When Naperville North was awarded a 28-yard free kick during the Class 3A sectional semifinals, senior defender Colin McMahon was standing next to senior forward Josh Pedersen.
McMahon had a choice. He could take the shot or pass it to Pedersen. There was no doubt about what McMahon would do.
“I’d be lying if I said I had a feeling I was going to shoot it,” McMahon said. “I knew whatever ball I’d give Josh, he would bury it. I trust him.”
So McMahon tapped the ball to Pedersen, who did indeed bury the shot to cap the scoring in the Huskies’ 4-0 win over Lockport on Oct. 28.
That was one of the team-high 30 goals scored by Pedersen, the 2025 Naperville Sun Boys Soccer Player of the Year, who led the Huskies (25-0-4) to the 3A state championship on Nov. 8. A Bowling Green recruit and the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association’s statewide player of the year, Pedersen is the fourth 30-goal scorer in program history.
Lockport coach Chris Beal, whose team had won 11 straight games, heaped praise on Pedersen.
“He’s the best forward I’ve seen for a long time,” Beal said. “He’s got everything you want in a striker — his movement off the ball to create spaces for others, or to get the ball and take players on.
“He can shoot left-footed. He can shoot right-footed. He’s on the end of everything but also can hold the ball and link up play. He’s a special, special talent.”
Naperville North coach Jim Konrad saw that talent in Pedersen three years ago.
“I knew from camp going into his freshman year that he was going to be a special kid,” Konrad said. “That’s why I brought him up as a freshman, which is rare at North.”
Pedersen played several positions in the shadow of All-Americans Alex Barger, Noah Radeke and Jaxon Stokes until this season, when he and fellow four-year starter Sam Hess led the Huskies to their second unbeaten season.
Hess, an Indiana recruit who played midfielder and defender, was Naperville North’s vocal leader. Pedersen was the physical leader, using blazing speed and tremendous ball control to devastate defenses. Together, they were the perfect team, with Hess and other Huskies constantly looking to feed Pedersen, who also had 10 assists.
“He is obviously a special talent, so giving him the ball as much as we can in the spaces he wants and he thrives in is important for our game plan,” McMahon said. “We can win in many other different ways, but he’s a big part of what we do up top.”
That made Pedersen the top focus for opponents who tried, often in vain, to stop him.
“Put yourself in a defender’s shoes while covering Josh,” Konrad said. “If you take a wrong step, he can embarrass you, and if you give him too much space, he’s going to shoot it, your keeper will be screaming at you to get tighter. He’s so fast.”
The speed was always there. The muscle was not.
“The big thing is he got stronger between his junior and senior year, and you could see the ability to get over balls at any angle wherever he was pressured,” Konrad said. “His junior year he hit a great ball, but this year his strength and his ability to manage his body and get everything on goal has made him terrifying in the attack.
“Any chance he has, he’s going to put a ball on goal from any angle, and that just takes an incredible amount of core strength.”
Pedersen paired that power with a relentless work ethic. He played so much soccer that his cleats, which were purchased in May, wore out.
After the Lockport game, the soles had come apart at the seams. With no time to break in a new pair, Pedersen’s father Mike had to get the shoes repaired. In his next game, Pedersen scored a spectacular goal against Naperville Central in the sectional championship game.
Pedersen called that goal “crazy,” and the same could be said about his production. Did he expect such a great season?
“Honestly, no,” he said, crediting Hess and junior midfielder Dylan Healy with getting him the ball. “But looking back on the (Naperville Sun) article at the start of the season, it brought a lot of confidence into me. When my coach says something like, ‘Good luck trying to stop him,’ it’s such a great confidence-booster.
“It’s great to have people that are behind me and believe in me and to play with such a great team. I’ve had really technical coaches over the years. As you can tell, it helps me so much.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
