Senior forward Joey LoDuca bet on himself, and Naperville Central cashed in.
LoDuca got the ball in open space early in the second half of the Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional championship game on Saturday and knew he had to do what he does best: shoot and score.
“It’s a chance. It’s a risk,” he said. “Everyone takes risks. I felt that was a good risk to take, being outside the box wide open, and it gave us a goal because of it.”
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Indeed, LoDuca scored on a 25-yard shot to give the top-seeded Redhawks the lead against crosstown rival Naperville North with 33:17 remaining. His left-footed strike held up as the game-winning goal in Naperville Central’s 3-2 victory against the second-seeded Huskies.
It’s the first sectional championship since 2015 for the Redhawks (23-3-1), who tied the program record for wins. They will play fourth-seeded Hinsdale Central (17-4-1) in the East Aurora Supersectional at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
LoDuca’s goal was his 20th of the season, one behind freshman Chase Adams, who had tied the game four minutes earlier with his 21st, for the team lead. It came as no surprise to LoDuca’s teammates.
“We’re used to seeing that from Joey,” senior midfielder Sean O’Reilly said. “He does that a lot. It was good to see it here in the sectional final. He’s meant a lot to our team.”
Even Naperville North coach Jim Konrad, who saw his team’s unbeaten streak end at 12 games and run of sectional titles snapped at five, was happy for LoDuca, who is a club teammate of Konrad’s son Ryan.
“It’s funny. I started coaching Joe when he was 8 years old,” Konrad said. “Obviously, I wish he wouldn’t have scored that goal, but I’m happy for Joe. He’s a wonderful kid, great family, just a kid that’s worked hard all year. That was a huge goal to beat your crosstown rival.”
After O’Reilly’s goal in the second minute gave Naperville Central a quick 1-0 lead, the Huskies (17-4-4) controlled most of the first half and got goals from sophomores Jaxon Stokes and Noah Radeke to take a 2-1 halftime lead.
But Chase Adams tied it off an assist from O’Reilly just 2:56 after intermission. Then the Huskies made a big mistake by letting LoDuca have 5 yards of freedom.
Naperville Central junior midfielder Carter Adams was thrilled to see that.
“It was super exciting,” he said. “He’s done it countless times this year in big games. It’s really exciting because when Joe turns inside with his left foot, he can rip it from wherever.”
In this instance, LoDuca and the Redhawks ripped the heart out of the Huskies, who mustered only two shots in the second half.
“I’m proud of the boys,” Konrad said. “They battled the whole way. We just weren’t good enough in a couple areas and gave them a little too much space, and they took advantage of it.”
It was Naperville Central’s second victory of the season against the Huskies, who rallied to win this matchup 3-2 in the sectional final a year ago.
The Redhawks extended their unbeaten streak to 14 games.
“It was a matter of work rate,” LoDuca said. “We knew that North was a hardworking team, and we knew today was going to be a good game.
“First half, we had a goal, but our work rate kind of died down toward the end of the first half, and they got two goals. Second half, we knew we had to step it up.
“Scoring the next goal, we knew we had to kick the momentum up. We got another goal because of it, and we got the result.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.