Season preview: Naperville Central
By Matt Le Cren
The loss is still fresh in Patrick Berryman’s mind.
Naperville Central was less than 15 minutes away from capturing its first sectional championship in six years, holding a 2-1 lead on crosstown nemesis Naperville North in the Class 3A Plainfield North Sectional final last fall.
Then it all fell apart.
Naperville North’s Indiana-bound star Alex Barger made two sensational crosses into the box and the Huskies finished both of them to pull out a 3-2 victory for their fifth-consecutive sectional title.
Berryman, then and now a key part of Naperville Central’s defense, was stunned. He is one of eight returning starters for the Redhawks who want payback this fall.
“That sectional final last year will really motivate us,” Berryman said. “It was a very tough game.
“It seemed like we were so close to finally getting the edge over them. They are a very talented team, but this is a team that just really wants to win. This is a team that wants to finally take them down.”
The state tournament is two months away, but the Redhawks have every reason to feel optimistic about vanquishing Naperville North, which handed Central three of its eight losses last season.
While the Redhawks don’t have a player as talented as Barger, they’ve got a lot of experience at all four levels of the field and several players who hope to continue their careers in college.
Plainfield North, Naperville Central and Naperville North are considered the top teams in the western suburbs. Assuming they are assigned to the same sectional again, it portends a dogfight.
“Plainfield North is the highest-ranked team around here,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “They’re very senior heavy and almost all returning.
“But we have a good amount of depth. This should be a good year.”
It starts with the leadership of tri-captains Berryman, Patrick Bohan and Josh Weigel -- two of the mainstays on the backline and the fulcrum of the midfield, respectively.
Weigel is the head man. The four-year varsity player and three-year starter scored eight goals and recorded 11 assists in 2021, when he earned All-State honors from Chicagoland Soccer and the Illinois coaches association.
This is the Weigel’s second season as a captain. Berryman and Bohan, both juniors, are in their first seasons in the leadership echelon.
“It’s the first time we’ve had two juniors as captains,” Adams said. “They’re good leaders. They work hard.”
That sets the tone for the rest of the group, which is thick on experience and thin when it comes to patience for mediocre performances.
“We have a great team,” Bohan said. “Last year’s team left us with a great foundation.
“I can see our potential in my teammates. We have an extremely good work ethic in practice. I can see how that’s going to translate to the game.”
Bohan was all-conference and all-sectional last fall and an ECNL All-American in club soccer. Berryman made the 2021 Chicagoland All-State Watch List for the Class of 2024.
They will anchor the backline in front of senior goalkeeper Austin Waite, who had a 1.22 goals-against average and five shutouts en route to all-conference honors.
While the other two fullback slots remain open, Adams is set everywhere else.
The midfield is made up of returning starters Weigel, senior Sean O’Reilly and junior Carter Adams. Seniors Joey LoDuca and Nathan Kwon are back up-top and could be joined by freshman Chase Adams, the younger brother of Carter. The Adams’ brothers are the coach’s sons.
“We have big pieces – a leader or two in the back, midfielders who look to possess and attack, and all three midfielders are returning starters,” Adams said. “That’s a huge plus, and then you need goal-scorers.”
The Redhawks don’t lack for those. In addition to Weigel, O’Reilly had 12 goals and three assists and was an all-conference pick last year. LoDuca added nine goals and two assists, and Kwon chipped in seven goals and four assists.
LoDuca and Kwon earned a spot on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List for the Class of 2023 after last season.
“The great thing is I think all three forwards and some of the guys that come off the bench all can score,” Adams said. “We’ve talked about it could be a year where we have 4-5-6 guys in double-digit goals.
“I don’t know if we’ll have a 30-goal scorer, but we’ll have a lot of guys that can score goals.”
Bohan expects to see the Redhawks light up the scoreboard with more regularity. With 70 percent of the offense, including the top five scorers, returning, that’s a reasonable outlook.
“Last year we struggled a little bit with finishing,” Bohan said. “This year, it looks like we have a lot of potential up-top to score a lot of goals.
“And our defense is mostly the same corps of kids from last year, so I think we’ll still have a strong defense. Austin is a great goalie, too.”
Though the backline is in need of two new starters, Berryman isn’t worried.
“I’d say our strength is definitely midfielders, because we have three really strong returning guys,” Berryman said. “We’re still trying to figure out our back four, experimenting in practices.
“But all-around, I think we’ll have a very strong team.”
Varsity returnees, senior defender Owen Stephens and junior midfielder Elliott Krause, will give Naperville Central solid minutes.
