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Naperville Central edges out Tigers
Updated: May 21, 2011 9:31PM
Saturday’s Naperville Central Regional final between Naperville Central and Plainfield North offered fans a change of pace from the semifinals, which each team won 8-1.
The lower-scoring game was just fine for the Redhawks (14-6-3), who won 1-0. They earn the right to play Naperville North Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in the Waubonsie Valley Sectional semifinal.
“I thought that our backs did a really good job for the vast majority of the game,” Redhawks coach Ed Watson said.
Naperville Central came into play seeded third among the 20 teams in the sectional and Plainfield North was sixth.
Saturday’s match in Naperville had all the makings of an overtime thriller, but Redhawks junior Katherine Short had other ideas. She stepped up and nailed a free kick with 14:51 left in regulation for the eventual game-winner. Short’s kick evaded a wall of Tigers defenders and stuck in the corner of the net.
Afterward, she acknowledged the confidence boost her regional semifinal hat trick provided. That came in Naperville Central’s 8-1 win Wednesday over 14th-seeded Plainfield Central.
“Having a hat trick in a game definitely boosts someone’s confidence a ton,” she said. “So, I mean, when I had that hat trick obviously it was a big help for my team to get it, but (Saturday) it felt like I was able to hit that shot. It definitely helped.”
Watson breathed a sigh of relief when Short confidently scamper over to take the kick.
“She probably hits our best ball,” he said. “And the fact that she went there to take it, I was already feeling good about the fact that she believes that she’s gonna make it.”
Plainfield North finishes the season 17-3-2 after advancing a step further than last season into the regional .The Tigers were eliminated in the first round last year. They played the Redhawks to a 1-1 tie at Naperville Central back on March 19— a contest that was the Tigers’ first of the year and only the Redhawks’ third.
Both coaches and Short agreed that both teams have improved significantly since their last meeting—especially the Tigers. Watson and Short both commented on their opposition’s improvement.
“We’re a lot different than we were then and they’re a lot different than they were,” Plainfield North coach Jane Crowe said. “We knew it was going to come down to one play and it did.”
Paige Polonus kept Plainfield North in the game with her 12 saves, while Jill D’Amico had six for Naperville Central.
Plainfield North defeated 11th-seeded Plainfield South in the teams’ regional opener to advance to the regional championship.
“It’s tough (for) these two teams to have to meet this early,” Crowe said. “There’s regional championships out there that aren’t nearly at this level. Somebody’s going to have to lose, and unfortunately it was us today.”
Watson concurred, saying: “It’s unfortunate that a team of that caliber has to be beaten at the regional final level.”
He said “a good number” of remaining 3A teams could not beat the Tigers.
Naperville Central plays second-seeded Naperville North next. Both teams will have to adjust to Waubonsie Valley’s natural grass playing surface, as both Naperville’s play their home games on FieldTurf.
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