It only took 41 seconds for St. Charles North to get on the board Friday.
After that, it was smooth sailing.
The second-seeded North Stars used three first-half goals to fuel them to a 3-0 victory over seventh seed Batavia in the Class 3A Batavia regional final.
The win secured the 21st consecutive regional title for North. North coach Brian Harks said that while every year feels different with a new team, the girls still continue to uphold the traditions of years past.
“These girls have done a good job representing the program and our shield,” Harks said. “They came to play today, and they should be proud.”
Juliana Park got the North Stars’ offense going early. After pushing the ball down the field for the first time, Rian Spaulding ran the ball down the far sideline before centering the ball to Park, who sunk the ball into the bottom-right corner of the net past a diving Reagan Sulaver to put North up 1-0 with less than a minute off the clock.
“I felt like our team had a lot of good energy to start off, which is why we scored so early,” Park said. “It gave us a lot of confidence and gave us a boost to keep going and get another one.”
Park scored her second goal of the game in the 24th minute, this time from further out. The senior got the ball at around the 20-yard line on the field and after pushing up a bit, sent a shot from 25 yards out to the right-side of the net to make it 3-0.
Laney Stark added an insurance goal two minutes before Park’s second after maneuvering the ball around three Batavia defenders before placing the ball in the bottom-right corner to push the score to 2-0.
After only scoring one goal in the first half of their regional semifinal game against Willowbrook, Stark said that the team carried over some momentum from a four-goal second half and carried a will to score early.
“We went out there knowing that it wasn’t just another game, but an important game,” Stark said. “And I think us focusing on the fact that we only have so much time left together, we need to come out right from the start, and I think we did that today.”
North will take on crosstown rival and third-seeded St. Charles East in the sectional semifinals. East defeated South Elgin 4-3 to secure the South Elgin regional title.
The two teams faced off during Tri-Cities night, where Stark scored the only goal of the match in the seventh minute of play for a 1-0 victory on their home turf. The North Stars also ended the Saints’ season last year with a 3-2 win in penalty kicks in the sectional finals.
“It’s no secret that St. Charles East is a talented team. They’ve got a great backline, a stud at goalkeeper and some players up top that can find the back of the net,” Harks said. “We’ve just got to keep focusing on ourselves, search for that next level, and let those 80 minutes decide it.”
For Batavia, their season comes to an end with a record of 8-9-2. The loss also marked the end of the high school playing years of eight seniors, including captains Sarah Koziol and Addison Lowe, who both played at the varsity level for all four years.
Lowe said despite facing adversity multiple times throughout the year with girls going down with injury, including defender Emma Stoodley, who left the game after colliding with a North player going for a head ball, she was still extremely proud of how the team played all year long.
“Every game was basically a new lineup and we had a bunch of players changing positions,” Lowe said. “It’s just been a battle, but I’m so happy that we all went through it together and we fought as much as we could.”
Despite being down 3-0 heading into the half, the Bulldogs managed to keep North off the score board through the entire second half, which was a feat that both Koziol and coach Mark Gianfrancesco said was something that the team could hang their hat on and be proud of at the end of the day.
“Each half is a new half for us, and we talk about winning the half, but at least we managed to tie the half,” Koziol said. “We kept fighting and never loosened up, so I think it showed that we were working hard no matter what and wanted to get that win, but things don’t always go your way.”
St. Charles North's Rian Spaulding (5) smiles after assisting on a goal by Juliana Park (18) against Batavia during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Batavia’s Reagan Sulaver (25) dives to make a save against St. Charles North's Laney Stark (19) during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Batavia’s Abi Edwards (13) goes up for a header against St. Charles North's Aubri Magana (20) during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Aubri Magana (20) plays the ball against Batavia during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Juliana Park (18) plays the ball against Batavia during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Addyson Priess (9) plays the ball against Batavia’s Addison Lowe (21) during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Rian Spaulding (5) and Batavia's Emma Stoodley (3) collide while trying to head the ball during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Batavia’s Addison Schaffer (12) challenges St. Charles North's Juliana Park (18) for the ball during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Laney Stark (19) shoots the ball against Batavia during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Kayla Floyd (2) goes up for a header against Batavia during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Juliana Park (18) smiles after scoring a goal against Batavia during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
St. Charles North's Lauren Korioth (0) makes a diving save against Batavia during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Batavia's Riley Bainter (8) heads the ball against St. Charles North during a Class 3A Batavia Regional final soccer match at Batavia High School in Batavia on Friday, May 17, 2024.
