Naperville North girls lacrosse travels to Waubonsie to play The Valley co-op in a DVC matchup. The Valley enters the contest riding back-to-back wins with 20 or more goals in each, while North looks to bounce back after a loss to OPRF following a three-game winning streak. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Freshman Ella Guzaski continues her strong start to the season for The Valley
Early in the first quarter, The Valley moves the ball around the perimeter before finding freshman Ella Guzaski in the middle. She rifles it into the net to tie the game at one.
North then crosses midfield as Betsy Cordeiro lofts a perfect pass upfield to Merian Giese, who sprints toward goal and lays it off to Edye Keen for the score. The Huskies take the lead.
Moments later, Kenzie Wattles tries to shake the Valley press, gets denied, but quickly dishes to Keen again, who delivers her second of the night. North now leads 3-2.
Off the restart, The Valley wastes no time. Guzaski finds Sydney Shield, who sneaks the shot just inside the post to tie things up at 3-3 midway through the first.
North continues to push the pace – Giese and Keen score again
On the counterattack, North pushes the tempo. Wattles finds Giese once again, and the junior finishes from point-blank range to make it 4-3 Huskies.
This one is shaping up to be a back-and-forth affair. Guzaski gets another touch, creates some space, and the freshman scores her second goal of the game to tie it back up at four apiece.
Back on offense, Wattles facilitates again for North. Keen cuts inside and buries another one—her third of the game—to give the Huskies a 5-4 edge.
But Guzaski isn’t done. She takes over the next Valley possession, slices through the North defense, and scores low. What a move by the freshman to make it 5-5.
Naperville North girls lacrosse goes on a 5-0 run to help get past The Valley
North then goes on a run, beginning with this strong finish through contact by Helena Siska. The Huskies lead 7-5 with eight minutes to go in the second quarter.
Early in the third, Bridget Battaglia connects with Keen, who muscles through the defense to net another goal. That puts North up 9-5 with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Wattles keeps the pressure on. She takes it herself, spins around her defender, and scores to cap a 5-0 Huskie run.
The Valley tries to respond. Sydney Shield shows off her speed, hesitates on the attack, then feeds it to senior Sophia Morgan. Morgan passes to Guzaski, and the freshman finishes once again—her fifth goal of the night. The Valley cuts the deficit to 10-7.
However, North stays in control down the stretch. They work the ball patiently around the circle, and Giese is there to finish. Naperville North pulls away in the second half and earns a 15-10 win, improving to 2-0 in DVC play.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
