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Naperville Central freshman midfielder Nicole Sacek stunned everyone when she scored the first goal of the Class 3A St. Charles North Supersectional on Tuesday night. Nobody was more surprised than Sacek.

“I didn’t know what happened in the moment,” she said. “But then I kind of took a step back, and I was like, ‘I just scored.’ It felt good.



” Sacek’s goal came with 9:04 left in the first half and put the host North Stars in an unexpected hole. It was the result of a beautiful series of passes which began when freshman forward sent a sharp pass to junior forward near the top of the box. Russell turned and flicked the ball ahead to Sacek, who got a step on her defender and slotted a 12-yard shot inside the right post.

“The first 20 minutes didn’t reflect us as a team, but I think eventually we definitely showed up,” Sacek said. “When everyone’s locked in, that’s kind of the magic that happens with our team.” There were plenty of magic moments for the Redhawks during their playoff run, which included their first sectional title since 1995 and upsets of higher-seeded Metea Valley, Naperville North and Plainfield North.

While the favored North Stars rallied to win 2-1 on two second-half goals, that didn’t take the luster off what a young team accomplished, capped by Sacek’s go-ahead goal. “It was really amazing,” freshman defender said of Sacek’s score. “I don’t really know how to describe it.

” Naperville Central’s Eleanor Kane, rig.

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