There were a lot of disappointed faces in Naperville North's final huddle after the top-ranked Huskies lost 1-0 at home to West Aurora in their Class 3A sectional semifinal.

The result was one of a series of shocking upsets that rocked the state tournament and represented the Huskies’ earliest playoff exit since 2013.

But that fact recognizes the great track record the Huskies have authored over the past 40 years. 

“It’s pretty sad that (the loss) happened this year, but it also speaks volumes for the program,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Going 20-2-1 is an impressive year with our schedule. It will go down as one of the hardest schedules in Illinois.”

The Huskies, who have posted 20-or-more victories seven of the past eight seasons, had gone unbeaten and untied against in-state opponents until the loss to the Blackhawks. The streak ended despite outshooting their opponent 22-5. 

Naperville North was ranked no. 1 by Chicagoland Soccer in the First 50 preseason poll and held the top spot in the Top 25 all eight weeks. The Final 50 placed the squad third behind the new Class 3A state luminaries -- champion Hersey and runnerup Lane. Naperville North was ranked 10th in the nation by MaxPreps before the season-ending defeat and 14th after it.

“I was proud of the way the boys handled the pressure of being no. 1 almost from when we started until when we lost,” Konrad said. “There was a lot of pressure on the kids.

“The boys really enjoyed each other. It was one of the more fun years I’ve had in terms of interacting with the kids. They were a really positive, fun group.”

It was a group that provided fans with plenty of great moments, breathtaking athleticism and a treasure trove of victories and titles. The Huskies won the Best of the West Tournament for the ninth-straight time, their 31st DuPage Valley Conference and 10th-in-the-last-11 years, and 29th regional championship, all while outscoring their opponents 70-14 this season.

The offense was led once again by the dynamic duo of senior strikers Noah Radeke and Jaxon Stokes, who were arguably the best 1-2 attacking force in the state and figure to rank among all-time duos.

The unsigned Radeke, a four-year starter, became just the second player in program history to record back-to-back 20-goal seasons, finishing with 20 goals and 11 assists. He leaves the program tied for third on the all-time list with 54 goals, three more than Stokes, a Belmont recruit who is tied for fifth with 51.

“It was overall just a great season, and I really enjoyed playing with the guys,” Radeke said. “I’m very proud of being in the program.

“It’s unfortunate the way we went out, but I’m very glad to have left a legacy at Naperville North and thankful for Mr. Konrad and Mr. Goletz for making it a great four years.”

In addition to Radeke and Stokes, the Huskies will say goodbye to do-everything senior Connor Hanrahan, a Babson commit who played all over the field and contributed grit and five assists. Other seniors departing include midfielder Niko Ladas, who had five goals and four assists and has an offer from Northern Illinois, and forward Andre Miarkulau, who broke into the starting lineup toward the end of the season.

Anyone who thinks the Huskies won’t be their usual formidable selves in 2025 is fooling themselves. Seven starters return for a team that once again will be favored to make a strong push for a state title.

The returnees include the entire backline of all-stater Sam Hess, Colin McMahon, Andrew Hebron and Josh Pedersen as well as all-state goalkeeper Jack Bouska, his twin brother, Luke, a starting midfielder, and forward Anthony Flores. Dylan Healy, who started in the midfield before being injured, also returns.

Hess, who is considered one of the top players in the Chicago area, had five goals and four assists from the centerback position. Pedersen contributed five goals and seven assists and Flores seven goals and five assists.

“We’re looking forward to next year,” Konrad said. “We’ve got some really talented kids on our JV1 team that at most places would be varsity kids.

“Obviously because of the amount of talent we had, they weren’t with us. I think next year we’re going to be able to plug in three-four new guys and make another run of it. Hopefully we’ll grow a little bit this offseason and improve our game.”

Don’t expect everyone to be in the same position when the new season returns. While Radeke and Stokes are irreplaceable talents, the Huskies could move Hess and Pedersen into the attack, where both play during the club season.

“We have a couple good defenders on the JV group, so I could move Pedersen up-top,” Konrad said. 

“Replacing Sam in the back will be tough. But if I can find another centerback, and I can play Sam in the midfield, that would be a great addition for us. He can manage the game from there.”

Hess, who is expected to draw interest from Division I schools, already is a two-year co-captain despite being a junior.

“I think he’ll start the season as probably the most highly anticipated kid,” Konrad said. “I think he was arguably the best player in the area this year.

“He just got overshadowed by the two kids who scored the goals. But without him, we wouldn’t have had close to the season we had.”

Which by all measures was a rousing success, even if it didn’t include a state trophy as it did in 2023, when the Huskies finished third in Class 3A.

“It was great,” Konrad said. “You can’t rate your season based on where you finished. While it was a disappointing year for us in terms of state tournament success, we were still DVC champions again, Best of the West champions once again and won a regional.

“We lost to a good West Aurora team in the tournament.

“It was a great year for North.”