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Sophomores set up Naperville North’s win
May 20, 2011. | Jon Cunningham~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: May 20, 2011 11:30PM
One seemingly-routine moment in Friday’s Naperville North Regional final turned out to decide the outcome of the game.
A sophomore scoring connection for Naperville North (15-5-1) involved Zoe Swift executing a near-perfect cross to Cora Climo for the game’s only goal. The Huskies defeated Metea Valley 1-0 to advance to the sectional at Waubonsie Valley.
Swift found Climo with a pass from the left side as Climo found an opening inside the goal area.
“She hit a great ball in and I just wanted to get any piece I could on it, and luckily, it went in,” Climo said.
That goal came in the ninth minute of play, and was routine only because her teammates have grown accustomed to Swift’s deft passing and because the score came so early on in the action.
“To get that first one is huge,” Huskies coach Brent Terada said. “In the playoffs, it takes a lot of pressure off everyone else.”
Climo agreed, saying: “It was really important, because sometimes we struggle mentally when we go down a goal. We wanted to get a goal as soon as possible so that we could keep the momentum and keep the pressure going on (Metea).”
The Huskies beat the Mustangs 1-0 in their regular-season match.
Swift nearly scored multiple times in the second half, including one instance in which the forward whizzed past a trio of Mustangs defenders to break free for a shot that sailed wide right and high. Both goalkeepers did their parts to keep the game close.
Megan Geldernick made nine saves for Metea Valley (12-10-1), and Naperville North’s Abby Green stopped four Mustangs shots.
Each keeper needed to fend off well-struck balls at various points in the game. Green made two saves in which she deflected the shot away with one hand, and Geldernick displayed both her jumping ability and lateral quickness with her array of saves—not that that should surprise anyone.
“Megan’s a really good player,” Mustangs coach Pat Feulner said. “Megan’s the best goalkeeper in the state of Illinois. We depend on Megan a lot. She’s a great player, so we know when Megan or Kiley (Dunning) are in goal, we’ve got two of the best and we’ve always got a chance to win.”
Both are sophomores.
Of the team’s future postseason prospects, Feulner said: “We’ll be back.”
Naperville North plays the winner of Saturday’s 11 a.m. Naperville Central Regional final between third-seeded Naperville Central and sixth-seeded Plainfield North in a Waubonsie Valley Sectional showdown at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Both Plainfield North and Naperville Central defeated their regional semifinal opponents by 8-1 scores.
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