program’s history.
It probably caught up to the Huskies in the final week of the season as injuries and fatigue hampered a team made up of seven new starters that always got everyone’s best shot.
The 2-2 tie with Neuqua, in which the Wildcats outplayed the Huskies, salvaged a point for Naperville North thanks to a pair of goals from Martin but put their DVC title hopes in jeopardy.
However they still controlled their own destiny heading into the game against Metea, and they controlled most of the action in that match. The defense was solid and did not allow a shot on goal in the run of play.
But Rohm’s penalty kick -- her first goal of the season -- was enough for the Mustangs to pull the upset.
“The DVC is always going to be one goal, maybe two goals, a close game, so you can’t win if you can’t score,” Naperville North senior defender Reilly Riggs said after the game. “We had it in their defensive half most of the second half, but couldn’t put it together, though.”
But the Northwestern-bound Riggs, who suffered a concussion against Metea and missed two weeks of action, including her team’s first two playoff games, returned for sectional action and helped the Huskies put another great postseason run together.
They did it despite a pedestrian offense that scored 45 goals in 24 games and never found any consistent scoring threats outside of the uber-athletic Martin, who tallied 17 goals, and fellow junior Leah Shumate, who bagged eight goals. No one else had more than four.
And North’s defense wasn’t as sharp as it's been in recent years, though expecting a repeat of the record number of shutouts from the previous three seasons would have been unrealistic.
Yet a new group of kids, led by Wisconsin-bound senior Maddie Schlecht, a club defender who played high school for the first time and switched to midfield, kept the Huskies among the state’s elite, earning the program’s third state tile in eight years and fourth overall. North now has captured 10 state trophies.
Two other unsung players -- senior forward Katie Murphy and sophomore forward Emily Dulik -- scored in the second half of the Lewis University Supersectional to rally North to a 2-1 win over Minooka.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the kids,” Goletz said after that game. “We’re excited to be back in the Final Four for the second year in a row.
“It’s just an incredible thing when you think about how many kids we lost last year.
It’s something that’s special.”
Even more special was the play of senior goalkeeper Amanda Johnson, who opted not to play in college. She literally saved her best for last, stopping two penalty kicks in back-to-back shootout wins at the state finals. The first set of saves came in a semifinal victory over Lyons and then the incredible finish to the title match, which came after the Huskies did not record a shot while defending almost exclusively for 100 minutes.
“I attribute it to the coaches,” Johnson said. “We have 100 percent the best coaches in the DVC and in the state.
“(Jim) Konrad, Goletz, Nick (Maksa), and both the Kuehnes are incredible coaches. They’ve really helped us both on the field and off the field.
“Both the boys and girls programs have won state this year because of them.”
The players, of course, did the work that put the Huskies over the top. But Goletz and his staff planted the seeds in the minds of the players that they had a shot at being just as good as the star-studded group they replaced.
“I think that gave us a stronger drive to win because we knew we were losing so many good players, so a lot of girls had to step up,” Johnson said. “That’s a big part of our identity as a team.”
NEUQUA VALLEY
DVC RECORD: 2-1-1 (TIED FOR SECOND) OVERALL RECORD: 10-5-4
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Naperville Central in regional final. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 11
If any team could say they played nearly as tough of a schedule as Naperville North, it was Neuqua.
The Wildcats played only one team that ended the season with a losing record. After a slow start they found their footing, Neuqua Valley embarked on a seven-game unbeaten streak to reach the quarterfinals of the Naperville Invite. Of their five losses, one was by two goals to St. Charles North, which at the time hadn’t lost to an Illinois team in three years, two were by one goal and two were on penalty kicks.
This team arguably was more talented than Naperville North, featuring an all-state midfielder in Danielle Hopkins and a terrific freshman defender in Brooke Miller. Neuqua coach Joe Moreau made two risky yet brilliant decisions in moving senior defenders Erin McCarthy and Shannon Tagler up-top, where they helped boost the squad’s pedestrian offense. Winger Piper Biziorek added speed and elan on the outside.
