Naperville North star Noah Radeke stands out on the field for several reasons.
The 6-foot-3 senior forward is unusually tall for a striker. But his breathtaking talent keeps people watching, and his unselfishness endears him to coaches and teammates.
“He plays like a much smaller player in terms of his ability to control the ball, get himself out of tight spaces, and then obviously he’s very slick,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “He’s got a great collection of tools, and obviously he’s been very successful throughout his high school career.”
Indeed, Radeke led the Huskies to an 81-14-10 record during his four-year career as a starter. He capped it with 20 goals and 11 assists this season as the Huskies went 20-2-1.
Radeke, the Naperville Sun Boys Soccer Player of the Year for the second year in a row, found the back of the net so often that it’s hard to keep track of his goals. But his favorite came during Naperville North’s 4-3 overtime win against rival Naperville Central on Sept. 17.
Radeke got control of a bouncing ball while surrounded by defenders in the Redhawks’ box. He chipped the ball over the shoulder of a defender, spun around him and then volleyed the ball into the net.
Few players would attempt such a play, let alone score. But it was a common sight to see Radeke beat two and sometimes three players before getting a shot or a pass off.
“He’s a lot to deal with when you’re going against him,” Naperville North junior goalkeeper Jack Bouska said. “There was a lot of improvement from him this year.
“He was a big guy for us winning the ball in the air, which was big for us, and obviously he was able to score goals off of the restarts too.”
Yet Radeke was far more than just a finisher.
“I moved him around quite a bit,” Konrad said. “He played high, he played wide, he played in the midfield a little bit.
“Ultimately, he’s a kid who loves to play. He obviously loves the game, and he’s willing to compete.”
Radeke did that all over the field, even defending when needed.
“He’s not a prima donna kid who knows he’s very good and expects the ball to find him,” Konrad said. “He’s the one to work to get the ball.
“When you do that 80 minutes nonstop all the time, no matter how good the defense is or how many guys they put on you, eventually the ball is going to fall to a spot where he’s going to be able to do something special with it.”
Radeke didn’t do that in a vacuum. He had a terrific partnership with senior forward Jaxon Stokes, a Belmont commit who had 19 goals and six assists and took some of the defensive pressure off Radeke.
“Honestly, it helped a lot having players around me like Jaxon and everyone else in the midfield,” Radeke said. “It really was just getting the ball off my foot and the chances will come, and then I will eventually find the ball back. It was easy playing with such a good team.”
Despite all the attention, Radeke has never been one to listen to the hype. He fit the team concept like a glove.
“Being around all the guys was very special,” he said. “They were all willing to work hard every single day.
“We got everyone’s best shot, and we were ready to take it. Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but we still pushed through.”
The Huskies won the Best of the West Tournament title as well as conference and regional championships before being upset 1-0 by West Aurora in the Class 4A sectional semifinals.
Yet Radeke, who has not committed to a college yet, will go down as one of Naperville North’s all-time greats. His 54 goals are tied for third on the program’s career scoring list. Stokes is tied for fifth with 51.
“It was a great ride,” Radeke said. “I didn’t really look at the stats too much, but it’s nice to know that I’m definitely leaving a legacy in the program, and I’ll always continue to watch whoever is playing.
“Coach Konrad says he still remembers when he played for this team. It’s nice that he continues the legacy.”
Bouska said he is going to miss Radeke a lot. So will Konrad.
“It was really impressive what he accomplished,” Konrad said. “We had four great years during his time.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