Newcomers will also be counted on for contributions. They include senior defenders Carter Bilik and Michael Cavalleri, junior defenders Benjamin Saylan, Blake Stevens and Jackson Tritt, and junior midfielder Clay Scherf.
Junior goalkeeper Dylan Scott and freshman midfielder Eli Jarrell will vie for time.
“Carter Bilik is a senior who has made his varsity debut and has done a great job of looking at playing a defensive role and possibly playing some time at the top,” Adams said. “Michael (Cavalleri) played JV1 last year and has come a huge way in his development, especially with his understanding of the game and his maturity on and off the field.
“His work rate is much higher than it was last year, looking at what can I do to help the team. He’s played midfield or forward, and we’re going to see how he can do in the back.
“Jackson (Tritt) is another one that’s in the same boat as Michael who played JV1. He could play center back.”
Then there are the rookies, Chase Adams and Jarrell. It’s rare for freshmen to make a varsity roster, and this pair aren’t there for window dressing.
“Eli and Chase, will be able to help us a lot,” Troy Adams said. “They’re not there just to develop. They’re going to have to play minutes that matter to help us.”
Other seasons have begun with promise but ended much earlier than the Redhawks would have liked. Naperville North was one reason why but not the only one. There is a sense that this year will be different.
“For one, I think we’re bringing more starters back than last year,” Weigel said. “We have our chemistry, because we have more experience this year.
“A lot of the guys have been playing together for a couple years.”
The Redhawks were 15-8-1 overall and 3-2-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference last year, and runner-up to North in both the league and the sectional.
They kick off the 2022 season in style against perennial power Morton, the team that has eliminated Naperville North in the supersectional in each of the past two state tournaments. The game is on the opening day of the season with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. Monday at Memorial Stadium.
The Redhawks will have to be focused if they want to beat the Mustangs, who finished fourth at the 2021 state finals and second in 2019. Naperville Central faces a typically challenging schedule, which could feature as many as three games against North.
The third would come in the postseason. It’s a matchup the Redhawks relish, and a victory would deliver a lifelong memory.
“It would mean the world to all of us,” Weigel said. “I think the key is to really stay focused throughout the whole season.
“I think last year one of our struggles was toward the middle of the season. We kind of lost focus a little bit. We were able to refocus for the playoffs.
“We had a great playoff run, but every practice we’ve got to come out and work really hard, all of us together. We know it’s going to take all of our guys to be successful in the playoffs.”
By Matt Le Cren
The loss is still fresh in Patrick Berryman’s mind.
Naperville Central was less than 15 minutes away from capturing its first sectional championship in six years, holding a 2-1 lead on crosstown nemesis Naperville North in the Class 3A Plainfield North Sectional final last fall.
Then it all fell apart.
Naperville North’s Indiana-bound star Alex Barger made two sensational crosses into the box and the Huskies finished both of them to pull out a 3-2 victory for their fifth-consecutive sectional title.
Berryman, then and now a key part of Naperville Central’s defense, was stunned. He is one of eight returning starters for the Redhawks who want payback this fall.
“That sectional final last year will really motivate us,” Berryman said. “It was a very tough game.
“It seemed like we were so close to finally getting the edge over them. They are a very talented team, but this is a team that just really wants to win. This is a team that wants to finally take them down.”
The state tournament is two months away, but the Redhawks have every reason to feel optimistic about vanquishing Naperville North, which handed Central three of its eight losses last season.
While the Redhawks don’t have a player as talented as Barger, they’ve got a lot of experience at all four levels of the field and several players who hope to continue their careers in college.
Plainfield North, Naperville Central and Naperville North are considered the top teams in the western suburbs. Assuming they are assigned to the same sectional again, it portends a dogfight.
“Plainfield North is the highest-ranked team around here,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “They’re very senior heavy and almost all returning.
“But we have a good amount of depth. This should be a good year.”
It starts with the leadership of tri-captains Berryman, Patrick Bohan and Josh Weigel -- two of the mainstays on the backline and the fulcrum of the midfield, respectively.
Weigel is the head man. The four-year varsity player and three-year starter scored eight goals and recorded 11 assists in 2021, when he earned All-State honors from Chicagoland Soccer and the Illinois coaches association.
This is the Weigel’s second season as a captain. Berryman and Bohan, both juniors, are in their first seasons in the leadership echelon.
“It’s the first time we’ve had two juniors as captains,” Adams said. “They’re good leaders. They work hard.”
That sets the tone for the rest of the group, which is thick on experience and thin when it comes to patience for mediocre performances.
“We have a great team,” Bohan said. “Last year’s team left us with a great foundation.
“I can see our potential in my teammates. We have an extremely good work ethic in practice. I can see how that’s going to translate to the game.”
