Ten years ago, Metea Valley girls soccer won their first regional championship and the team has basically not stopped winning them since. Let’s go back to Season 5 of Naperville Sports Weekly for the latest Vintage Moments, sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
Since the 2005 season, four of our six Naperville area girls soccer have won a combined eight state championships in classes 2A and 3A. So you can see how daunting the road to prominence looked for Metea Valley when the program kicked off in its first varsity season in 2010.
But it only took two seasons to put the Mustangs on the map. After posting a winning record of 12-10-1 in 2011, and advancing to the regional finals, Metea took another step forward the following year. In 2012, the Mustangs fought their way to the number three seed in the Naperville North sectional.
Players like Jenna Kentgen, Alexis McKay, Holly Krol and goalie Megan Geldernick led the young but experienced group to another regional final against Plainfield North.
Geldernick was outstanding in net, keeping the Tigers out of the scoring column all game long. Midway through the second half, Paige Velez corralled a deflected shot from Abby Adams to score the go ahead goal. The Mustangs had won their first regional, advancing to the sectional semi finals. Despite a 1-0 loss to Lockport in the sectional round, that was just a glimpse at the future for Metea Valley girls soccer.
Since that victory in May of 2012, the Mustangs won seven consecutive regional championships starting in 2014 through the 2021. The 2022 team hopes to keep that streak alive during the ten year anniversary of that first regional, and finally break through to win the program’s first sectional title.
For Naperville Sports Weekly, I’m Justin Cornwell.
