Team preview: Naperville North
By Matt Le Cren
After nearly a decade of trotting out veteran-laden teams filled with Division I commits, Naperville North coach Steve Goletz heads into the 2020 season with something he’s never experienced before – a roster of mostly unproven players.
“This is a tryout for me this year in terms of (having) a lot of younger kids, a lot of underclassmen that are going to have an opportunity this year,” Goletz said. “I don’t think that’s always been the case at Naperville North because of how strong the program is.”
Indeed, the Huskies have always reloaded, not rebuilt. This will be Goletz’s ninth season at the helm, and he already has won three state championships, including last year when North stunned two-time defending champion Barrington on penalty kicks in the final after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer.
This season, which has been delayed indefinitely by the COVID-19 pandemic, will be different. Seniors Hannah Martin and Leah Shumate are the only Division I signees and join senior defender Paige Sylvester and junior forward Emily Dulik as the only healthy returnees with significant varsity experience. Both made the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch list, as did senior defender Emily Magee, who will miss the season after suffering a second torn ACL.
“You’re going to have your peaks and valleys in terms of old and young, and I think this year is definitely going to be a more inexperienced group,” Goletz said. “But I really feel that last year proved to me how our group grew from start to finish.
“I really do think there’s a lot of value in testing yourself against the best teams in the state. We do that every year.”
If the season does get underway, the Huskies will once again face most of the top teams in the state. With a green roster, that means the regular season record will probably be a little light on wins. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. After all, the Huskies won only eight games in the 2019 regular season before winning seven more in the playoffs. They set a state record for fewest wins by a state championship squad.
The Huskies also can be reassured that they bring back their top two scorers from last year in Chicagoland Soccer All-Staters Martin and Shumate. The Purdue-bound Martin had 17 goals, while Shumate, an IUPUI-bound midfielder, had eight goals and six assists.
They will provide great leadership, and stress to their peers that it is the end result that is most important and not the regular season record.
“We had a great year last year, and I think part of the reason was just how gritty and hard-working we were,” Martin said. “I don’t think our team was necessarily the best technically or had the most skilled players out there, but I don’t think you necessarily need that in high school.
“I think it’s a different game than club. It took us time last year to figure it out. Our regular season record wasn’t that good, but in the end, it comes down to playoffs and that’s really all that matters. We had some luck and that made it happen.”
Martin is entering her third year as a starter, as is Shumate, who has been on varsity since her freshman year, when she played in 22 games on a team that had seven Division I players. Those two might be the only “known” commodities on the roster but that doesn’t mean the rest of the players are chopped liver.
“We have a lot of talented individual players,” Shumate said. “We just have to learn how to work as a team.
“Last year we figured out how to play as a team and it obviously played out very well for us. So that will be the main thing.”
The Huskies have one other college-bound player in Benedictine commit Jordan Leonard. Ellie Gerner also has varsity experience. The rest of the roster is new and the 10 days of practice they got in before the schools were closed was not enough time for Goletz to get a read on what he has, so he will not go with a set starting lineup in the early going, preferring to rotate everyone in and see what they can do.
That includes the goalkeeper position, which was left vacant by the graduation of Amanda Johnson, whose sensational play at the state finals put the Huskies over the top. Juniors Rosy Viton and Jenna Schmidt will vie for time.
“This is the first year in a while we don’t have returning goalie with varsity experience,” Goletz said. “As a kid, what more could you want than to have an opportunity. I think a lot of kids will have opportunity this year.”
By Matt Le Cren
After nearly a decade of trotting out veteran-laden teams filled with Division I commits, Naperville North coach Steve Goletz heads into the 2020 season with something he’s never experienced before – a roster of mostly unproven players.
“This is a tryout for me this year in terms of (having) a lot of younger kids, a lot of underclassmen that are going to have an opportunity this year,” Goletz said. “I don’t think that’s always been the case at Naperville North because of how strong the program is.”
Indeed, the Huskies have always reloaded, not rebuilt. This will be Goletz’s ninth season at the helm, and he already has won three state championships, including last year when North stunned two-time defending champion Barrington on penalty kicks in the final after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer.
This season, which has been delayed indefinitely by the COVID-19 pandemic, will be different. Seniors Hannah Martin and Leah Shumate are the only Division I signees and join senior defender Paige Sylvester and junior forward Emily Dulik as the only healthy returnees with significant varsity experience. Both made the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch list, as did senior defender Emily Magee, who will miss the season after suffering a second torn ACL.
“You’re going to have your peaks and valleys in terms of old and young, and I think this year is definitely going to be a more inexperienced group,” Goletz said. “But I really feel that last year proved to me how our group grew from start to finish.
“I really do think there’s a lot of value in testing yourself against the best teams in the state. We do that every year.”
If the season does get underway, the Huskies will once again face most of the top teams in the state. With a green roster, that means the regular season record will probably be a little light on wins. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. After all, the Huskies won only eight games in the 2019 regular season before winning seven more in the playoffs. They set a state record for fewest wins by a state championship squad.
The Huskies also can be reassured that they bring back their top two scorers from last year in Chicagoland Soccer All-Staters Martin and Shumate. The Purdue-bound Martin had 17 goals, while Shumate, an IUPUI-bound midfielder, had eight goals and six assists.
They will provide great leadership, and stress to their peers that it is the end result that is most important and not the regular season record.
“We had a great year last year, and I think part of the reason was just how gritty and hard-working we were,” Martin said. “I don’t think our team was necessarily the best technically or had the most skilled players out there, but I don’t think you necessarily need that in high school.
“I think it’s a different game than club. It took us time last year to figure it out. Our regular season record wasn’t that good, but in the end, it comes down to playoffs and that’s really all that matters. We had some luck and that made it happen.”
Martin is entering her third year as a starter, as is Shumate, who has been on varsity since her freshman year, when she played in 22 games on a team that had seven Division I players. Those two might be the only “known” commodities on the roster but that doesn’t mean the rest of the players are chopped liver.
“We have a lot of talented individual players,” Shumate said. “We just have to learn how to work as a team.
“Last year we figured out how to play as a team and it obviously played out very well for us. So that will be the main thing.”
The Huskies have one other college-bound player in Benedictine commit Jordan Leonard. Ellie Gerner also has varsity experience. The rest of the roster is new and the 10 days of practice they got in before the schools were closed was not enough time for Goletz to get a read on what he has, so he will not go with a set starting lineup in the early going, preferring to rotate everyone in and see what they can do.
That includes the goalkeeper position, which was left vacant by the graduation of Amanda Johnson, whose sensational play at the state finals put the Huskies over the top. Juniors Rosy Viton and Jenna Schmidt will vie for time.
“This is the first year in a while we don’t have returning goalie with varsity experience,” Goletz said. “As a kid, what more could you want than to have an opportunity. I think a lot of kids will have opportunity this year.”