The Naperville North High School varsity boys soccer team showcased their strength as a group with their win over Joliet West High School on Friday, Oct. 4.
The Huskies (15-1-1) played the Joliet West Tigers (5-10-2), securing their 15th win this season with a 4-1 finish.
From the first moments of the game, the Huskies controlled the pace. They continuously drove through the Tiger’s midfield and attacked the goal. Despite this, the Huskies were not able to capitalize on the numerous chances they had on goal, until a corner kick taken 12 minutes into the half by junior forward Brian Biederman (23), and volleyed low into the net by junior center-back and captain Sam Hess (3), would make the score 1-0. The Tigers struggled to find chances to score as the Huskies’ backline shut down attacks quickly. The Huskies maintained their offensive momentum, but did not score on chances until late into the first half. With a little under 11 minutes left in the half, Hess dribbled downfield, passing a perfectly-timed ball to senior forward and captain Noah Radeke (7), who placed the ball across the face of the goal, where senior forward and captain Jaxon Stokes (11) would finish for the Huskies’ second goal. However, the Tigers would respond minutes after. A JWHS forward took a shot just outside of the box, and Huskie goalkeeper Jack Bouska (0) made a diving save, but the Tigers were ready for the rebound. The ball deflected off of one of NNHS’s defenders before hitting the back of the net, making the score 2-1. The goal did not stop the Huskies, and, with two minutes left, they made the score 3-1 with a cross from senior forward Juan Carlos Hernandez-Moreno (8) to junior forward Josh Pedersen (10), who flicked the ball into the Tiger’s net. The Huskies closed the half with another goal, with Radeke scoring off a corner by Pedersen, finalizing the score of the first half at 4-1. Pedersen shared his thoughts on the Huskies’ change in the efficiency of their offense.
“We started off a little slow, I mean we weren’t really tracking the ball a lot, we were kind of out of sync with each other. But as we moved on and switched out some of the line up, we just got better and better and got more goals on the board,” Pedersen said.
The second half was scoreless, but still displayed the Huskies’ control over the match. They recorded numerous shots on goal, and the backline swept up any threat the Tiger’s may have posed late into the game. The Huskies came out on top, maintaining the score from the end of the first half of 4-1. Although not as eventful as the previous half, senior defender and captain Connor Hanrahan (4) talked about the team’s energy going into the second half.
“The energy with the band here was great and we got to listen to them right away [after the half] and that was really fun to watch, so thanks to them for coming out,” Hanrahan said.
The game stood apart from the other soccer games North has hosted. Since the NNHS varsity football team was away at Lincoln-Way West, the boys soccer team got to play under the Friday Night Lights. The NNHS marching band performed throughout the game and had a halftime show, adding to the exciting atmosphere of the game. Junior midfielder Andrew Hebron (2) commented on the invigorating tone of the evening.
“The band brought a bunch of sound and a bunch of hype, there were a lot of fans. Everyone was really hyped [up],” Hebron said.
That was not the only change on Friday for the Huskies; with head coach of the boys varsity team, Jim Konrad, absent for the game, Assistant Coach Steve Goletz took the lead. Regardless of the coaching switch-up, there was no deviation from the norm for the Huskies. Goletz talks about how this change was handled by the team.
“I think the big thing is the boys know what the expectation is, whether he’s here, whether I’m here. The only thing that was different was just a little bit more responsibility for me in regards to substituting and things like that,” Goletz said.
With the regular season coming to an end, the Huskies have turned their focus onto the post-season and what it will take to make it to the state championship game. The Huskies, who placed third in the state last season, are ready for what comes next. Goletz outlines this.
“The guys know they’re tested. We’ve played a bunch of great teams. We know what we need to do to win. It’s just getting it done now,” said Goletz.
The Huskies play their next game at Oswego East High School against the Oswego East Wolves at 10 a.m. on Oct. 12.
