Naperville Central freshman Nicole Sacek felt a little nervous before making her high school debut on Wednesday.
But sophomore forward Malia Shen calmed Sacek with some sage advice before the Redhawks’ season opener against Burlington Central.
“I just told her that it’s OK, to relax and have fun with it,” Shen said. “Because all the nerves kind of go away once you start playing. It really helps.”
Sacek, whose best position is attacking midfielder, started at defensive midfielder and took Shen’s advice to heart.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking, but having Malia and all the girls support me really helped me start off,” Sacek said. “Eventually I just got into the flow of it, and it just felt like any other game.”
It didn’t take Sacek long. She had a beautiful assist on Shen’s goal in the third minute and later scored the game-winning goal as the Redhawks rallied to win 4-2 at Memorial Stadium.
Sacek’s varsity debut eerily mirrored Shen’s from a year ago on the same field and against the same opponent. Shen scored the game-winning goal in Naperville Central’s 2-1 win against Burlington Central.
“Seeing players, especially freshmen, kind of understand what you’re looking to do is a huge help,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “(Sacek) is doing a really good job of understanding what’s being asked of her position.”
Having one season of experience under her belt, Shen understands what it’s like to succeed as a freshman. Was she surprised by Sacek’s sterling debut?
“I knew from the tryouts that she’s such a good player,” Shen said. “She works hard and always goes after the ball. It was really cool to see her out there. That little flick ball was such a good-timed ball that was played into me.”
Sacek’s perfect lead pass into the box sprang Shen for a wide-open shot inside the right post that gave the Redhawks (1-0) the lead with 37:08 left in the first half.
“I really look for those balls, and I drive forward,” Sacek said. “Because I normally play the 10 (attacking midfielder), I just have the vision because the gaps really stand out to me.
“I always look to play the through balls, especially in the box.”
Sacek was one of three freshmen to start for the Redhawks, joining defender Eleanor Kane and forward Emerson Burke. They thrived under pressure and weren’t fazed when sophomore midfielder Mekenzie Rogers scored two great goals to give the Rockets (0-1-1) a 2-1 lead with 1:47 left in the first half.
Shen tied the game when she scored off a brilliant assist from Burke at the 28:23 mark of the second half. Sacek put the Redhawks ahead to stay seven minutes later when she scored from heavy traffic in front.
“It felt really great, especially as a freshman,” Sacek said. “It just proved that this is a really good team and the team will continue to win games hopefully. I think we’re off to a really great start.”
Sophomore defender Nicole Smith capped the scoring by heading in a corner kick from junior defender Madison Lee with 59 seconds left. Sophomore goalkeeper Erin Hackett made three saves in the second half to get the victory.
Adams is stressing positional flexibility to his players and said Sacek provides that. Getting a goal and an assist in her debut provides solid evidence.
“An assist or a goal, they are equally valuable,” Adams said. “There are great goal scorers and great assisters, but the great ones can really do both.”
Shen said that’s not all Sacek can do.
“She’s very good with defensive pressure,” Shen said. “She will always work as hard as she can to get the ball back if someone loses it, and then she’s also really good with combinations, so she’ll play the ball and run off it. She works so hard.”
Sacek intends to do so no matter where she plays.
“I think I’ll stay as a defensive player, but I do believe I’m interchangeable,” Sacek said. “I can go forward and I can work in the middle because I have a lot of experience everywhere. I’ll just be working hard all-around.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
