Jake Hadaway didn’t feature in last year’s Naperville North’s Class 3A state championship team. He also didn’t play in the top junior varsity team. However, he is leaving a mark in his first and last varsity season. On Tuesday, the senior forward scored against Naperville Central, his third goal of the season.
Hadaway expressed, “I don’t think I’m gonna have any better feeling this season. To put us up 1-0 against our rivals like that, especially when on paper we were the underdogs, that is going to mean a lot to me looking back.” With only eight seconds left in the first half, Hadaway scored with a long pass from Will Boniface. Early in the second half, Hadaway’s cross led to a goal by Boniface. The Huskies surprised the visiting Redhawks with a 3-0 win in the DuPage Valley Conference match.
Soccer’s funny. We’re not three goals better than Central for sure.
Naperville North coach Jim Konrad commented. The Huskies, now 2-1-2, played better than expected to win by that margin despite their 31-game unbeaten streak ending early this season.
The more seasoned Redhawks, at 1-1-1 and 0-1 in the conference, commanded the first half but couldn’t score. Naperville Central coach Troy Adams remarked, “Soccer’s a cruel game… when you’re in front of the goal, it comes down to who finishes more.”
Dylan Healy, the team’s returning starter, demonstrated effective finishing. As the Huskies held a 2-0 lead in the second half, Ukiah Morris’s shot rebounded off the crossbar. Healy seized the rebound and scored, extending the lead to 3-0. Hadaway noted the team’s cohesion, stating, “We got a lot of good players, but we don’t have too many amazing players. With a lot of good players, if you do everything correct, you can get three goals against your rival.”
Similar camaraderie existed throughout the team, comprising many former JV2 players. Hadaway remarked, “A lot of the players here I played with my freshman year, so I still have a lot of chemistry with them.” He himself scored 28 goals for JV2 the previous year.
Coach Konrad praised Hadaway’s spirit, stating, “There’s good soccer players, and there’s kids that just want to win. Jake is a good soccer player who wants to win, and there’s a difference there.” Hadaway showed relentless energy throughout the match.
Boniface, benefiting from increased responsibility after many teammates graduated, spoke highly of the collaborative team effort. “We got Jake Hadaway, and this kid has been amazing. We don’t really have a superstar, but we have everyone playing together for each other,” he noted.
Stan Goff is a freelance reporter.