Kaitlyn Nudera’s second half goal helps St. Charles North knock off top-seeded St. Charles East

GLEN ELLYN — Kaitlyn Nudera has been feeling a rush since the start of the playoffs.

Coming off St. Charles North’s regional title where she scored the game-tying goal in a double OT victory over Batavia, the North Stars’ junior came into Tuesday’s sectional semifinal knowing that bringing that same energy could be what made or broke the team.

So when the ball landed at her feet in front of an unmanned St. Charles East goal in the 50th minute, the rush took over once again.

“I just saw it as a great opportunity for us,” Nudera said. “It’s just what we needed to keep moving forward. It was just a giant push in momentum for all of us and was the extra push to work even harder.”

Nudera’s goal proved to be the difference maker, as the fourth-seeded North Stars held on to get a 1-0 victory to upset the top-seeded Saints in the Glenbard West Class 3A Sectional semifinals.

“She’s just a player that from Day 1 has had tremendous physical abilities, speed and ball control,” North Stars coach Brian Harks said. “But now her IQ and fight has been great, and she’s been a really impressive player to watch as the season went on.”

St. Charles North (11-5-3) advanced to its 11th consecutive sectional final with the win, where the North Stars will face second-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South, who won its sectional semifinal 7-0 over Glenbard West.

The win marked the third straight season that the North Stars took down their crosstown rivals in the postseason, with a win in the sectional semifinals last season and the sectional final in 2023.

And after losing 3-0 and drawing a 1-1 tie to their rivals earlier in the season, Harks said it was great to see his team play up to the level that he knew the team could play at.

“It’s truly been amazing to show up to practice every day with these girls who always want to get better,” Harks said. “They want to show their growth, they want to improve and succeed. They have the right mindset day in and day out, and they showed the level they can play at against an extremely talented St. Charles East team.”

The Saints (19-7-2) found some early chances to try and find the back of the net off of free kicks. The Saints scored 30 minutes into the game off a free kick that sophomore Presley Kannaka got a foot on, but the goal was called back on an offsides call.

“It’s just a game of margins, and when you get to this point in the season, a lot of these games are dictated by a goal,” Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We weren’t able to score, and our message has been to score goals to win games. The field wasn’t conducive to what we wanted to do, but we struggled to find a way and they did find a way.”

Despite the end of their season coming earlier than expected, DiNuzzo said he’s more than excited to see what’s in store for the Saints in the future. St. Charles East is set to return 10 of its 11 starters next season, with goalkeeper and four-year starter Sidney Lazenby being the lone senior starter.

“It’s a good group of kids that are willing to learn and grow and want to put in extra work to be ready for these moments,” DiNuzzo said. “I’m sure they’ll put in a good offseason to prepare themselves for hopefully a run at the state title next season. But I couldn’t be more grateful for the seniors we had on the team this year.”