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NAPERVILLE – Jaci Laramie was nervous as she and her Huntley teammates traveled down to Naperville on Wednesday night.
The Red Raiders were off to one of their best starts in over a decade. But they still felt like they had something to prove to the rest of the state, facing off against one of the state’s top-ranked teams, Naperville North.
“They have a lot of good girls, so it was a lot,” Laramie, a senior, said. “It was kind of scary.”
Once Laramie and her teammates got on the pitch, those fears went away. Huntley executed a lockdown defensive game plan for much of the match to stop the Huskies’ talented offense from scoring.
The Red Raiders left Naperville with a 0-0 tie and an undefeated record through nine matches, securing their best start to a season since at least 2012.
“I feel like we’re a little bit far from here so a lot of people might have looked down on us, like oh, just a little small-town Huntley,” Laramie said. “But I think we really proved ourselves, and we showed that we are a [force] to be reckoned with.”
Huntley (6-0-3) didn’t waste time setting the tone in Tuesday’s match. The Huskies pushed the pace early and continuously created good looks. But the Red Raiders stayed organized defensively and didn’t let much get through, turning away five shots on goal in the first half.
After having just one shot on goal in the first half, Huntley’s offense gained momentum in the second half. The Red Raiders pushed the ball more and created some strong chances and three shots on goal in the second half.
Naperville North (3-1-2) kept pressuring late but couldn’t find the back of the net. Huntley’s junior goalkeeper Ashlyn Grabs made five saves in net.
“I was super happy with how we defended,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “I was super happy with how we played in the middle of the field. I even actually thought our forwards did some really good things. We just couldn’t find that last piece to put the ball in the net.”
Huntley has shown that it’s been a team to be reckoned with for much of the first weeks of the season. The Red Raiders picked up dominating wins over teams like Larkin (9-0), Auburn (8-0), Guilford (9-0) and Woodstock North (4-0). They also tied with some of the state’s top teams such as Evanston and Boylan Catholic.
“I feel like we’re a little bit far from here so a lot of people might have looked down on us, like oh, just a little small-town Huntley. But I think we really proved ourselves and we showed that we are a battle to be reckoned with.”
— Jaci Laramie, Huntley senior
Red Raiders coach Matt Lewandowski credited his returning players for transferring last season’s late success to this year. Huntley went undefeated in its final eight matches of the regular season and won a regional title before losing to Barrington in a shootout in the sectional semifinals.
“I think that’s a credit to our leadership coming from the kids that played at the end last year, that went toe to toe with Barrington, to get a whole bunch of new newcomers on the same level pretty quickly,” Lewandowski said. “I think it is a nod to the leadership that we have on our team.”
Huntley will try to bring that momentum with it as it opens Fox Valley Conference play Tuesday against Crystal Lake Central. The duo have been at the top of the FVC over the past couple of seasons and both teams know there will be a lot on the line in their early season matchup.
“We know that Central is going to be a battle, and we really want to get a good foot and head start with that so we can win conference this year,” Laramie said. “They’re state champions, so we just want to win.”