Jungels fits Young's D to a T
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Styles underline the player, a portrait in time and space of who and what they are.
When Meaghan Jungels showed up at Young three years ago, she had overlapping impulses that contrasted and floated off each other.
She was eager to make her name and be part of the group. As a freshman, that kind of acceleration is both liberating and daunting.
“When I think about my role and how it has evolved, I think the primary thing that has changed has been my connection to the team,” Jungels said.
The events play out in stages — sometimes not always recognizable to each other.
“At first, the hardest part is just figuring out how you fit in socially with everybody else. That was the most difficult part, but I eventually got super close to the girls.
“I have become much more comfortable.”
The freedom and confidence just blossom.
Three years later, Jungels is a signature part of the Dolphins’ team.
The 5-foot-4 right back plays with toughness and purpose. She combines instincts and a presence around the ball.
While not an overpowering athlete, she anticipates the game well, especially reading the movement of the offensive players.
She has a great knack for cutting off angles, attacking the ball and closing in space.
Jungels is a crucial part of the Dolphins’ formidable backline that registered 12 shutouts last year. Young was at its best in the final stretch of the year.
In the first year with coach Ross LaBauex, Young finished the year on a 14-3-0 run. As part of that burst, the Dolphins had separate six- and four-game winning streaks.
After a disappointing one-sided loss against Lane in the city title game, the Dolphins regrouped and reached a Class 3A sectional final, the program’s deepest state tournament run in nearly two decades.
Jungels was one of seven returning starters from last year’s team (18-7-1). Young was ranked No. 11 in the preseason Chicagoland Soccer First 50 poll.
Her teammates recognize what she brings to the group dynamic.
“Meaghan is one of those people who does well in everything she engaged herself in,” senior forward Mia Lisanti said.
“She is a great player, an amazing student and a natural leader. But the best thing is she works so hard at everything. Her ability to sense urgency and make an important step or clear to help the defense really stands out.”
Lisanti characterized it as something natural and almost hard to quantify: “She could do well without even trying.”
That package of attributes — smarts, toughness, balance — is an imposing one. Part of her game is almost imperceptible. Her strengths are not always easily detectable.
“I am generally more of an indirect player, like making the safe passes,” she said. “Aggression is an important thing, and it is part of making some direct plays.
“When I think about my strengths as a player, I have pretty good awareness of the field and a vision of understanding the field.”
Her approach often resembles that of an artist. She plays within a secure system and a specific position. The game is often ruled by the random and the chaotic, and her job is to bring stability and form.
Her intuitive style means that Jungels realizes her place. That malleability is deeply attractive to her.
“One thing I have always loved about the game is the creativity,” she said. “No one game is ever going to be exactly the same. It’s fast, and it is always changing, and the format of the game and pace allows for a lot of creativity.”
She makes the most salient of points. Soccer has different layers, and the game often features looser arrangements and movements within the larger framework.
Jungels is part of the orchestra. Every once in a while, she can go off-rhythm. The sound is not lost.
She has the freedom to always come back home.
“I have always gravitated to being more of a defensive player,” she said. “Right back has always been really appealing to me. I think it is a very diverse role as opposed to the other positions on the field.
“You have a role in offensive playmaking.”
The game has always had a personal meaning. Meaghan and her older sister Katie started playing in Chicago youth soccer leagues.
Katie quickly moved to other interests. Meaghan stayed with it, eventually signing with a series of prominent clubs.
The best girls high school programs in the city are also at the most coveted academic institutions. Young is a standout school, the perfect place for the brilliant student.
“I was very lucky that it happened the way that it did,” she said. “Soccer was not necessarily one of the key components of where I was going to school.
“Education is my primary concern.”
LaBauex had to reconstruct his back with the graduation of keeper Mia Engelmann and stoppers Addie Schlensker and Carson Herman.
Jungels and Lauren Ehlers are foundational pieces. LaBauex was confident that part of the team would coalesce around the two returners.
