Nadia Van den Berg has played all over the field since she started playing football for Evanston.
The versatile senior proved on Tuesday that she hasn’t forgotten how to put the ball in goal, despite shifting into a role where she’s more of a facilitator for attacking central midfield.
Van den Berg scored 2 goals – after scoring just 1 goal before Tuesday – and led the Wildkit girls to an 11-0 slaughter against Chicago Von Steuben in the semifinals of the Class 3A regional tournament at Lazier Field.
Evanston, the No. 1 in the New Trier Sectional complex, flashed the Panthers with 4 goals in the first 13 minutes, including 2 each from Van den Berg and top scorer Jocelyn Leigh.
Two more goals from Reserve Sofia Dailey gave the Kits a 10-0 lead at halftime, and the second half was cut to just 20 minutes per Illinois High School rules with one-sided battles.
The Wildkits improved to 17-2-1 overall and face Lincoln Park in Friday’s championship game at 7 p.m. at ETHS. Lincoln Park eliminated Niles West 2-0 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
Three ETHS players who hadn’t scored all season – senior Shea Ackman, senior Brigid Zoltan and junior Molly Riley – eventually broke away against a Von Steuben defense that was “no pressure” rather than low pressure.
In addition to bursting out 11 goals, the Wildkits were called offside on at least a dozen occasions and Panther goaltender Isabel Martinez was credited with 14 saves in the abridged contest.
This is exactly the start to the postseason that ETHS Head Coach Stacy Salgado was hoping for.
“It’s the playoffs, anything can happen. We had a different starting time for the first time this season, and coming out of school you never know how checked in they’re going to be at the start of the game,” Salgado pointed out. “But we’re on a mission.
“We had a lot of steals today. It’s because we like to apply pressure and this year we have the players who can do that.”
That list includes Van den Berg, whose role morphed from a freshman defender to a striker last year, to a central midfielder who had to work his way into a talented line-up after missing the early part of the season because they one broke bones in her foot playing club football.
The ETHS top scorer credited the senior with just 1 goal and 1 assist ahead of Tuesday, but those totals don’t tell the full story of the contributions she’s made to one of the state’s best teams.
“Nadia missed a big chunk of the season early on and that’s a credit to her because she worked really hard to come back,” Salgado said. “Even when she wasn’t there, she made it her mission to stay connected with this team. She is the light of this team – 100 percent! She’s a senior who knows how to use her body well and plays great balls. I think she found a natural place. She was a great attacking striker but she is also a great attacking midfielder.
“She took her chance when some of the others were out and made the most of it. Now she’s fitter and has the stamina to play down the middle, and that point requires a lot more running than going forward. We expect our center middles to go back on the defensive as well.”
“I play more in the middle, so my job is to head balls wide to our fast strikers,” said Van den Berg. “I’ve had different roles every year, but I still know how to score. And I love getting assists even more than scoring goals. I think middle middle is what I like best now. Setting up the forwards is really the most rewarding thing for me.
“We were more in their half (on Steuben’s side) than in many games, so I had more opportunities to improve and score. We all did what we were supposed to do today.”
Leigh scored Evanston’s first goal of the 2ndnd minute, then stole the ball from a Von Steuben defender, set up a shot and scored from Van den Berg to make it 2-0. Another steal resulted in another goal for Leigh and the escape was set when Van den Berg’s steal started a 30-yard scoring run when the ETHS senior dribbled in and punched goalie Martinez in the 13th Minute.
Lily Shure and Brealyn Viamille also scored for the winners. Riley’s trick play on a penalty in the 26th minuteth minute she fired the first shot off the crossbar but vigilantly recovered her own miss and slammed the ball back into the net.
