Sam Hess has been the king of swing for Naperville North this season.
The Indiana-bound senior has played with aplomb both in the midfield and in the back for the Huskies.
On Friday night, it was a swing of a different kind that made Hess stand out during the Class 3A Naperville North Sectional championship game against crosstown rival Naperville Central.
“The ball dropped to my feet, and in this type of game – it’s Central – we’re going to take any chance we can get,” he said. “So I took a swing at it, hit the ball nice, and it turned out well.”
Indeed, Hess trapped a loose ball out of the air, cocked his right leg and scored on a 33-yard shot to break a scoreless tie with 36 seconds left in the first half.
Hess’ brilliant strike from a standing-still posture was the game-winning goal as the top-seeded Huskies beat second-seeded Naperville Central 2-0 to win the 17th sectional title in program history.
“My balance helped with it a little bit,” he said. “So that gave me a little bit of an advantage, but you’re right, it was pretty far, so I gave it all I got.”
Senior forward Josh Pedersen, a Bowling Green commit, also scored for Naperville North (22-0-4), which will play Normal Community or Collinsville in the Normal Supersectional at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Hess has six goals and four assists, including one that set up Pedersen’s 30th goal. But Hess’ focus has been nearly entirely on defense since Naperville North coach Jim Konrad switched him to center back halfway through the season. Hess has moved back and forth throughout his four-year varsity career.
“Sam has been so disciplined and focused,” Konrad said. “He’s always over-the-top serious. He’s a very serious young man, and he has been so dialed in.
“He’s been a leader since he was a freshman, but these last two weeks, you can tell he knows, ‘I’ve got to be the best I can be now.’”
With Hess in the back, the Huskies have allowed only one goal in their past 10 games — and none in four playoff games. But with halftime looming and the two sides having combined for just two shots to that point, Hess saw a chance to attack against the Redhawks (16-4).
“He looked to me and said, ‘Hey, should I go?’ because he’s been so disciplined about staying home, to not giving up a counterattack,” Konrad said. “I said, ‘Go,’ and he finds the ball and hits it.
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“Every time, it sounds different coming off his and Josh’s feet, right? It’s just got that deep thud. You heard it, and you started to see it tail away. It went so fast the goalkeeper didn’t have a shot at it.”
Nearly 100 yards away, Naperville North senior goalkeeper Jack Bouska knew it too.
“Sam’s a special player,” Bouska said. “Not a lot of guys at the high school level are able to ping a ball the way he can.
“Right when I saw him take the first touch, I knew he was going to hit it on frame. We knew it was going to be a good shot, and I was getting ready to celebrate.”
Bouska also made some celebration-worthy plays. He stopped four shots in the second half, including an incredible reflex save on Naperville Central senior defender Ryan Gervase’s sharp header off a 48-yard free kick from junior defender Cal Bohan with 24:20 remaining.
“When the ball was in the air, I was a little hesitant thinking if I was going to go or not, but I stayed back,” Bouska said. “I saw Ryan Gervase’s header on frame, and I just reacted, and I was able to get a hand on it and just able to parry it away.”
Ten minutes later, Pedersen chipped a 15-yard shot over Naperville Central junior goalkeeper Wiktor Kopecki to make it 2-0. The Redhawks didn’t recover.
“With a very good defense, it’s almost hard sometimes for Jack because he doesn’t get a lot of action,” Hess said. “But he stays on top of it.
“He’s the backbone of our team. He’s very important.”
It’s hard to underestimate Hess’ importance to the Huskies.
“Look, I’m the type of player that I do what’s best for the team,” he said. “Me being on defense, that’s where I benefit the team the most. We figured that out halfway through the season.”
A season that continues for Naperville North after Hess’ seemingly memorable goal in his final home game. But it’s already old news to him.
“When I score, it kind of just goes to the back of my head, and it’s gone,” Hess said. “I’m more about not letting in any goals.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
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