Naperville North’s Annie Chang had to wait awhile to get a chance to showcase her skills.
Both on and off the field, the junior forward is taking advantage of new opportunities.
In just her second varsity game, Chang came off the bench and recorded a hat trick in frigid conditions on Friday night.
“It was really nice,” Chang said. “It would have been nicer if it was nicer outside, but it feels really good being part of the team and being able to make an impact on the field.”
Chang, who led the Huskies to a 6-0 win at home against South Elgin, had the talent to play on varsity last season. But Naperville North coach Steve Goletz had a senior-laden team filled with veteran starters, so he put her on the junior varsity team to get more playing time.
“Our program is so strong because we’ve got great kids at all of our levels,” Goletz said. “We want the kids to develop and play in games.
“Annie at the start of this year has been absolutely fantastic. She’s got a good feel for the game. She’s got a good burst. She looks to go 1v1 and did a great job today of timing her runs and finishing the chances in tough conditions. So we’re super excited to have her be part of the group this year. We’re going to need a lot more of those this year from her.”
The Huskies (1-1) scored on four consecutive shots in the first half against South Elgin (0-1-1). Senior forward Cameron DeCook tallied the first two, and Chang followed with two more just 64 seconds apart. They came on breakaways off passes from another varsity rookie, sophomore midfielder Isa Polavieja.
Chang completed her hat trick with 34:08 left in the second half, knocking home a rebound of a DeCook shot for a 5-0 lead.
Most players never score three goals in a game, let alone in their second varsity game.
“I’m not sure if I was expecting it,” Chang said. “I was really hoping for it, and I’m glad it happened.”
DeCook, one of only two returning attackers for the Huskies, is glad to have Chang alongside her.
“Just from tryouts, it was obvious that Annie is a standout player,” DeCook said. “It’s just really amazing to see her work ethic. You never have to doubt if she’s going to run as hard as she can to get to a ball or go in as hard as she can for a tackle.
“I’m just excited to see what she does every time she gets the ball. She makes an impact on and off the field.”
Chang’s off-the-field activities might be even more impressive, although she has to be prompted to talk about them.
“Brag about yourself a little,” DeCook urged her.
Chang, a straight-A student, said she wants to go into the medical field and is active in several clubs, including the Media Production Club, for which she works as a photographer. But she’s branching out beyond the boundaries of the school.
“I’m starting an organization right now called Asian Youth Arts,” Chang said. “I’m co-founding it with one of my friends, and we just promote the beauty of artwork made by Asian youth.”
Chang is planning an art exposition at Naperville’s 95th Street Library on April 30.
“We’ve got a lot of artwork from students at North that they entered in one of the national artwork contests,” she said. “We’ve got ceramics, painting, oil painting, photography, drawings.”
What prompted Chang to create Asian Youth Arts?
“My friend and I always wanted to start an organization together, and so I joined the Asian Student Association at North,” she said. “That got us thinking about what we could do to help promote that community.
“I feel like art isn’t like a huge thing in the Asian community, but some of my friends are going to New York with scholarships for art, and I feel like promoting that is amazing. Being able to express yourself is important.”
It turns out Chang was expressing that desire for the first time in front of DeCook, who has not seen any of Chang’s artwork.
“I can’t believe you’ve been keeping that a secret,” DeCook told her. “I will have to see it now.”
Chances are fans will be seeing a lot more of Chang, whom Goletz said is representative of his team.
“We’ve got good soccer players and smart kids,” Goletz said. “It’s a good combo.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.