It’s a breezy Memorial Day afternoon for the sectional quarterfinals with Naperville North girls lax taking on the six-seed The Valley Co-Op. The three-seed Huskies took the regular season meeting 15-10, and they’re hoping for a similar result in the playoffs. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Naperville North girls lax opens with a four-goal lead over The Valley Co-Op
Just 40 seconds in, North works it around the horn. Kenzie Wattles to Merian Giese, who finds Edye Keen cutting inside. She buries the game’s opening goal—1-0 Huskies.
The Huskies keep the pressure on. Keen to Helena Siska on the left wing, back to Giese, and it’s Keen again—this time with a bouncing shot that finds the net. North leads 3-0.
The Valley gets on the board thanks to Katherine Madden, who powers one in to cut the deficit to two.
But Naperville North isn’t slowing down. Eloise Malley drives in and connects with Siska. The pass is bobbled, but Siska recovers and scores on a backhand finish. Huskies back up by three.
After a pair of quick goals from North, The Valley breaks through again. Sydney Shield takes it coast-to-coast and finds senior Sophia Morgan, who puts it away. North leads 6-2.
Then it’s Morgan again, creating space and dishing to Madden, who scores her second. The Valley cuts it to 6-3.
Sound the sirens—Eloise Malley attacks from behind the cage and finds junior Bridget Battaglia, who scores just before the end of the first quarter. Huskies up 7-3 after one.
Huskies lead by 11 thanks to a dynamic attack to open the IHSA Girls Lacrosse playoffs
Early in the second quarter, Battaglia’s shot rings just wide, but Kenzie Wattles grabs the rebound, circles around, and scores. North leads 8-3.
The Valley responds quickly—Madden caps off a give-and-go with Shield for her third goal. Co-Op still within striking distance.
But the Huskies begin to pull away. Keen and Giese go back-to-back, and Giese finishes again off a Wattles assist. North leads 12-5.
With five minutes left in the half, Kenzie Wattles takes it herself, 30 yards to the cage, and scores. The Huskies are in full control.
Right before halftime, Gracie Weidman buries a penalty restart at the buzzer. Naperville North heads into the break up 16-5.
North girls lax moves on to play Downers Grove North in the Sectional Semifinals
Into the third quarter, it’s more of the same. Wattles finds Keen for a step-back shot and score. North leads by a dozen.
The Valley tries to stop the bleeding—Sophia Morgan gets free, but Huskies goalie Ava Condos makes the stop.
Wattles scoops up a loose ball from Katie Byers and finds Helena Siska, who sends it home. At the end of three, it’s 18-6 Huskies.
In the fourth, The Valley keeps battling. Off the penalty restart, Sophia Morgan connects with Sydney Shield for a goal. The deficit is cut to eleven.
But North stays in command. Gracie Weidman scores her second goal on the doorstep to put an exclamation point on the win.
The Huskies advance to the sectional semifinals, where they’ll face Downers Grove North on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
