Naperville Central junior forward Sebastian Martinez took a while to find his footing.

The varsity rookie came off the bench early in the season as he got his bearings.

Now opponents are having trouble slowing Martinez down.

“Starting the year, he wasn’t playing as much, but he just earned that playing time,” Naperville Central senior forward Brady Strang said. “He’s playing amazing, a big role for us.

“That will be a big help for our future games. Him being in the lineup now is so impactful.”

Martinez made a big impact in his playoff debut, and in the process he made sure the Redhawks have at least one more game in their future. He scored two goals, including the game-winner, to lift third-seeded Naperville Central to a 3-0 victory over 14th-seeded Neuqua Valley in a Class 3A Naperville North Regional semifinal on Wednesday.

The Redhawks (11-5-2) advance to play fifth-seeded Naperville North (11-3-5) for the regional title at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“It was really special,” Martinez said of the win. “We needed a win to advance, and we wanted to set the tone straight off.”

Martinez did not score in the Redhawks’ 3-1 win over the Wildcats (4-10-3) in the regular-season finale on Oct. 13. But he set the tone in the rematch, scoring on a great individual effort with 21:28 left in the first half.

Junior forward Pierre Mazza sent a pass up the left wing to Martinez, who dribbled to the top of the box before cutting inside and slotting a shot off the inside of the right post to put the Redhawks up 1-0.

“Pierre gave me a good pass down the line, and I just dribbled,” Martinez said. “Originally, I was thinking to cross it back, and at that moment I just decided to shoot it because there was two guys coming up on my back.

“That sets the tone for the entire game, and from that point on, we were able to keep getting more and more goals.”

Indeed, Strang made it 2-0 when he backheeled a shot inside the left post eight minutes later.

Martinez scored again on his own rebound at the 3:53 mark. Senior defender Calum Bohan set up Martinez’s second goal with a long throw-in from the right side. The ball eventually came in front to Martinez, whose sharp 10-yard shot was stopped by Neuqua Valley junior goalkeeper Brendan Bauer.

But Martinez calmly tucked the rebound into the lower left corner.

“We’ve had that play for a while now,” Martinez said. “Calum throws it long, and then Logan Godfrey was able to flick it back, and one of us has to scrap for it.

“I was able to get a good volley on it. Keeper made a good save, and then I just rebounded it.”

It was the third two-goal game of the season for Martinez, who also scored twice against Waubonsie Valley and Glenbard West. Both scores were a reflection of Martinez’s grasp of the game’s nuances.

“The first goal, he hit it with enough pace to get it in the goal,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “I’ve been telling him, ‘That’s all you’ve got to do.’ It doesn’t have to be a rocket.

“Even the second goal he scored, he hit it well, but it wasn’t like it was an absolute laser. It was firm, and it was into a spot where there weren’t players, and that’s how you score goals.”

Martinez has 13 goals, four behind Strang for the team lead, and 11 assists. The bulk of that production has come during the second half of the season.

“He’s really done a good job of kind of asserting himself,” Adams said. “The mental focus has come a long way from where he was as a sophomore on JV to where he is now as a varsity player.

“He’s way more dialed in and driven. The other thing is I think he recognizes that he has players around him.”

Martinez’s emergence is a big reason why the Redhawks have proven attackers around Strang, who was the only player scoring regularly early in the season.

“He’s a very technical player, which is really good to watch,” Strang said.

Now the Redhawks get the chance to avenge their 3-0 regular-season loss to Naperville North.

“It’s going to be very special, a little revenge game for us,” Martinez said. “We do want to keep our season going, and I know they do too. So it’s going to be a very good game.”