Naperville Central senior Molly O’Rear brings a literal interpretation to the striker position.
The Valparaiso recruit doesn’t just play center forward — also known as striker. She shoots so hard it can leave a mark.
Just ask junior defender Ella Burke, who has to try to stop O’Rear from getting off those shots during practice.
“It’s crazy,” Burke said. “She hits them so hard, it’s ridiculous.
“She’s a very good forward and an even more excellent striker of the ball.”
O’Rear demonstrated that again Friday night at the Naperville Invitational, unleashing eight ferocious shots with her left leg and scoring twice in a 5-1 victory over Oswego at Memorial Stadium.
Northwestern-bound junior midfielder Megan Norkett also scored two goals, while Burke added a goal and assist for the host Redhawks (11-0), who qualified for next Thursday’s tournament quarterfinals.
“Molly works her hind end off,” Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. “No one is going to outwork Molly, and she can put the ball on frame with pace.
“Their goalkeeper made some really good saves — they were protect-myself type saves. Molly hit a couple balls that just blistered.”
O’Rear barely missed wide on her first two shots and Oswego goalkeeper Maggie Leger made a diving save on the third before Norkett converted on a shot from a tough angle at the 21:23 mark of the first half for a 1-0 lead.
Thirteen minutes later, Burke maneuvered through traffic on the right side and passed to O’Rear at the top of the penalty area. O’Rear turned and fired a rocket as she was falling backward, sending the ball into the upper left corner.
“Ella sent a beautiful ball,” O’Rear said. “It was beautiful vision, and I didn’t think she was going to be able to get it to me because of how many people were in front of her.
“I knew I had to finish it. The way I turned, I was leaning back a little bit, so I was lucky to get it underneath the bar.”
Oswego coach Gaspar Arias said there was nothing lucky about it.
“My keeper couldn’t do anything on that shot,” Arias said. “It was a great shot, great placement.”
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It was at that moment Arias knew the Panthers (6-4-1) had to elevate their play. Leger made nine saves, including one on a penalty kick by Norkett.
“We had a wake-up call after 2-0,” Arias said. “We’re like, ‘OK, we need to switch something.’
“The second half we set it up a little bit better and we were able to control things better than in the first half. But they’re just a great team and they outplayed us.”
Naperville Central led 4-0 early in the second half when Oswego’s Anna Johnson scored on a penalty kick. It was the only blemish on a terrific effort by the Redhawks.
“We thought this team was going to be really good and they were,” said O’Rear, who capped the scoring on a 30-yard rocket with 16:19 left. “They came out strong and we were just happy we started to finish our shots.”
O’Rear regularly finishes her shots. She has 11 goals this season, which gives her 29 since the start of the 2021 season.
“I’ve been working on my shot for a long time,” O’Rear said. “But to be honest, the reason that my shot is so good is because I get such good passes from my teammates.
“They give me the ball in a good spot where I have enough time to get that shot off, so really, I wouldn’t have the shot I have without my teammates.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.