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ST. CHARLES — St. Charles East freshman Mya Leon was more than a bit scared before her first true rivalry game.
But as she stepped onto the field to take on St. Charles North in the championship match of the Rose Augsburg-Drach Invitational, those nerves slowly went away.
And it showed in her ability to find the back of the net.
Leon found the back of the net three times for her first-ever high school hat trick to help the Saints take down their crosstown rivals with a 3-0 victory, giving them their first win in the tournament since 2021.
“I was just really excited,” Leon said. “I wanted to beat North because they’re our rivals. I was just really happy to get the win.”
Leon netted her first goal for the Saints (5-1) just 4:24 in the game, one-touching a pass from fellow freshman Qori Strotkamp into the top-right corner of the net, and giving both freshmen an early boost of confidence.
“There was definitely a lot of nerves, especially in the build up to that goal,” Strotkamp said. “But I think it made a lot of good memories getting that goal, and I think there will be plenty more to come as we move on.”
Just two minutes, Leon doubled the lead for the Saints after sneaking the ball past the goal keeper and into the bottom-left corner of the goal, making it 2-0 through seven minutes of play.
She wouldn’t find the back of the goal again until the 57th minute. After getting in a one-on-one with the goal keeper, the freshman cut left and sent the ball to the far side of the net, securing the hat trick and her fifth goal of the tournament.
“That number doesn’t tell the story of her as a player,” Saints coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “She’s a great player, and she’s only getting better for us. Her pace was a problem for (North), and her knack for scoring goals was the thing that separated us.”
The win was the Saints’ first in the crosstown rivalry since 2022, when they beat the North Stars 3-1 in a Class 3A sectional final. Senior goalkeeper Sidney Lazenby is the only remaining player from that team.
And after years of falling short to the crosstown rivals, sometimes in heart-breaking fashion, she was more than happy to be on the winning side of the rivalry again.
“It just feels amazing,” said Lazenby who got her first ever shutout against the North Stars with the win. “I came in telling everyone that we needed to start off spring break with good vibes by beating them, and we just kept that energy throughout the match.”
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After winning the past two championship matches in the invitational, the North Stars (4-2) fell short of defending their crown. North found the back of the net when Francie Phillips sent a corner kick dribbling into the back of the net in the 60th minute. However, the goal was called back on an offsides call.
“You know that St. Charles East is always going to be a quality side and they did a nice job coming out strong and finding two goals early,” North Stars coach Brian Harks said. “It was a test to our girls to see how they moved forward from there. And I was proud to see that they kept fighting the entire game.”
Harks said that the game was a great learning experience for the team, which contained a mostly new front line compared to the team that made it to the Class 3A championship game a season ago.
“We’ve got a lot of growth to do,” Harks said. “There’s some seniors that are trying to lead the way for the younger players, and it’s early in the season. I’m excited to see where we’ll be at at the end of the season.”