Naperville Central senior Megan Norkett got the ball in the right side of Wheaton St. Francis’ penalty area and was immediately surrounded by three defenders.
Those aren’t good odds for the vast majority of soccer players, but Norkett is a singular talent. She changed directions twice, cutting back to the middle before sending a left-footed shot that went just wide of the left post.
That’s what passes for success for opposing defenders, and those successes have been few and far between against the Northwestern-bound Norkett.
“To have a goal scorer like Megan, that’s the hardest piece, usually, to find,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “So the fact that she is able to understand when to go to goal and when to lay it off is a huge part.
“One player can make a huge impact, but you’ve got to be able to get your teammates involved, and she’s done a tremendous job of it.”
Facilitating was Norkett’s primary role the past two seasons, when she played attacking midfielder. As a junior, she had 19 goals and nine assists, numbers she figures to surpass this season.
Norkett recorded her second consecutive hat trick on Wednesday as the visiting Redhawks cruised past St. Francis 5-0 on the road. She has seven goals in the first three games.
“It’s been really enjoyable,” Norkett said. “I had some time off for an injury, so I struggled in the club season.
“In the fall, I didn’t play much, so it’s kind of nice to come back and actually be playing pretty well. Getting ready for college, I think it’s really important getting shots in and playing well. And obviously this is a great team to play with, so I’m really enjoying it so far.”
Adams has Norkett playing forward, although she can shift positions according to how the team is doing. The switch has been seamless.
“I know it’s a little shift of being higher up the field, but I said to her, ‘The closer you are to the goal, the more you score, usually,'” Adams said. “There is a correlation between the two, so she has a lot of freedom to kind of move where she needs to move.
“She does a good job. If she drops into more of that attacking mid area, does the center back come out and mark her? Do they pass her off, which means now we have an overload of numbers?”
The Redhawks (3-0) have overloaded the scoreboard in their past two games. They beat Belleville West 7-4 on Friday as Norkett scored on three consecutive shots and then outshot St. Francis (1-1) by a 24-0 margin. Cincinnati-bound senior defender Ella Burke and senior forward Betty Smith also scored against the Spartans.
“She’s a very versatile player,” Burke said of Norkett. “She hurt her foot last season, so I think her comeback is even better. She’s been able to recover from that and show that she’s more than everyone else thinks she is. Even though they thought she was good before, she’s even better now.”
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That was evident Wednesday. Norkett opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick and made it 2-0 when she dribbled around the left end and scored from a severe angle with 24:35 remaining in the first half.
Norkett’s corner kick led to Naperville Central’s third goal, which Burke scored on a 6-yard shot just inside the right post.
Norkett completed her hat trick at the 32:51 mark of the second half, receiving a pass in the middle of the box with her back to the goal before turning and firing a 12-yard shot into the upper left corner. She spent the rest of the game resting on the bench.
There figures to be little rest for opposing defenders, however, against the relentless Norkett.
“I’ve moved higher up on the field because we have a strong midfield, and so I’m looking to go to goal more myself,” she said. “I feel like that is helping the team because then if I can’t go to goal, I can slip it through to someone else, which I feel like is really important for us. It’s exciting.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.