Naperville North sophomore Sam Hess has always been ahead of schedule.

His opportunity to shine has come earlier than for most players, but Huskies coach Jim Konrad saw it coming.

“Sam is a special kid,” Konrad said. “He’s lived in my neighborhood his whole life, so I’ve known Sam since he was a little kid.

“He was strutting around the neighborhood in his soccer jersey since he was 3 years old. He was that kid trying to find anybody bigger than him to go challenge and play.”

That’s the thing about Hess. He’s always up for a challenge.

Hess has already seen action at several positions for the Huskies (15-1-2). As a freshman, he came off the bench and contributed four goals and five assists as an attacking midfielder on a team laden with seniors, including current Indiana freshman Alex Barger, that reached a sectional final.

“In the state tournament, if you watched closely, you could see that even though Barger was our guy, Sam became the voice of the team,” Konrad said. “He just had that calm demeanor, pulling the strings, helping guys work things out.”

That calm demeanor remains, although it’s coming from a different spot on the field. Senior Ryne Gaccione’s injury prompted Konrad to move Hess to center back. That solidified a young defense that also includes juniors Connor Hanrahan and Niko Ladas and sophomore Colin McMahon.

“He wants to play in the midfield, but we had to make some shifts, and he’s been fantastic,” Konrad said of Hess. “He is just so calm on the ball.”

That was evident Thursday night, when Hess made two outstanding defensive plays in the Huskies’ 2-0 road victory against St. Charles East. In the first half, he cleared a shot off his goal line, and in the second half, he headed a bouncing ball away from an attacking player in the penalty area and then fought off two players in the corner to retain possession.

That helped the Huskies record their fourth consecutive shutout. The Saints (13-7) were blanked for just the third time this season.

“My main strength is leadership,” Hess said. “When things aren’t going our way, I think I’m good at keeping everybody’s heads up.

“I’m very reliable at different positions on the field. I can just be anywhere and help out my team.”

It’s becoming clear, though, that Hess provides the most help on defense, where the Huskies are turning a question mark into an exclamation point.

“Playing center back, I think I have a lot more I can help with,” he said. “That caused me to help out more with getting the team hyped up, organizing them, getting everybody in the right place at the right time, just doing everything I can.”

That’s a role not often associated with a sophomore. Midfielder Hindo Allie, the only senior starter, has been amazed.

“It’s unbelievable,” Allie said. “Sometimes you look at Sam and you don’t even know he’s a sophomore. He takes in information from other players. He’s like a sponge at times.”

Hess and Allie share similar traits and often switch positions during games.

“We kind of build off of each other,” Allie said. “What I might lack, he helps me out. What he might lack, I help him out. We communicate well, and it helps us both grow as players.”

Hess plays with an intensity born of a lifelong affinity for soccer. His father, Mike, who played soccer at Waubonsie Valley, got him hooked.

“My passion comes from watching Premier League in the morning every day when I was a kid,” Hess said. “I just love watching soccer. I just love the sport.”

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Hess wants to play Division I soccer and is already drawing interest from big schools.

“He’s a fantastic player,” Konrad said. “As a senior, I see him maybe being the best kid in the state or one of them. I see him being a Big Ten-type kid when he graduates.

“I’m glad he’s only a sophomore. I’ve got this year and two more with him.”

Allie has only the rest of this season with Hess, but they are primed to fuel the second-ranked Huskies’ run at a Class 3A state championship.

“The knowledge that he has at such a young age is just unbelievable,” Allie said. “He plays with so much passion.

“He gets the boys fired up before the game, and I think that’s a big part of our success this season.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.