For many years, Metea Valley was the team doing the chasing in the DuPage Valley Conference race.

The Mustangs fielded teams with plenty of star players but always fell a little bit short.

Now everyone is chasing the Mustangs, who broke through in a big way in 2022 by winning their first conference, sectional and state championships.

Metea Valley, which is ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, is favored to win its third-consecutive DVC title this season.

“It’s fun to get the results,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley said. Over the years we’ve always competed, and we’ve won a ton of regionals, which is not easy to do out here.

“We’re always right there in the mix, but at some point in time I think you have enough success at a high-enough level that the girls just create different expectations for themselves. 

“You’re no longer chasing that sectional title; you’re no longer chasing that state title. It’s already been done, and you get the thrill of trying to repeat it instead of having the pressure to be the first one to do it. You’re no longer thinking about it that way.

“To some degree the pressure is off. You want to perform, because you want to carry on the tradition, not because you’re trying to create it, which is kind of cool.”

The Mustangs (11-1-1, 2-0-0) ride a six-game winning streak as they head to no. 13 Naperville North at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The game is the first of a series of key league tilts. The Huskies (9-4-3, 2-0-0) figure to be Metea Valley’s toughest competitor, though Waubonsie Valley (9-4-2, 2-0-0), which tops the poll’s honorable mention list, is still in contention with matches against both still to come.

“Chris’s program has been fantastic over the last five years,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “They’ve done a nice job of not only being a power in the DVC but also a power in the state.

“They play great soccer. They’ve got a bunch of talented kids. He has them buy into how important it is to play for each other. We have nothing but respect for Chris and (assistant coach) Josh (Robinson).”

One factor working in favor of the Mustangs is rest. They haven’t played since last Tuesday. Prom was last weekend.

“I think it gives them a little bit of a break and allows the girls to recover a little bit,” Whaley said. “We have three big games left conference-wise, and we want to keep that momentum going.”

What aspect of their opponent worries the respective coaches? Whaley chooses to look inward.

“I’m feeling good about our girls,” Whaley said. “I tend not to focus too much on our opponent and just worry about ourselves as much as possible.

“We’ve had a really good couple of weeks. I think we’ve been playing some really quality soccer starting back with the Lincoln-Way Central game.

“I think if we do that, we’ll be in good shape to come away with a result.”

But it won’t be easy and may not be high-scoring. Neither team has been especially prolific offensively: Metea Valley has scored 35 times; Naperville North has tallied 27 goals.

But clubs have been extremely stout defensively.

“Most of our games, we’re out-possessing and outshooting our opponents,” Whaley said. “The real question is putting the ball in the net.

“When we went to St. Louis, we lost one game and tied one, but we completely controlled both of those games. I think we outshot each opponent probably 20-5.

“We’ve had a lot of those games. Scoring can sometimes be the toughest part.”

After graduating two dominant attackers in all-staters Tyra King and Jordan Lange, the Mustangs figured to regress at least somewhat.

But they still have a wealth of talent, led by Northern Michigan commits Lily Senese and all-stater Lucy Burk. Senese has bagged a team-high 10 goals to go with three assists, while Burk has seven goals and five assists.

Marquette-bound Olivia Hernandez has been a dangerous playmaker and has five goals and six assists. Sophomore McKenna Wigfield has contributed five goals.

The lack of a clear-cut no. 1 option doesn’t mean defenses will have an easier time.

“I think that might make Metea more dangerous,” Goletz said. “You don’t just have to stop one player.

“You’ve got to stop a bunch of great kids and the only way to do that is by communicating, being good in your 1-v-1 and 2-v-2 battles. Those are the things we stress all year long, and I think the girls have been tested enough. Now it’s just can we go out and execute it as group.”

Naperville North has done that more often than not. They’ve allowed just 11 goals. That’s four more than the Metea Valley, but the Huskies have played three more games and the more difficult schedule.

“Has anybody played as tough a schedule as he does?” Whaley said if Goletz. “Man.”

Indeed, Naperville North has taken on all comers and has played most of the top teams in the Chicago area. Outside of the DVC, they’ve competed in both the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic and the Naperville Invitational, losing 1-0 to no. 5 Evanston in the final of the former and 1-0 to no. 16 St. Charles East in the quarterfinals of the latter.

“You do things a little bit different for each team but at the same time, as I always tell our kids, if we can put together our best performance we can play and beat everybody in the state,” Goletz said. “The kids have shown that this year with wins over great programs like (no. 4) New Trier and (no. 19) Libertyville.”

The only thing the Huskies have lacked lately is consistent scoring. Claire DeCook leads the team with nine goals and five assists. Annie Chang has delivered six goals and one assist, and Rachael Noren four goals and four assists.

But Naperville North has been shut out in each of the past two games and has found the back of the net just five times in its last six matches. Someone will have to step up to take the pressure off of DeCook, who is regularly drawing double teams.

“In the last couple weeks, we have left a lot of goals on the field, and when you’re playing good teams, you only get so many chances,” Goletz said. “If you can’t capitalize on some of those chances, it becomes really difficult to get a positive result in tough games.

“The girls have grown from the last three weeks of the Malnati’s and the Naperville invite and played tough game after tough game. I think they’re ready for the challenge. I think it’s going to come down to can we finish our chances, the few that we may get. And then, can we be really good defensively? Because any time you play Metea you know you’re going to have to defend.

 “You’re going to have to absorb pressure at times, and our kids are going to have to play their A game to be able to keep us in the running for what we hope to be a DVC championship.”