Alderman collects hat trick as North Stars roll past Hawks

By Darryl Mellema

It may sound simple, but one of the first things St. Charles North wanted to keep in mind in its playoff opener with Hoffman Estates was to play 'St. Charles North soccer.'

That meant a controlled passing attack that always seemed pointed at the Hawks goal and at that, the North Stars were very successful.

St. Charles North never lost sight of what it had to do in Wednesday's contest and claimed a 5-0 victory in the Class 3A Hoffman Estate Regional semifinal.

"We wanted to stay with our style of play, not get into kick ball and finish," North coach Ruth Vostal said.

"I think we did well in the first half. We created some chances. Now we've got to work to finish some of those early ones."

The win sets up a match against Batavia for the second time in a week. The North Stars (18-1-1) battled the Bulldogs last Saturday and won 4-0 in St. Charles.

Friday's winner gets the reward of a spot in the Schaumburg Sectional and a match against either Geneva or York.

"We prepared for the game," North senior Kelli Alderman said. "We were excited and ready to go. We did what we needed to do."

The North Stars never had a poor spell in the match. Lauren Koehl and Sammy Gage scored early goals.

Kelli Alderman hit a 'natural hat trick' – three goals in a row – to complete the scoring. The hat trick was the first in Alderman's high school career.

"It was funny because she started out a little flat," Vostal said. "I told her she had to pick it up. She's a great player.

"But sometimes if it doesn't come to her side, she just kind of hangs out. I told her that we're at the time of the season when we need 11 player playing hard. She picked it up."

Alderman's first goal came with seven minutes left in the first half, she scored again in the second minute of the second half and completed her hat trick with 28 minutes to go in the match.

"The first couple gave us the fire that we needed in order to keep going and keep scoring," Alderman said.

"It's really exciting," Alderman said of her hat trick. "It was surprising, but it's good to get the support of my team."

With its comfortable lead, North started to knock the ball around a bit and played some keep-away with the Hawks.

At times it looked as though the North Stars were a little too prepared to pass and not to continue to attack – but Vostal said her team was adjusting to what Hoffman Estates presented.

"I think in the second half, Hoffman sat more comfortably in their half," Vostal said. "They had more bodies in there. So we were working it around trying to get the outside shot."

Although the Hawks defended somewhat deeper as the match progressed they never stopped trying to attack.

It is a testament to North's dominant midfield that the hosts never generated much offense.

A year ago, North suffered a regional championship upset at the hands of Geneva.

Two years ago, the North Stars progressed all the way to the supersectional round, where they lost to eventual state champion Waubonsie Valley.

Many on this year's team have lived through the elation of 2008 and the frustration of 2009. Vostal said her team seems prepared to make a postseason run.

"We've tried really hard to tell them to think about one game at a time and that we, the coaches, will let them know what they need to know and to just worry about what they need to do," Vostal said.

"I know we have a talented team, but they are still high school-aged kids. It's truly up to them. I think we have leaders this year and players who will, hopefully, be tough on the field."

CLICK TO SEE NORTH STARS' TEAM PAGE

CLICK TO SEE NORTH STARS' PHOTO PAGE