South Elgin savors 2019 success,
hopes for 2020 glory
By Dave Owen
Two years ago, South Elgin’s Class of 2020 girls soccer players would have never imagined what the rest of their high school careers would hold.
First the good: going from three wins in 2018 to Upstate Eight Conference champions and a run to sectionals in 2019.
“This group of seniors has been with the team for both the highs and the lows,” Storm senior defender Kaleigh LaRue said. “Our 2018 season was not the best, but last year I witnessed a huge change in the mindset of the team.
“We not only learned that winning wasn't as far-fetched as it had been the previous year, but those teams that had seemed intimidating (before) were now even competition.
“Overall our team gained a lot of confidence,” LaRue said, “that helped us to believe in ourselves and the abilities we had always had.”
Fast forward from last year’s glorious improvement to March of 2020.
With eight seniors on board who had been on varsity since sophomore year or earlier, and the return of star forward Katrina Barthelt, the only freshman on Chicagoland Soccer's 2019 All-State Team, more good times appeared to be on the horizon.
Then came the suspension of the season due to COVID-19, and the Storm has been left waiting and maintaining hope for a May 1 resumption of play.
“It's an incredibly emotional time for this team,” South Elgin coach Laura Szwaja said, “knowing there is no set future for them.”
As hard as it is, Storm players are trying to make the best of things.
“With the delay in the season, we are all trying to stay very positive,” LaRue said.
“We text each other pretty often and work to keep updated about what the IHSA is doing about our season, as well as motivate each other to go outside and go for a run or get touches on the ball.
“All of us are keeping hope in the back of our minds that we may have some type of season,” LaRue added.
Playing even an abbreviated schedule would be especially important to those in their last season of prep soccer: seniors LaRue, Nicole Peters, Bella Tusa, Taylor Latsonas, Megan McClure, Kayla Mathis, Danielle Kucharski, Haley Molidor and varsity newcomer Olivia Piaskowy.
Adding to that importance is that 2020 is likely the last season of organized soccer for most of the talented group
“Only two of them are going on to play soccer next year,” Szwaja said. “Danielle Kucharski is going to Hanover College in Indiana, and Bella Tusa to Barry University in Florida.”
Whatever May and June may hold, the South Elgin senior group can savor the fact that they stuffed a high school career’s worth of great memories into 2019.
A successful first month of the season was a prelude to a great finishing kick in UEC play. A 2-0 win at defending conference co-champion Glenbard East on April 20 began a string of impressive road wins.
The Rams finished 18-5-2 and averaged over three goals per game.
Then a week later on May 1, another great defensive effort produced a 1-0 victory at Bartlett. Suddenly, a conference title was within reach.
“Winning the UEC last year was honestly a dream,” said LaRue, who joined fellow defenders Latsonas, Kucharski and Mathis and goalkeeper McClure as staples of the Storm defense.
“I remember the games leading up to that final stand against West Aurora (in the May 8 conference finale),” LaRue added. “Our team had been calculating how all the different outcomes of our games against Bartlett and Glenbard South could add up for our standing in the conference.
“The moment the clock hit zero in our game against Bartlett, with Katrina (Barthelt) securing us a 1-0 win (with the winning goal), the possibility of a conference title really hit us. The next two games could either make or break the season we had created, but we all stayed positive.”
The defense was less dominant in a 3-2 win May 6 at Glenbard South. But two days later, the showdown for the title with offense-packed West Aurora produced one of the most notable defensive efforts of the year.
Facing a road test against a West Aurora squad that scored 49 goals in 20 games last spring and finished with a 12-7-1 record, the Storm won 1-0.
That marked the only time all of 2019 that the Blackhawks were shut out. And West Aurora scored multiple goals against strong foes like sectional champion Minooka (a 3-1 West Aurora win) and defending Class 3A state champion Naperville North (a 3-2 regional final loss).
“Our whole team really worked to keep a calm demeanor in the days leading up to our Glenbard South game,” LaRue said, “and once we won that, it was hard to contain our excitement.
“Our last game against West Aurora was basically a championship for the Upstate Eight Conference title, and it was absolutely a crazy feeling when we won it.”
South Elgin closed 2019 by shutting out five of its last seven opponents, including regional wins over McHenry (5-0 score) and Huntley (1-0 in the final).
It took a 2-0 sectional loss to Barrington (the 2017 and 2018 Class 3A state champs and 2019 state runnerup) to finally calm the Storm.
As important as freshman Barthelt’s arrival and the deep junior class were to the 2019 success, a strong senior corps of Ashley Kopczyk, Nikki Nguyen, Bridget Bondi, Madeline Kordecki, Julia Wafford, Isabelle Zabat, Sarah Boghossian was also key.
“We’ve had two classes of seniors now that have set an incredible precedent for hard work and success,” Szwaja said.
Now in an uncertain spring, the latest senior group just hopes for a chance to add to its imprint on South Elgin soccer history.
“I’ve been so lucky to be on a team with so many amazing soccer players and friends throughout my high school career,” LaRue said. “I have grown up playing with a few of the seniors from as early as fourth grade on a travel team.
“I believe that at least a part of our success can be tied to the relationships, both in and out of soccer, that we have all built with each other over time. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses, how to make each other successful in games, and how to lift each other up when one of us maybe isn't feeling the best about our game.”
