By Staff Writer John Conway

“Thank the offense, blame the defense.”

This age-old adage still lives today at Naperville North. With this attitude, offensive athletes receive numerous accolades for their performance, while defensive athletes often receive minimal recognition for their efforts.

Junior Abbie Boswell, varsity captain of the girls soccer team, agrees with this notion, stating that defense is often recognized only for their shortcomings.

“Well, it’s true,” Boswell said. “Defense doesn’t get enough credit. You don’t really notice it that much, unless they let in a goal. But if they save a goal, they should get more recognized.”

Martin Bell, the head coach for the boys water polo team, finds this sentiment especially true for his sport.

“For offensive players, it’s a turnover,” Bell said. “You have 15-20 yards to correct it. But for defense, it’s a penalty. Now you’re a man down, and you have 20 seconds to think about it. And that’s a huge difference.”

Senior Luke Landiak, captain of the boys water polo team and the varsity defender on the boys soccer team, recognizes that the pressure is higher for defensive athletes because an isolated event of blown coverage might overshadow a game of remarkable defense.

Despite this reality, Landiak finds water polo less incriminating for defense because of the way that the sport is played.

“Offense receives most of the recognition in soccer,” Landiak said. “But for water polo, the game is multifaceted so defensive players have the opportunity to contribute offensively.”

But for head girls soccer coach Steve Goletz, he believes that teams win and lose together and scapegoating can work both ways.

“Defensively, obviously you are judged a lot on goals scored or goals allowed,” Goletz said. “But on the offensive end, you lose a game 1-0, then you had 80 minutes to score a goal. So I don’t think that, in any way, you can blame one set, either offensively or defensively. We defend as a group; we defend with everybody.”