Season recap: Naperville Central
By Matt Le Cren
Watching Naperville Central play this season was like opening a box of chocolates.
Sometimes you got a piece that was hard to swallow and other times you got a tasty treat.
There were more of the latter than the former, especially toward the end of the year as the Redhawks made a run to the Class 3A sectional finals for the first time since 2017 before losing to crosstown nemesis Naperville North 3-2.
Despite fielding only four senior starters, Naperville Central finished 15-8-1 with a no-name but surprisingly potent offense and a defense that produced a breakout young star in sophomore Patrick Bohan.
“We started getting more consistent as the year went on,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “I told them let’s reflect on what we did.
“With the schedule we played, 15 wins is a big accomplishment. That’s a lot of wins.
“We scored 63 goals, which is the most we’ve had since 2012 or 2013, probably top 5 we’ve ever scored, and more importantly we started getting more consistent, getting 2 or 3 a game.”
Adams knew going into the season that he didn’t have a player capable of scoring 25 or 30 goals, but he was confident he had several guys who could approach double digits.
That’s exactly what happened. Sean O’Reilly led the way with 12 goals, while fellow junior midfielder Josh Weigel earned IHSSCA All-State honors after scoring eight goals to go with 11 assists.
Forwards Joey Loduca and Benny Teitjen added eight goals each.
Three of Central’s losses came to Naperville North, all by one goal. Another was a 2-0 defeat in their season opener to Morton, which beat Naperville North 2-1 in a supersectional Tuesday (Nov. 2). The Redhawks also lost to Oak Park and River Forest, which was eliminated in the supersectional round.
The consistency wasn’t always there, particularly in the first half of the season, but improved as time wore on.
The Redhawks, who were the no. 3 seed at the Plainfield North Sectional, demonstrated that by eliminating second-seeded Oswego East 3-2 in the sectional semifinals, then twice led Naperville North in the final.
The Huskies, though, rallied to score twice in the final 14 minutes to end Central’s season.
“Some games we weren’t as focused going in,” said O’Reilly, whose free kick goal midway through the second half gave the Redhawks a 2-1 lead against North. “But games like today we were really focused and that shows that you need to be focused before the game.
“You need to be in that mindset that you need to win this game, no matter who you’re playing against. That’s what next year we’re going to have to focus on – make sure we’re focused before every game. Not just for the big games but also for the games that we know we should win.”
Teitjen, forward Nathan Kwon and defenders Mateo Lopez and Matt Driessens will be the biggest graduation losses, but the Redhawks welcome back a strong cadre of younger players like Weigel, O’Reilly, Bohan, sophomore defender Patrick Berryman, junior goalkeeper Austin Waite, and sophomore midfielder Carter Adams, the coach’s son.
Bohan was an all-sectional selection, while Waite joined Kim, Weigel, Bohan, O’Reilly and Teitjen on the All-DuPage Valley Conference team. Berryman and fellow backliner Lopez were honorable mention All-DVC picks.
“Our forwards were opportunistic. The midfield was strong, and this is the first time we’ve given up three goals all year,” Troy Adams said after the sectional final loss to North. “We were starting a lot of young kids.
“We had three sophomore starters for the first time since (2013 graduate) Pat Flynn played. The seniors had a very positive, productive season, and now it’s time for the younger players to step up.
“We should be pointed the right way.”
O’Reilly, who will be one of the team leaders in 2022, agreed that the Redhawks are headed in the right direction.
“I know that we’ve got the younger guys coming up and they’re going to perform for us as well,” O’Reilly said after the season-ending loss. “This gives us some good motivation going into next year, knowing that we were right there.
“This game should have been ours, but next year we’re going to come out fighting and we’re going to take it next time and hopefully go all the way.”
By Matt Le Cren
Watching Naperville Central play this season was like opening a box of chocolates.
Sometimes you got a piece that was hard to swallow and other times you got a tasty treat.
There were more of the latter than the former, especially toward the end of the year as the Redhawks made a run to the Class 3A sectional finals for the first time since 2017 before losing to crosstown nemesis Naperville North 3-2.
Despite fielding only four senior starters, Naperville Central finished 15-8-1 with a no-name but surprisingly potent offense and a defense that produced a breakout young star in sophomore Patrick Bohan.
“We started getting more consistent as the year went on,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “I told them let’s reflect on what we did.
“With the schedule we played, 15 wins is a big accomplishment. That’s a lot of wins.
“We scored 63 goals, which is the most we’ve had since 2012 or 2013, probably top 5 we’ve ever scored, and more importantly we started getting more consistent, getting 2 or 3 a game.”
Adams knew going into the season that he didn’t have a player capable of scoring 25 or 30 goals, but he was confident he had several guys who could approach double digits.
That’s exactly what happened. Sean O’Reilly led the way with 12 goals, while fellow junior midfielder Josh Weigel earned IHSSCA All-State honors after scoring eight goals to go with 11 assists.
Forwards Joey Loduca and Benny Teitjen added eight goals each.
Three of Central’s losses came to Naperville North, all by one goal. Another was a 2-0 defeat in their season opener to Morton, which beat Naperville North 2-1 in a supersectional Tuesday (Nov. 2). The Redhawks also lost to Oak Park and River Forest, which was eliminated in the supersectional round.
The consistency wasn’t always there, particularly in the first half of the season, but improved as time wore on.
The Redhawks, who were the no. 3 seed at the Plainfield North Sectional, demonstrated that by eliminating second-seeded Oswego East 3-2 in the sectional semifinals, then twice led Naperville North in the final.
The Huskies, though, rallied to score twice in the final 14 minutes to end Central’s season.
“Some games we weren’t as focused going in,” said O’Reilly, whose free kick goal midway through the second half gave the Redhawks a 2-1 lead against North. “But games like today we were really focused and that shows that you need to be focused before the game.
“You need to be in that mindset that you need to win this game, no matter who you’re playing against. That’s what next year we’re going to have to focus on – make sure we’re focused before every game. Not just for the big games but also for the games that we know we should win.”
Teitjen, forward Nathan Kwon and defenders Mateo Lopez and Matt Driessens will be the biggest graduation losses, but the Redhawks welcome back a strong cadre of younger players like Weigel, O’Reilly, Bohan, sophomore defender Patrick Berryman, junior goalkeeper Austin Waite, and sophomore midfielder Carter Adams, the coach’s son.
Bohan was an all-sectional selection, while Waite joined Kim, Weigel, Bohan, O’Reilly and Teitjen on the All-DuPage Valley Conference team. Berryman and fellow backliner Lopez were honorable mention All-DVC picks.
“Our forwards were opportunistic. The midfield was strong, and this is the first time we’ve given up three goals all year,” Troy Adams said after the sectional final loss to North. “We were starting a lot of young kids.
“We had three sophomore starters for the first time since (2013 graduate) Pat Flynn played. The seniors had a very positive, productive season, and now it’s time for the younger players to step up.
“We should be pointed the right way.”
O’Reilly, who will be one of the team leaders in 2022, agreed that the Redhawks are headed in the right direction.
“I know that we’ve got the younger guys coming up and they’re going to perform for us as well,” O’Reilly said after the season-ending loss. “This gives us some good motivation going into next year, knowing that we were right there.
“This game should have been ours, but next year we’re going to come out fighting and we’re going to take it next time and hopefully go all the way.”