Senior forward Jocelyn Grabow looked around the field at Metea Valley’s first preseason practice and knew her team had something special.
“Oh, yeah, I could tell at tryouts and the first few practices,” Grabow said. “This is an awesome group of girls of all age groups, talent around the whole field.
“We knew this was going to be a good season.”
And it has been. Better, in fact, than many outsiders predicted.
Grabow scored the final goal and fellow senior co-captain Leanne Barrett had two assists Tuesday night as the Mustangs stunned host Naperville North for a 3-1 DuPage Valley Conference victory.
The win gave Metea (12-2-1, 3-0) the inside track in the DVC race while eliminating the top-ranked Huskies (14-2-2, 2-1-1), who three days earlier won the prestigious Naperville Invitational.
“They were the better team and deserved to win,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “They’ve got great attacking kids, but I think the big piece was they definitely shut us down on the offensive side of the ball as well.
“You’ve got to tip your hat when that happens.”
The Huskies took a 1-0 lead just 5:29 into the game when Maggie Fitzgerald scored off a goalmouth scramble.
Ten minutes later, Naperville North just missed extending the lead when Madison Korosec‘s 21-yard free kick hit the left post.
The Mustangs forced a 1-1 tie at the 19:04 mark when Lucy Burk‘s shot deflected into the net off a defender. Later in the half, senior goalkeeper Julia Straub made two great saves on headers from Naperville North’s Lucy Iverson.
Metea took control in the second half. Junior speedster Jordan Lange took a lead pass from Barrett and raced up the middle before burying a 23-yard shot for a 2-1 lead with 18:57 remaining.
“That’s always how she scores,” Barrett said. “She always gets the goals we need. I saw her shot and I was so happy.”
Barrett was even happier after her second assist on a pass from outside the box that found an open Grabow, whose 15-yard header built the two-goal lead with only 9:35 to go.
It was the first time the Huskies have surrendered three goals in a game since May 1, 2018, a span of 72 games.
Grabow was not shocked.
“The scoreboard shows what it needs to show,” she said. “This group of girls is awesome. We’ve had an amazing season, and we’re undefeated in Illinois.
“We just keep playing our heart out every single game. We come out here and do our thing.”
That impressed Goletz.
“They came out in the second half and really took it to us with the wind and let their creative and dynamic kids up top do what they do best,” Goletz said. “That’s combine and score goals.”
Metea coach Chris Whaley wasn’t surprised, either.
“We have some senior leadership,” Whaley said. “People who have been here before who know what it takes to win big games and they’re doing a great job.
“These are big games because it allows the girls to believe a little bit more in what they’re capable of.”
The Mustangs don’t have any Division I commits, which may be why many insiders consider them the third-best team in the area behind Naperville Central and Naperville North.
Barrett said that needs to change.
“That’s what they think,” she said. “Today we came out and proved them wrong. We knew since the beginning of the season we’ve been the team to beat, and we showed nothing but that today.
“We’re a very underrated team because no one sees us, and I think we just proved we need to be seen more.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.