It wasn’t quite enough to win the conference, though, as the late-season stumble against Waubonsie proved. But none of the players at any school realistically thought that an unbeaten run through the DVC was likely. The wide-open race made all the teams better.
“I think it just really raised the intensity of the whole conference,” senior forward Alison Dovalovsky said after the Wildcats rebounded from the loss to Waubonsie to beat Hinsdale Central 3-1 in their regular-season finale. “We knew how important all these games were, and it just made them that much more important for us.”
Dovalovsky and her teammates were excited going into the postseason and with good reason. If the seeds held, they would get a rematch with Waubonsie in the sectional finals.
“For sure, we’re going to go into these games and we’re definitely going to go at it just as hard as before or even harder,” Dovalovsky said. “Because if we see Waubonsie again we want to show that we can take them.”
Alas, they never got the chance. After beating Yorkville 5-1 in their playoff opener, the Wildcats had to play fifth-seeded Naperville Central on its home field. It was yet another example of the travesty that can befall teams every postseason. Putting two of the top five seeds in the sectional into the same regional, and having the lower seed host, was unfair to both teams. Naperville Central coach Ed Watson complained to IHSA officials about the matter, to no avail.
Ironically, Watson’s troops emerged with a 1-0 victory in the regional final and ended Neuqua’s season.
NAPERVILLE CENTRAL
DVC RECORD: 1-3-0 (TIED FOR FOURTH) OVERALL RECORD: 11-9-1
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Waubonsie Valley in sectional semifinal. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: 40
The Redhawks, as they have been wont to do in recent years, struggled mightily to score all season. They wound up with just 30 goals and at one point were shut out in four-straight games.
Central also struggled defensively in the early going, giving up several sloppy goals.
Yet for the second-straight season, the Redhawks won a regional title as a no. 5 seed.
Last year, they took down Waubonsie Valley in double overtime. This year it was Neuqua, beaten 1-0 on a second half goal from senior forward Caroline Reedy. That avenged a 1-0 regular-season loss to the Wildcats.
The Redhawks won their league opener, 1-0, over Metea Valley. They lost their next three DVC contests but that only firmed up their desire, and they took Naperville North to the wire in a 2-1 loss to close out the conference slate.
“The competition this year is really strong,” Naperville Central junior Liz Barker said after the crosstown game. “Every team has really good players and (Naperville North) especially has really strong players.
“We compete with them very well and everyone else in the DVC; Metea and Neuqua and Waubonsie are strong.”
Barker sensed something about the team that night that proved prescient.
“A month ago, we were winning more games, but I think we’ve just grown so much as a team playing harder teams,” Barker said. “We’ve definitely gotten a lot better and the energy is so high, and everyone wants it so much more.
“I think the energy tonight was really good. I think it has been for the past couple weeks.”
So it went into the playoffs, where the Redhawks eased past Plainfield East 4-1 in the opening round before playing a great defensive game against Neuqua, which controlled most of the action yet couldn’t solve the backline led by Barker, Loyola recruit Abbey Hillman, sophomore Emma Irle and freshman Sophia Skoubis.
“The girls executed what we needed to do,” Watson said. “They kept the game in front of them. We battled on their restarts because they’re so dangerous on those.
“When the goal was out there, Caroline Reedy got a goal.”
It was an unlikely result for the Redhawks, made even more special because it came on their home turf against a DVC rival.
“I’m so happy for these girls, because they’ve battled their fannies off all year long,” Watson said. “I really feel for the Wildcats because they are a really good team and only in soccer can a team like that end up not winning a regional. It’s not fair.
“With that being said, I’m awfully happy that we won.”
So was Barker.
“I think we just came into the game with really high hopes,” Barker said. “Beating the no. 2 seed was a really awesome feeling.
“We all worked really together, our motivation was super high. Beating Waubonsie last year was awesome so keeping the (regional) plaque at Central is really awesome, too.”
