Girls Soccer: Huskies Edged By Granite City in State Final

Sometimes great effort just isn’t enough.

Such was the case for the girls soccer team Saturday night, which fell just short in its quest to win its first state championship in 23 years.

Granite City’s Kaitlin Becherer scored on a 20-yard shot from just outside the penalty area with 23 seconds left in the first half and the Warriors hung on for a 1-0 victory in the Class 3A state title match at . It was Becherer’s first goal of the season and it gave Granite City its first state title.

“I think we played absolutely awesome, but they kind of got that fluke goal at the top of box that wasn’t really fair to us,” Naperville North senior defender Kirsten Anderson said. “I think we worked our butts off. We still had opportunities. We just couldn’t put it away, but I’m still extremely proud of us.”

Becherer’s goal was just the second given up by the Huskies (18-6-1) in their seven playoff games. It came from an angle on the left wing and went over the head of Naperville North goalie Abby Green and under the crossbar, putting the Huskies behind for the first time in the postseason.

“I guess in the state finals any shot that goes in is a great shot, but no, I mean it was a shot from a tough angle,” Naperville North coach Brent Terada said. “We stepped in hard, we did everything right, the ball just squeaked out and it just floated in.”

The Huskies attacked with vigor in the second half, outshooting the Warriors (20-6) by a 7-2 margin after intermission, but despite some near-misses could not get the equalizer.

Junior Hunter Drendel had the best chance when she ran onto a long ball from Anderson in the box and fired from 10 yards out, but Granite City goalie Halley Robertson knocked the ball up into the air before leaping to grab it with 4:45 remaining. It was the toughest of Robertson’s four saves.

Twenty minutes earlier, Adrienne Schertz had a header in traffic knocked off the line by a defender, and sophomore striker Zoe Swift sent the rebound wide of the right post.

“I thought we did a great job,” said Terada, whose squad was shut out for just the fourth time this season and had a nine-game winning streak snapped. “I couldn’t be more proud of our group. They worked hard, they battled, they created opportunities and that’s the way soccer goes.

“We did it to a couple teams along the way where sometimes you create the opportunities and sometimes you don’t finish. We did that to two teams on the trip out here, so it’s kind of hard for me to say it’s unfair when it happens to us.”

Indeed, the Huskies had won their previous five games by one goal, including a stunning 1-0 victory over the nation’s top-ranked team, , in the title match of the Waubonsie Valley Sectional, easily the toughest in the state.

“I think we owed it to our sectional to try to win state because we come from the so-called ‘Sectional of Death,’” said Anderson, who created most of her team’s opportunities with her long throw-ins. “We beat Neuqua to get out of it, so that’s something we liked to be proud of too. Clearly we had a great season.”

It was indeed one of the best Naperville North has had. The Huskies won a trophy for the sixth time and were appearing in their third state title match. They won the crown in 1988, the first year the sport was sanctioned by the IHSA, and were second in 1998. Both of those squads were coached by Alan Harris, who attended Saturday’s game.

“It’s hard not to keep our heads down but we tried hard and played the full 80 minutes,” said senior co-captain Jamie Meno, who along with Anderson, Schertz and Angela Widlacki comprised Naperville North’s rock-solid back line. “Obviously it’s not as good as first place, but it’s not because of (lack of) work and effort. We had to play our hearts out, especially in this game, and we did.

“It’s been a great team. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Neither could Terada.

“It was a great ride,” Terada said. “It was a wonderful experience. Obviously we didn’t walk away with the trophy we wanted but I couldn’t be more proud of the kids because that’s what we asked for—for them to work hard, play for each other and to battle.”