Girls Soccer: Laney Stark’s goal sends St. Charles North to state title game after taking down Fremd 1-0

NAPERVILLE – All Laney Stark needed to do was get her foot on the ball.

Or in this case, a toe.

About 14 minutes into the Class 3A girls soccer state semifinal match May 31, the St. Charles North senior got that chance.

With a Fremd defender facing away from her with the ball, the Wisconsin-Green Bay commit got a toe between the defender’s legs and knocked the ball into the back of the net.

“I saw that the goalie and center back were having some miscommunication. The goalie wanted her to kick it out, but the center back wanted her to come out and get it,” Stark said. “I just wanted to get a touch on it and redirect it.”

Stark’s goal, along with a sturdy back line, helped lead the North Stars to a 1-0 victory over the Vikings and send them to their first state title game since 2012.

Stark said getting a goal that early in the game, especially against a talented team such as the Vikings, was very important in a match as big as the state semifinals.

“It changes the momentum of the game,” Stark said. “It proves that we can score and we can be out there with those other teams.”

After establishing the early lead, the North Stars’ focus shifted to the opposite side of the field on its defense and goalie in the second half. Despite consistent pressure exuded by Fremd’s offense, the defensive line of Kayla Floyd, Abby Sims, Kyra Treanor and Aubri Magana, along with Lauren Korioth in goal, knew what they had to do to preserve the lead.

“We knew we had to lock it down and make sure nothing gets past,” Magana said. “We knew that they were going to want to tie it up, so we needed to make sure they didn’t get it because we’ve got to win.”

Magana made a key defensive stop in the 59th minute to shut down a 2-on-2 in the back. After Fremd’s Gemma Gillespie tried to center the ball into the box, Magana intercepted the cross and cleared the ball out to stop the threat.

“I knew in that moment that I had to clear it out because nothing could get past,” Magana said. “That whole second half, we knew we had to lock it down and make sure nothing got past us.”

The play from the back line didn’t go unnoticed by Korioth, who made three saves in the game to preserve the North Stars’ 10th clean sheet of the season.

“It was so stressful for me in the back. It felt really intense,” Korioth said. “But I feel like our back line held up really well and I saved some that were really close balls. It’s just a lot to take in.”

The win was Brian Harks’ 150th since taking over the helm for St. Charles North. Harks said that while all of his wins are special, the win to advance to his first state title game as a head coach was one of the most special.

“They proved it in the supersectional and they certainly proved it tonight,” Harks said. “They know that they’re part of something bigger, but it’s really special to be on this ride with them.”

The North Stars fell 4-3 in penalty kicks to New Trier in the state championship game June 1.