Naperville North sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Ochsner and her teammates were giddy with excitement after rallying to beat visiting Metea Valley 2-1 on Tuesday night.

But that may be just a prelude to what they will be feeling Thursday when the Huskies visit Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. for the annual battle with crosstown rival Naperville Central.

“I love the Central game,” Ochsner said. “It’s so much fun.

“The stands were packed last year. The energy is so high, I know we’re both going to be ready from the go.”

The reason is simple – the players all know each other. Many of them are longtime friends, and bragging rights are on the line.

“It’s just a high to be in,” Ochsner said. “I kind of like the pressure of being in those games. I think winning (against Metea Valley) makes it even better, to be able to play for a DVC title too.”

Indeed, the DuPage Valley Conference race remains up in the air with two games remaining. The Huskies (10-4-3, 3-0-0), who are ranked 13th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, control their own destiny and can clinch at least a share of the title by beating the Redhawks (8-5-0, 2-1-0), who would be eliminated with a loss.

A Redhawks victory would make things really interesting and give three teams – with Waubonsie Valley the third – a shot at a piece of the championship with one conference game remaining.

Both North and Central have been playing a packed schedule against tough opponents, including four games each at the Naperville Invitational. But the players don’t mind the fact that there are few easy games.

“That’s what I love about high school soccer,” Ochsner said. “Everyone is 110 percent high-spirited.

“Everyone wants to win, so it’s just a different feeling from travel club. It’s a different vibe.

“I’m playing for my team, and we’re playing for each other and not just ourselves. The program is bigger than us as individuals.”

While Naperville Central coach Troy Adams was able to rest his starters Tuesday in a 9-0 blowout of DeKalb, he doesn’t think that will be a factor Thursday.

“They (Naperville North) could play three-straight games or we could play three-straight games,” Adams said. “It wouldn’t matter.

“The kids get up for that game. That’s the game they circle.

“They have (club) teammates spread out throughout a lot of teams, but it’s usually the one they have the most teammates on, even to the extent that some of them played on park district softball or swim teams. They know each other. It’s the one game they are the most excited about.”

So what should we expect? Probably a close, low-scoring yet entertaining game, like it usually is.

“Any time you play Naperville Central, you throw the records out the window,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “Everybody knows everybody. It’s a rivalry game.

“The big piece is just focusing on doing the things that we have to do. I think we have to continue to play as hard as we possibly can.

“We’ve got to be organized. We’ve got to communicate with each other. Now that we saw the ball go in the net for us twice, hopefully that opens it up a little bit and gives us a little bit more confidence in burying the dangerous chances that we have.”

Naperville North’s offense has been pedestrian for much of the season, but the Huskies have been in every game thanks to a gritty defense as well as determined players at every position. They will have the best player on the field in sophomore forward Claire DeCook, who despite drawing consistent double- and triple-teams has racked up nine goals and six assists.

“Every single game, we come in fully ready to go,” Ochsner said. “We have a mindset that we’re going to come in here and work harder than the other team. We’re going to win every single first ball.

“We have set goals for every single game. If we make sure we accomplish those, then it makes it a lot easier for us.”

Naperville Central, however, won’t make it easy on the Huskies. The Redhawks have a younger, and arguably deeper, offense than North.

“Against Central, it’s going to be a lot of winning balls out of the air, making sure where the ball is and possession,” Ochsner said. “We have to track their players.

“I know they have (sophomore) Malia Shen in the middle. She’s very good. And a freshman, Emerson Burke is really good.”

Then there is junior winger Bella Brozek, who will be the fastest player on the field. Brozek has caught fire lately and has tallied a team-leading 10 goals, six of which came during the Naperville Invitational, where she won the Golden Boot award as the tournament’s top scorer. Brozek scored in all four of her team’s games in the invite.

“Bella Brozek has been playing really, really well lately,” Adams said. “She has a trait that you can’t coach, and it’s hard to defend -- she’s fast.

“Within the last year-and-a-half, she really improved her ability to play at speed. She’s always been fast, but now when she has the ball at her feet, she has become more dangerous because she’s worked at it.

“She can run with the ball faster than most people can run without it. That took time. She had to work hard to get better at it.”

Both teams are working hard at trying to score more.

“I’ve been joking that we’ve been missing all of these potential shots, and we’re saving those goals for North and Metea,” Adams said. “With the exception of Lockport (a 4-0 loss), I’d say we’ve played even to most teams.

“We’ve lost some games that I felt that we probably played better. Minooka had two shots on goal and scored two goals. We had 14 shots on goal and scored one.

“That’s just the way the game goes sometimes. Sometimes you’re trying to find that little spark to get going from one goal to three or four goals.

“It doesn’t take much. It takes three inches here, two inches there.

“That’s the great and the bad about sports is you can’t predict what is going to happen. It doesn’t always go the way it should go.”

Goletz knows this well. The Huskies were coming off consecutive 1-0 losses to St. Charles East and Lyons in which he felt they played well but had nothing to show for it.

It appeared a third-straight loss was imminent as the Huskies trailed Metea Valley 1-0 until scoring twice in the last 12 minutes. That’s why the play of the backline will be vital.

“We know that we’re going to have to be great defensively,” Goletz said. “With Brozek and their other kids up-top, they’ve got some really talented kids. We’re going to have to be at our best.”

Ochsner, though, has confidence in her defenders.

“We’ve played against so many good forwards and strikers, I know that our defense will be able to pin it down,” Ochsner said.

Yet while North’s defense has been outstanding all spring, Central’s defense might be jelling at the right time, with freshman Eleanor Kane meshing well with senior co-captains Chloe Mowry and Lauren Thorne.

“Chloe Mowry and Lauren Thorne have both played really well,” Adams said. “Chloe has kind of switched into a centerback role. She will freely admit is not her favorite position, nor is it her most comfortable, but it’s definitely one that helps stabilize us.

“She’s probably our most vocal leader, and she’s really embraced it. And Lauren has been learning on the fly about being a defender, and she’s really become a top-notch defender. Then she adds the benefit of being able to move forward in the attack.

“We play good soccer. We just struggle in finishing or have one atrocious defensive breakdown that leads to a goal.”

Regardless of the outcome, expect the players to relish the moment and the fans to be entertained.

“I know it’s one of those games that not only the parents and fans, but the kids love,” Goletz said. “If you don’t love competing against Naperville Central if you’re a Naperville North player, then there’s probably something wrong with you.

“I’m excited. Every game from here on out matters. Thursday matters a little bit more, because if you keep winning, you control your destiny to win a conference championship. But we still have so much more work to do that.”