Bohan was all-conference and all-sectional last fall and an ECNL All-American in club soccer. Berryman made the 2021 Chicagoland All-State Watch List for the Class of 2024.
They will anchor the backline in front of senior goalkeeper Austin Waite, who had a 1.22 goals-against average and five shutouts en route to all-conference honors.
While the other two fullback slots remain open, Adams is set everywhere else.
The midfield is made up of returning starters Weigel, senior Sean O’Reilly and junior Carter Adams. Seniors Joey LoDuca and Nathan Kwon are back up-top and could be joined by freshman Chase Adams, the younger brother of Carter. The Adams’ brothers are the coach’s sons.
“We have big pieces – a leader or two in the back, midfielders who look to possess and attack, and all three midfielders are returning starters,” Adams said. “That’s a huge plus, and then you need goal-scorers.”
The Redhawks don’t lack for those. In addition to Weigel, O’Reilly had 12 goals and three assists and was an all-conference pick last year. LoDuca added nine goals and two assists, and Kwon chipped in seven goals and four assists.
LoDuca and Kwon earned a spot on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List for the Class of 2023 after last season.
“The great thing is I think all three forwards and some of the guys that come off the bench all can score,” Adams said. “We’ve talked about it could be a year where we have 4-5-6 guys in double-digit goals.
“I don’t know if we’ll have a 30-goal scorer, but we’ll have a lot of guys that can score goals.”
Bohan expects to see the Redhawks light up the scoreboard with more regularity. With 70 percent of the offense, including the top five scorers, returning, that’s a reasonable outlook.
“Last year we struggled a little bit with finishing,” Bohan said. “This year, it looks like we have a lot of potential up-top to score a lot of goals.
“And our defense is mostly the same corps of kids from last year, so I think we’ll still have a strong defense. Austin is a great goalie, too.”
Though the backline is in need of two new starters, Berryman isn’t worried.
“I’d say our strength is definitely midfielders, because we have three really strong returning guys,” Berryman said. “We’re still trying to figure out our back four, experimenting in practices.
“But all-around, I think we’ll have a very strong team.”
Varsity returnees, senior defender Owen Stephens and junior midfielder Elliott Krause, will give Naperville Central solid minutes.
Newcomers will also be counted on for contributions. They include senior defenders Carter Bilik and Michael Cavalleri, junior defenders Benjamin Saylan, Blake Stevens and Jackson Tritt, and junior midfielder Clay Scherf.
Junior goalkeeper Dylan Scott and freshman midfielder Eli Jarrell will vie for time.
“Carter Bilik is a senior who has made his varsity debut and has done a great job of looking at playing a defensive role and possibly playing some time at the top,” Adams said. “Michael (Cavalleri) played JV1 last year and has come a huge way in his development, especially with his understanding of the game and his maturity on and off the field.
“His work rate is much higher than it was last year, looking at what can I do to help the team. He’s played midfield or forward, and we’re going to see how he can do in the back.
“Jackson (Tritt) is another one that’s in the same boat as Michael who played JV1. He could play center back.”
Then there are the rookies, Chase Adams and Jarrell. It’s rare for freshmen to make a varsity roster, and this pair aren’t there for window dressing.
“Eli and Chase, will be able to help us a lot,” Troy Adams said. “They’re not there just to develop. They’re going to have to play minutes that matter to help us.”
Other seasons have begun with promise but ended much earlier than the Redhawks would have liked. Naperville North was one reason why but not the only one. There is a sense that this year will be different.
“For one, I think we’re bringing more starters back than last year,” Weigel said. “We have our chemistry, because we have more experience this year.
“A lot of the guys have been playing together for a couple years.”
The Redhawks were 15-8-1 overall and 3-2-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference last year, and runner-up to North in both the league and the sectional.
They kick off the 2022 season in style against perennial power Morton, the team that has eliminated Naperville North in the supersectional in each of the past two state tournaments. The game is on the opening day of the season with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. Monday at Memorial Stadium.
The Redhawks will have to be focused if they want to beat the Mustangs, who finished fourth at the 2021 state finals and second in 2019. Naperville Central faces a typically challenging schedule, which could feature as many as three games against North.
The third would come in the postseason. It’s a matchup the Redhawks relish, and a victory would deliver a lifelong memory.
“It would mean the world to all of us,” Weigel said. “I think the key is to really stay focused throughout the whole season.
“I think last year one of our struggles was toward the middle of the season. We kind of lost focus a little bit. We were able to refocus for the playoffs.
“We had a great playoff run, but every practice we’ve got to come out and work really hard, all of us together. We know it’s going to take all of our guys to be successful in the playoffs.”