As the regular season comes to a close, Naperville Central girls’ soccer and Naperville North meet up in a critical DVC showdown. North enters on a three-game winning streak, while Central comes in winners of 9 straight, outscoring their opponents 39-2. These teams played to a tie in last year’s regular season meeting, but the Redhawks defeated the Huskies in the sectional semifinals, 2-1. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Two freshmen connect on a corner to put Naperville Central girls soccer ahead of North
About midway through the first half, Callie Tumilty finds some space in the corner. She centers it right in front of the net, and Olivia Ochsner gets her fingers on before Abby Penn clears it out of the box. The Huskies are able to hold off the Redhawks’ attack and keep the game scoreless.
With six minutes left in the half, North has a corner kick. Penn boots it into the crowd, it pinballs to Claire DeCook, but Erin Hackett is there for the save. We’re still at 0-0 as halftime nears.
Moments later, Kira Lambin is lined up for a corner kick for Central. She sends it over the top of the defense, and Sophia Cochran gets her head on it for the goal. The two freshmen connect to put the Redhawks up 1-0 at the half!
Redhawks add on another from a Nicole Sacek banger and hold off the Huskies in the second half
Now in the second half, Central is on the attack again. Emma Russell finds Tumilty in some open space, and she sends a shot off the crossbar. Ochsner is able to get it out of the box, but the Redhawks remain in possession. Seconds later, Russell passes to Nicole Sacek in the middle of the field, and she unleashes an outside-the-box banger! Redhawks are up 2-0.
North is looking to make it a game, as Isa Polavieja finds DeCook, who outmuscles a Redhawk down the right wing—before dribbling around another for a cutting curling shot, but it hits the crossbar! Naperville Central holds on defensively for a 2-0 victory, improving to 16-1-1 on the year!
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
