Naperville North freshman Claire DeCook stood patiently as she listened to teammate Maggie Fitzgerald sing her praises on Monday.
DeCook had scored a team-leading seven goals in the first seven games of her high school career, and that didn’t come as a shock to Fitzgerald, a senior defender who serves as co-captain with DeCook’s older sister Cameron.
“I’m not surprised,” Fitzgerald said. “She’s been phenomenal. Claire might be one of the most hardworking forwards I’ve ever played with because it’s not just that she chases down every ball, it’s that she’s pressing out of the back.”
Indeed, unlike some forwards who are content to ply their talents in the final third, DeCook often goes end to end for the Huskies (3-3-1).
“In our game against Evanston (a 3-2 loss on Saturday), that’s how we were able to score,” Fitzgerald said. “Claire is able to pick that ball off the back line, and that’s so valuable, and she has so much speed and poise as a freshman.”
At this point, DeCook piped up.
“You’re going to make me blush,” she told Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald isn’t the only one heaping praise on DeCook, who scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the Huskies’ 3-2 win against Libertyville in a Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic game on Monday.
“Her work rate is out of this world,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “Obviously, I’ve known about her for a long time because of Cam. We have a bunch of kids that work hard, but it’s rare to find a forward that is willing to just run themselves into the ground, and that’s Claire all the time.”
That nonstop motor was humming against the previously unbeaten Wildcats (3-1-1), whose defenders often found themselves under siege by DeCook’s relentless attacks.
Libertyville goalkeeper Kate Hopma stopped two of her thunderous shots, but DeCook broke through twice in the second half.
The first goal, which tied the game at 1-1 with 29:08 remaining, demonstrated DeCook’s determination. A defender blocked her initial shot, but she quickly got the ball back and scored on the follow-up shot.
“It’s just all about working for the ball and digging it out because if I stopped right after I got blocked, then they could have cleared it and then countered us,” DeCook said. “It settled between me and the other girl’s stomach, so I just had to get my body in there and hope to get a touch on it.”
Junior forward Annie Chang gave the Huskies the lead 1:54 later, and DeCook made it 3-1 when she dribbled 30 yards up the left wing before beating a defender in the box and scoring on a short, sharp shot with 6:12 left.
Such plays aren’t easy, although DeCook can make them look so. But she isn’t one to crow about her successes.
“It’s definitely been humbling because (compared to) my club team, the fitness is just so much harder here and the defenders are bigger and faster,” she said. “So I definitely have to work a lot harder.
“It definitely weighs on me mentally because I have to think more when I’m on the ball, and it kind of stresses me out more. But I’m doing just fine.”
Indeed, DeCook has been waiting to play for the Huskies and with her sister, who is three years older, for a long time.
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“I love it,” DeCook said. “It has been my dream. I used to be watching in the stands. When I get off the bus and get on the field, I get déjà vu because a year ago today I was in the stands watching this game.”
Now other people are watching DeCook, who knows she belongs on the field.
“To come in as a freshman and not have those moments of ‘Can I hang?’ shows the self-confidence that she has,” Goletz said. “In order to be a great striker, you’ve got to have that confidence. Claire definitely has that.”
Goletz knows the Huskies have something special in DeCook, who could potentially become the first freshman to lead North in scoring since Zoe Swift in 2010.
“She’s a super skilled kid, but she’s also a super hardworking kid,” Goletz said. “She’s kind of like a unicorn in that way that she’s got both ways to get after you.
“We’re going to need a lot more of it to compete with the teams we play. I’m just so fortunate to be able to coach her.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
