Naperville Central senior forward Bella Brozek has proved throughout her three-year varsity career that she can roll with the changes.
Now the Green Bay recruit and the Redhawks are just plain rolling.
With senior forward Callie Tumilty on the team for the first time, Brozek isn’t its leading scorer anymore, but the goals and wins are piling up.
“I definitely think she’s adapting,” Naperville Central senior midfielder Rebecca Ruggiero said. “Being able to play with Callie is a huge help.”
As a sophomore, Brozek was a varsity rookie trying to find her place. She was known mostly for her speed and also for running track during the soccer season.
Then Brozek was the area’s breakout star as a junior, recording a team-high 14 goals and a team-high 10 assists as Naperville Central won its first sectional title in 29 years.
Brozek is still producing at a high rate this season, contributing seven goals and seven assists. But she’s no longer the top scoring threat. Tumilty, an Ohio State recruit, has taken over that role and the spotlight that goes with it. She leads the Redhawks (13-1-1), who have won seven games in a row, with 15 goals and 12 assists.
Brozek, who no longer runs track, doesn’t mind. She and Tumilty give Naperville Central perhaps the best pair of wingers in the state, with senior forward Emma Russell operating in between them.
“It’s a help because it’s both of us, and then we have a strong center forward, Emma, and our subs can fill in without missing a beat,” Brozek said. “So I think being able to bump it off of each other is really helpful because when forwards find forwards, that’s when good things happen.”
Plenty of good things are happening for the Redhawks, who are averaging four goals per game and have outscored their opponents 61-5.
Brozek, whose play has been key, has multiple strengths.
“Definitely her speed is probably the main one and also her work ethic,” Ruggiero said. “She does a really good job of recovering balls if she loses it and just working hard to track back her mark. She does a really good job of that.”
Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said that latter trait stood out during a 2-0 win over previously unbeaten Barrington in the Naperville Invitational semifinals at Memorial Stadium on Friday.
“The thing that I’ve been most impressed with is her defensive work rate as far as learning when to come back and double to win balls,” Adams said. “Today was especially important. She understood that hey, come back, win the ball and now we can go forward.
“That’s in addition to the fact that she is the most unselfish player, to the point that sometimes you’re like, ‘Bella, you’re a forward. You’re allowed to shoot too.’”
Brozek displayed her unselfishness against Barrington when she beat a defender into the box on a counterattack. Instead of shooting, she passed to sophomore midfielder Nicole Sacek, who scored on a 15-yard shot.
“I think for both of us, it just shows our hard work — Bella fighting to keep the ball, especially when she had a defender on her,” Sacek said. “It led to me, and that’s how the goals happen on our team, because everyone works. That’s just how it is.”
Adams said Brozek is optimally exploiting defenses better than she did in the past. With so many attack-minded players in the lineup, the Redhawks are creating scoring chances at a high rate. That sometimes leads to situations akin to a basketball player passing up a good shot to give a teammate a great shot.
“We use the term balance a lot,” Adams said. “There’s a balance between when do I play a ball across and when do I shoot it myself. Bella’s done a really good job of balancing when do I shoot and when do I pass.”
Brozek just wants to win. The Redhawks do that a lot, and she thinks she knows why.
“We just have a lot to offer,” Brozek said. “We’re very diverse. Pretty much everyone on our team can play a different position. Everyone is willing to work hard, everyone is willing to fight for each other, and that’s how people win.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