So was playing a tough schedule worth it?
“Oh, my God, yes,” Barker said. “It makes it so worth it.
“Playing harder teams and then beating them after going through losing so many games is a really good feeling.”
The good feelings nearly continued into the sectional semifinals, when a goal from Reedy again put them on the brink of an upset.
Reedy’s goal five minutes into the second half tied the game against Waubonsie at 1-1, but the Warriors won the shootout 4-2 to extinguish Central’s upset bid.
“Our girls played great,” Watson said. “I give them a lot of credit because what we’re asking them to do is not easy.
“We found the goal. I thought we were going to get another one. I’m proud of our seniors; they were great all year long, and I feel so bad for them.”
METEA VALLEY
DVC RECORD: 1-3-0 (TIED FOR FOURTH) OVERALL RECORD: 11-9-2
PLAYOFF RESULT: Lost to Naperville North in sectional semifinal. CHICAGOLAND SOCCER FINAL 50 ranking: NR
If you attended a Metea Valley game this spring, you didn’t see many goals scored.
Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on if you prefer to watch great offense or great defense.
The Mustangs struggled mightily to score. Their 20 goals scored were the least in program history.
Yet they were in nearly every game and gave opponents fits thanks to the superb goalkeeping of junior Nikki Coryell, a Valparaiso recruit who continued to improve in her third year as a starter.
Coryell, as fearless as she is talented, allowed only 19 goals in 22 games for an 0.86 goals-against average and poste nine shutouts. Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider the Mustangs rarely got the better of the run of play.
Aside from a pair of 3-0 losses, the first to eventual Class AAA champion Benet in the season opener and the second to Missouri power Eureka, all of the Mustangs losses were one-goal decisions, as were eight of their 11 wins.
Metea scored only one goal in DVC action, that being Rohm’s penalty kick in the upset of Naperville North, but gave up only three goals. All three losses were 1-0 setbacks.
But the grind of a good schedule bore fruit late. The Mustangs reached the final of the PepsiCo Showdown, losing a 2-1 nail-biter to a Wheaton Warrenville South squad that had its most potent offense in nearly 15 years.
After that came four-consecutive wins, starting with the defeat of Naperville North, which was followed by a 1-0 win over 2018 Class AA state champion St. Francis.
“Our schedule has definitely been tough,” Metea senior forward Kayla Hurst said after scoring her first goal of the season in the PepsiCo final. “We’ve played a lot of good teams, and our conference is really hard. But I think playing these teams has helped us defensively get a lot stronger and shown us that we have to work really hard to get the ball in the back of the net.
“(The DVC) is really tough. All the teams are really good but I think it makes our team better. Honestly, all the teams we can contend with but sometimes we struggle.”
That wasn’t the case on the defensive end, which is where most of Metea’s veteran and most talented players plied their trade. Coryell, the best goalie in the area, earned coaches' all-state honors, while defenders Paige Buranosky, Morgan McCrary and Nicole Dawson anchored the league’s best backline. Buranosky, a junior, was an all-sectional pick and McCrary, a senior, earned an honorable mention all-sectional nod.
Unlike in recent years, the Mustangs lacked the star attacking players that had lifted the program to five-straight regional titles, including four sectional final appearances.
That doesn’t mean Metea coach Chris Whaley expected anything less from his players.
“There is always high expectations no matter who we have (on the roster),” Whaley said. “You lose your top three goal scorers from a year ago, and you’re going to struggle a little bit there. But our strength is in defending and working hard, so we’re going to be in games.”
Indeed, the sixth-seeded Mustangs proved their mettle again in the postseason, crushing Oswego East 6-0 in the opening round before eliminating fourth-seeded Lockport 2-1 on Lockport’s home field to extend their regional championship streak to six.
The fun finally ended in the sectional semifinals, when Naperville North avenged the regular-season defeat by getting a first half goal from Hannah Martin and winning 1-0.