Naperville Central’s Kira Lambin is a two-footed and two-way player.
The sophomore midfielder can pass and score with either foot and is equally proficient at playing offense or defense.
“She is probably one of the most two-footed players you’ll see because she’s the right-footed corner kick and then she’s the backup for the left-footed corners,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “It’s nice to have girls that can serve balls in with accuracy and with precision.”
The Redhawks have two of the best set-piece players, Lambin and Michigan-bound junior forward Emerson Burke. They share the duties on corner kicks, and both are dangerous on free kicks.
Both Lambin and Burke have scored directly on corner kicks this season, and both scored on wickedly curving free kicks during the top-seeded Redhawks’ 8-0 victory over Yorkville in the Class 3A Naperville Central Regional championship game at Memorial Stadium on Friday.
The top-seeded Redhawks (18-0-1) advance to the Naperville Central Sectional semifinals and will play fourth-seeded Plainfield North (18-3), which beat Naperville North, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Burke had four goals and an assist against 10th-seeded Yorkville (10-7), while Lambin added two goals, and sophomore forward Natalie Liesch and junior midfielder Nicole Sacek each had one goal.
It was the first two-goal game of the season for Lambin, who is in her second varsity season and first as a starter.
“She’s been great all season,” Burke said. “I feel like she’s gotten so much better, and it’s showed. She’s showed she’s better than what everyone thinks she is, I feel like. I’m super happy for her.”
Although they play different positions, Lambin is an understudy of sorts to Burke when it comes to taking set pieces. Both can bend it like Beckham.
“Honestly, it’s just the way you kick it,” Lambin said. “I’ve been going to camps since I was little, and we were always taught that.”
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But it takes years of practice to get as good as Lambin and Burke.
“We’ve definitely talked about our corners and stuff,” Lambin said. “We’re both just like, ‘You know what? Place it where you know it will do something.’
“Our corner kicks are always right on the line. They’re always great. Emerson will always joke around with me if I have a bad one, but that’s just part of being teammates.”
As is working out together. Lambin, Burke, Sacek and sophomore defender Sophia Cochran meet at Knock Park at 6:30 a.m. every Wednesday to train.
“It’s super fun,” Burke said. “It’s good to get a workout in in the morning with great players. I feel like we kind of feed off of each other with the types of shots we do and things like that. It’s helped me a lot, and I think it’s helped her a lot too.”
It paid off against the Foxes. The left-footed Burke scored her first goal of the game on a 21-yard free kick, whipping it around the left side of the wall and inside the right post to make it 2-0.
Lambin scored Naperville Central’s fifth goal on a 19-yard free kick. She curved a right-footed shot around the defense and inside the right post.
Lambin capped the scoring in the second half with a 25-yard strike. She has eight goals and nine assists.
“On the first goal, I knew that it was set up for my right,” Lambin said. “I knew to just curl it around the wall and that’s what is going to be the best option, so I hit it. I aimed right where I wanted it, and I got it.”
Lambin has combined with returning starters Sacek and senior Nicole Smith to form one of the most dominant midfields in the state.
“She’s a calming player,” Adams said of Lambin. “She doesn’t get rattled. She’s very composed on the ball, and then she has great vision. That’s why she’s such a good center midfielder is she’s able to see the field, where to play it, what to do with it. She’ll find those seams to play through to break Emerson or Natalie or Malia (Shen) in behind.”
Lambin also helps those behind her.
“The work rate defensively, you have to have it as a midfielder to be able to get after it and have that grit that she has to be able to fight through and win balls,” Adams said.
“It’s been great to see her progress from freshman year to this year and get better and become a stronger player.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.