Naperville North junior forward Brooke Welch’s high school career was interrupted shortly after it began.
When she was a freshman, Welch suffered a torn ACL just five minutes into the season opener against Barrington. Two other freshmen, Michelle Ruan and Claire DeCook, suffered the same season-ending injuries that year.
All three returned the following season, when Welch switched from defender to forward and endeared herself to teammates and coaches.
“Brooke is such a special player,” Naperville North senior defender Emily Buescher said. “When she comes onto the field, you know that she’s going to do exactly what she’s asked and she’s going to be exactly where we need her to be.”
That was the case again during the Class 3A state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville on Friday.
Welch won the ball on the right wing and sent a perfect cross to the Tennessee-bound DeCook, who scored with 24:18 left in the first half. That was the first of DeCook’s two goals in the Huskies’ 2-1 win against Lane.
“It was a great goal,” Welch said. “I trust my teammates to get in the box anytime anyone gets end line, so I knew someone would be there.
“I just took a quick glance, and I saw that Claire was there. She’s proved that she can score, so it was great to be able to play that to her and her finish it. It was nice to see it hit the back of the net, especially in a game as big as this.”
Welch’s stats don’t stand out. She has two goals and one assist for Naperville North (17-5-3), which advanced to play O’Fallon (22-1-1) in the state championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday. But one of her goals was the difference in the Huskies’ 1-0 win over Oswego in a regional final.
“She’s a kid who will do a 5-yard sprint into the fence, so I think for her to get that (assist) is everything,” Buescher said. “It was her fulfilling her role. In the sense of our team, she’s never been an overlooked player because she is so incredibly special in doing what she’s supposed to do.”
That’s exactly what Welch did to set up DeCook’s first goal.
“The defender had the ball at first, and she had to battle to get it back,” DeCook said. “A lot of people would be just be like, ‘Oh, I lost the ball,’ and they give up there. But you can always expect Brooke to work hard. It’s just that continuous fight throughout the game.”
Naperville North coach Steve Goletz loves that.
“Brooke is an incredible kid who gives us such a spark,” Goletz said. “She’s an absolutely selfless kid.
“She gives everything to her teammates, and we’re not playing in this game if she doesn’t score the goal against Oswego. We’re so lucky to have so many kids like Brooke.”
Welch said she’s lucky to have support from people like her brother Bryce, a former point guard for Naperville North who just completed his freshman year at Iowa Central. He was a fixture at his sister’s games last year and was in attendance Friday.
“It was so great to have my brother here to watch me,” Brooke Welch said. “I picked No. 3 because he was No. 3, so it was nice in a semifinal game to be able to wear his number. He’s my best friend and biggest fan.”
Bryce Welch was beaming with pride Friday.
“She played great today,” he said. “It means a lot to be able to see her go out there and do her thing, do what she likes to do.”
Bryce Welch never played soccer, but he often served as goalkeeper for his sister’s practice sessions and always was ready to give sound advice.
“It was mostly just don’t compare yourself to other people when you’re trying to get better, especially at a younger age, because she was always younger than me,” he said. “For her, I always wanted to make it about taking it one day at a time.”
Brooke Welch played basketball until she got to high school. There were many days she would play against her brother.
“Bryce and I have always been super competitive,” she said. “Having an older brother and all his friends around, I feel like I was bound to play a sport,
“It was nice to be able to play with him and learn from him. So I feel like my competitive side definitely comes from competing with my brother.”
Now Brooke Welch has a chance to do something her brother didn’t — win a state title.
“She battled back so hard from her injury,” Bryce Welch said. “So to see her with a chance to win a championship is huge.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