The result of it all has been to help lift the entire South Elgin program from recent struggles to conference and regional championship glory.
hopes for 2020 glory
By Dave Owen
Two years ago, South Elgin’s Class of 2020 girls soccer players would have never imagined what the rest of their high school careers would hold.
First the good: going from three wins in 2018 to Upstate Eight Conference champions and a run to sectionals in 2019.
“This group of seniors has been with the team for both the highs and the lows,” Storm senior defender Kaleigh LaRue said. “Our 2018 season was not the best, but last year I witnessed a huge change in the mindset of the team.
“We not only learned that winning wasn't as far-fetched as it had been the previous year, but those teams that had seemed intimidating (before) were now even competition.
“Overall our team gained a lot of confidence,” LaRue said, “that helped us to believe in ourselves and the abilities we had always had.”
Fast forward from last year’s glorious improvement to March of 2020.
With eight seniors on board who had been on varsity since sophomore year or earlier, and the return of star forward Katrina Barthelt, the only freshman on Chicagoland Soccer's 2019 All-State Team, more good times appeared to be on the horizon.
Then came the suspension of the season due to COVID-19, and the Storm has been left waiting and maintaining hope for a May 1 resumption of play.
“It's an incredibly emotional time for this team,” South Elgin coach Laura Szwaja said, “knowing there is no set future for them.”
As hard as it is, Storm players are trying to make the best of things.
“With the delay in the season, we are all trying to stay very positive,” LaRue said.
“We text each other pretty often and work to keep updated about what the IHSA is doing about our season, as well as motivate each other to go outside and go for a run or get touches on the ball.
“All of us are keeping hope in the back of our minds that we may have some type of season,” LaRue added.
Playing even an abbreviated schedule would be especially important to those in their last season of prep soccer: seniors LaRue, Nicole Peters, Bella Tusa, Taylor Latsonas, Megan McClure, Kayla Mathis, Danielle Kucharski, Haley Molidor and varsity newcomer Olivia Piaskowy.
Adding to that importance is that 2020 is likely the last season of organized soccer for most of the talented group
“Only two of them are going on to play soccer next year,” Szwaja said. “Danielle Kucharski is going to Hanover College in Indiana, and Bella Tusa to Barry University in Florida.”
Whatever May and June may hold, the South Elgin senior group can savor the fact that they stuffed a high school career’s worth of great memories into 2019.
A successful first month of the season was a prelude to a great finishing kick in UEC play. A 2-0 win at defending conference co-champion Glenbard East on April 20 began a string of impressive road wins.
The Rams finished 18-5-2 and averaged over three goals per game.
Then a week later on May 1, another great defensive effort produced a 1-0 victory at Bartlett. Suddenly, a conference title was within reach.
“Winning the UEC last year was honestly a dream,” said LaRue, who joined fellow defenders Latsonas, Kucharski and Mathis and goalkeeper McClure as staples of the Storm defense.
“I remember the games leading up to that final stand against West Aurora (in the May 8 conference finale),” LaRue added. “Our team had been calculating how all the different outcomes of our games against Bartlett and Glenbard South could add up for our standing in the conference.
“The moment the clock hit zero in our game against Bartlett, with Katrina (Barthelt) securing us a 1-0 win (with the winning goal), the possibility of a conference title really hit us. The next two games could either make or break the season we had created, but we all stayed positive.”
The defense was less dominant in a 3-2 win May 6 at Glenbard South. But two days later, the showdown for the title with offense-packed West Aurora produced one of the most notable defensive efforts of the year.
Facing a road test against a West Aurora squad that scored 49 goals in 20 games last spring and finished with a 12-7-1 record, the Storm won 1-0.
That marked the only time all of 2019 that the Blackhawks were shut out. And West Aurora scored multiple goals against strong foes like sectional champion Minooka (a 3-1 West Aurora win) and defending Class 3A state champion Naperville North (a 3-2 regional final loss).
“Our whole team really worked to keep a calm demeanor in the days leading up to our Glenbard South game,” LaRue said, “and once we won that, it was hard to contain our excitement.
“Our last game against West Aurora was basically a championship for the Upstate Eight Conference title, and it was absolutely a crazy feeling when we won it.”
South Elgin closed 2019 by shutting out five of its last seven opponents, including regional wins over McHenry (5-0 score) and Huntley (1-0 in the final).
It took a 2-0 sectional loss to Barrington (the 2017 and 2018 Class 3A state champs and 2019 state runnerup) to finally calm the Storm.
As important as freshman Barthelt’s arrival and the deep junior class were to the 2019 success, a strong senior corps of Ashley Kopczyk, Nikki Nguyen, Bridget Bondi, Madeline Kordecki, Julia Wafford, Isabelle Zabat, Sarah Boghossian was also key.
“We’ve had two classes of seniors now that have set an incredible precedent for hard work and success,” Szwaja said.
Now in an uncertain spring, the latest senior group just hopes for a chance to add to its imprint on South Elgin soccer history.
“I’ve been so lucky to be on a team with so many amazing soccer players and friends throughout my high school career,” LaRue said. “I have grown up playing with a few of the seniors from as early as fourth grade on a travel team.
“I believe that at least a part of our success can be tied to the relationships, both in and out of soccer, that we have all built with each other over time. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses, how to make each other successful in games, and how to lift each other up when one of us maybe isn't feeling the best about our game.”
The result of it all has been to help lift the entire South Elgin program from recent struggles to conference and regional championship glory.