Girls Soccer: Kayla Floyd, Laney Stark score as St. Charles North tops Oswego East in Naperville

NAPERVILLE – Kayla Floyd is adapting to a new role.

By this stage of her career, the St. Charles North junior midfielder is a seasoned veteran. She played a major role in the North Stars’ run to the Class 3A sectional finals last season.

Yet Floyd, in her third year on varsity, understood the demands on her would increase this spring.

“It’s definitely been different than my sophomore year,” Floyd said. “I’ve taken on more of a leadership role. Our team is really tight and everybody is turning toward each other, but I’m doing more in a leadership role. It’s definitely new for me.”

Floyd provided some direction in an April 22 match against Oswego East by steering a shot into the back of the net.

Floyd blasted a long shot between the pipes in the second half to spark St. Charles North to a 2-0 victory over Oswego East in Group B play of the Naperville Invitational at Naperville Central High School. The North Stars (9-2-1) defeated Waubonsie Valley 4-0 in their first game in the competitive invitational, which has featured 27 of the last 33 large-school state champions in past tourneys.

Junior forward Laney Stark extended her hot streak with a goal in the first half after she had a hat trick against the Warriors on April 20.

Floyd, who has three goals this season, said she felt an extra punch in her goal against the Wolves (7-4-1).

“Sophie Kirsten played to me across the box and it was a shot that I always practice in our practices and I saw I had a window to shoot it, so I hit it as hard as I could,” Floyd said. “It felt good coming off my foot. I kind of knew right away. I had a big window of time.”

St. Charles North coach Brian Harks praised Floyd and his team for playing tough against the Wolves and avenging last season’s defeat. Oswego East defeated St. Charles North 3-1 in the tourney last season.

“The girls stepped up today,” Harks said. “They did a nice job with their approach to the game. They were mentally dialed in and that translated into quality play on the field. Our backline was really solid.

“I think the focus of today’s game was winning the air game. The girls did a nice job with that and were able to control the ball quite a bit. Oswego East has a nice goalie who made quite a few saves.”

Floyd said the North Stars wanted to avoid a repeat of last season’s loss to the Wolves.

”We knew they were good because they beat us last year,” she said. “We just wanted to get even. We knew they were going to come out hard. We wanted to carry the momentum from earlier this week into the game.”

Oswego East coach Juan Leal credited the North Stars for playing aggressive and testing his backline. His star goalie Sam McPhee kept the game within striking range with her excellent play, finishing with 11 saves in the loss.

“We learned a lot today,” Leal said. “We know we can compete against really good teams. We got beat on a set piece today. We didn’t have the right angle on the play. In the run of play, we were able to match up with them decently. They are very fast and gifted with the ball.

“We knew St. Charles North was good and it was going to be quite a matchup. The girls competed. Defensively, Emma Rosenthal, Emma Klosterman, Jocy Cruz and Veronica Hamilton did a good job of containing the other team.”

Floyd said the North Stars are hitting their stride entering the final week of April.

“We’ve been gaining momentum going into every game,” she said. “We’ve been wanting to win.”

Floyd said she’s been working hard to build up her game for the chance to play in college. She credited her attention to her fitness for a major factor in her improvement. Floyd said she prides herself on finishing the team’s 55-second run, which encompasses running around the football field.

“I’ve been working on my fitness, just trying to get better every game,” she said. “In my club season, I had a slow season. High school is a good opportunity to get better against better players. I’ve been working hard and am feeling great. I think the work we’ve all been putting in extra in practice, from the sprinting and the 55s, has definitely helped me.”

Leal said his team still is looking to find ways to score goals, especially against highly competitive teams.

“We’ve been pretty good offensively, but can’t find it in that offensive third,” he said. “We have to figure out who is going to be the person to fill that role. It’s just a matter of getting the right person at the right time.”