Naperville North battles it out with Neuqua Valley in the sectional semifinal where the Huskies pull away to secure their spot in the final. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
The number one seed Naperville North boys soccer team facing off against the 13 seed, Neuqua Valley in the sectional semifinals. The Wildcats shocked West Aurora and Plainfield East en route to a regional championship.
1st Half
Neuqua won both regional contests via shutout, but five minutes into the game, the Huskies get on the board as Alex Barger centers a pass that finds Keegan Flaherty who powers a shot into the net. Great start for the blue and orange.
One minute later and the Huskies have another corner. Barger puts this one right to the leg of Jacob Ryu for the goal. In a blink, Naperville North has a two-goal lead.
Near the end of the first half, Cameron Radeke gets past the defense on a fast break, but Nick Varrone wins the race to the ball to clear it and keep it a two-score game at halftime.
2nd Half
Neuqua Valley comes out firing in the second half. A trio of seniors doing their part as Jack Georgi passes to John Pochyly, who hits Ved Asur (Vayd Uh-soor) for the goal. Wildcats down 2-1 with still plenty of ballgame left. Just the second goal for Neuqua against Naperville North since 2017.
Huskies look to get the goal back and Jacob Ryu with a line drive shot from the right side, but Varrone deflects it out of play.
Yet another corner kick for Alex Barger who is so dangerous. Harshit Gupta gets his head on the ball, which deflects off the post. Cameron Radeke’s pass is kicked away by Varrone, but that also hits off the post and Tyson Amoo-Mensah slides in for the goal. The DePaul commit puts Naperville North back on top 3-1 with under 15 to play.
Final ten minutes and Neuqua needs a goal. Sanath Dachepalli with a great shot, but a nice save from Patrick Horn pushes the ball out of harms way.
The Huskies put the exclamation point on this one as Radeke gets behind the defense following the Ryu header. His shot finds its mark in the corner of the net. Naperville North advances to the sectional championship after a 4-1 victory over Neuqua Valley. Rival Naperville Central awaits.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
