Naperville Central senior midfielder Aidan DiClemente’s teammates call him “D-Clutch.”
“It started last year at practice,” he said. “One of the older guys who graduated would come up with nicknames for me. That was one of them.”
DiClemente isn’t sure it was meant too seriously at the time.
“I think he was just picking on me a little bit,” he said. “It works now, though.”
Indeed it does. DiClemente and the third-seeded Redhawks pulled off an amazing feat on Friday, beating fourth-seeded West Aurora 1-0 on penalty kicks to win the Class 3A Naperville North Sectional championship.
Naperville Central (16-4-4), which advances to play Edwardsville in the Normal Supersectional at 6 p.m. Tuesday, has won three straight playoff games via shootout. DiClemente has converted the clinching penalty kick in all of them.
“It’s interesting how you can get big moments from a variety of different players,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “Aidan’s ability to remain calm under pressure is one of the reasons he’s a captain and why he feels comfortable being that last shooter.
“So credit to him that it’s never wavered. He stays the course, does what he needs to do.”
West Aurora (19-5), trying to win its first sectional title, trailed throughout the shootout but had a chance to tie it at 3-3 after goalkeeper Luis Garcia stopped Naperville Central’s fourth shooter.
But West Aurora’s fourth shooter hit the crossbar, giving DiClemente the chance to finish it, and he did. He coldly drilled his shot into the lower right corner.
“I just thought how nice it would be holding this sectional plaque, coming away with this tough sectional that we’re in,” he said. “Walking up to the spot, there was never a doubt in my mind.”
DiClemente’s teammates don’t doubt him, either, marveling at his ability to stay composed.
“That’s really it, the calm and cool about him,” Naperville Central senior goalkeeper Connor Waite said. “I’ve seen tons of people go up to PKs shaking.
“This guy walks up, and he’s just nice and easy, like, ‘I’ve done this thousands of times,’ and just puts them in the back of the net every time.”
DiClemente said the key is keeping the opportunity in perspective.
“The way I do it is I kind of just try not to care too much about the moment because there’s always going to be another one,” he said. “Especially going up for the PK, obviously the season is on the line, but I’m not going to put any pressure on myself because I know the type of player I am.
“If the goalie makes a good save, the goalie makes a good save, but I’m going to take the best PK I can no matter what.”
Speaking of good saves, Waite made one during the first round of the shootout, diving to his left to deny Pacifique Ndayishimiye. It was the second straight game that Waite saved the first shot he faced in the shootout.
“I feel probably less nervous and more confident when it comes to PKs,” Waite said. “That first save is important because it lets the team know that (the goalkeeper) has done his job, we’ve got to do our job now.
“We know we can do it because we’ve done it multiple times, and it really just comes from the hard work that we put in.”
DiClemente and Waite often work on penalties together in practice, and it’s paying dividends.
“Since sophomore year, every day it’s been, ‘Let me hit one on you, let me hit one on you,’” Waite said. “It’s every PK with this guy.
“I guess that just builds up the confidence before going like, ‘Hey, I got this all day.’”
DiClemente is confident he’ll make every kick but never has a specific plan.
“I honestly just decide at the last second,” he said. “I try to take it as fast as I can and then just shoot it as hard as I can into one of the lower corners.”
DiClemente actually hasn’t scored a goal yet this season. He missed 10 games with an injury.
The only goalkeeper that has stopped DiClemente on penalty kicks has been Waite, who said he’s done it a couple of times in practice. Maybe Waite is deserving of a nickname.
“We’ve got to find one for him because he’s also the reason we’re still in this tournament,” DiClemente said. “It’s not just the shooters. It’s the goalie too. He saved us.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