Events turned upside down. Now everything is built out of memories and imaging what might have been.
A season that never formally took off due to the novel coronavirus proved heartbreaking for a team that had a lot to prove and so many reasons to be excited.
“It has been a shock, especially for the seniors not to see their hard work pay off,” Jungels said. “As a team we started preparing very hard in October.
“We have been able to cope as a team. At the beginning there was still hope. It is still very sad we are not going to see the benefits.”
The only consolation was the pandemic ripped through everybody on the team largely the same way. The shared experience helped mitigate the pain and disappointment.
“Everyone is going through not exactly the same thing, but a similar one thing, and that really helps in a team environment,” Jungels said.
Jungels is complicated emotionally: serious and smart; though also sly and glancing in her humor and personal style.
“I really respect her ability to speak up and suggest solutions to issues whether it be about soccer or not,” Lisanti said.
It is hard to think about a playing future when so much of the present is shrouded in the unknown. Jungels is not really pursuing formal scholarship playing-opportunities in college.
The game is too much a part of her DNA to fully give up. She imagines playing club or intramurals. She also has a year left at Young. The Dolphins are likely to be dynamite again next spring.
She is always going to have a place to make something vital or exciting happen.
“What motivates me is the connection I have with my team,” she said.
“That is really important with my time.”t.
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Styles underline the player, a portrait in time and space of who and what they are.
When Meaghan Jungels showed up at Young three years ago, she had overlapping impulses that contrasted and floated off each other.
She was eager to make her name and be part of the group. As a freshman, that kind of acceleration is both liberating and daunting.
“When I think about my role and how it has evolved, I think the primary thing that has changed has been my connection to the team,” Jungels said.
The events play out in stages — sometimes not always recognizable to each other.
“At first, the hardest part is just figuring out how you fit in socially with everybody else. That was the most difficult part, but I eventually got super close to the girls.
“I have become much more comfortable.”
The freedom and confidence just blossom.
Three years later, Jungels is a signature part of the Dolphins’ team.
The 5-foot-4 right back plays with toughness and purpose. She combines instincts and a presence around the ball.
While not an overpowering athlete, she anticipates the game well, especially reading the movement of the offensive players.
She has a great knack for cutting off angles, attacking the ball and closing in space.
Jungels is a crucial part of the Dolphins’ formidable backline that registered 12 shutouts last year. Young was at its best in the final stretch of the year.
In the first year with coach Ross LaBauex, Young finished the year on a 14-3-0 run. As part of that burst, the Dolphins had separate six- and four-game winning streaks.
After a disappointing one-sided loss against Lane in the city title game, the Dolphins regrouped and reached a Class 3A sectional final, the program’s deepest state tournament run in nearly two decades.
Jungels was one of seven returning starters from last year’s team (18-7-1). Young was ranked No. 11 in the preseason Chicagoland Soccer First 50 poll.
Her teammates recognize what she brings to the group dynamic.
“Meaghan is one of those people who does well in everything she engaged herself in,” senior forward Mia Lisanti said.
“She is a great player, an amazing student and a natural leader. But the best thing is she works so hard at everything. Her ability to sense urgency and make an important step or clear to help the defense really stands out.”
Lisanti characterized it as something natural and almost hard to quantify: “She could do well without even trying.”
That package of attributes — smarts, toughness, balance — is an imposing one. Part of her game is almost imperceptible. Her strengths are not always easily detectable.
“I am generally more of an indirect player, like making the safe passes,” she said. “Aggression is an important thing, and it is part of making some direct plays.
“When I think about my strengths as a player, I have pretty good awareness of the field and a vision of understanding the field.”
Her approach often resembles that of an artist. She plays within a secure system and a specific position. The game is often ruled by the random and the chaotic, and her job is to bring stability and form.
Her intuitive style means that Jungels realizes her place. That malleability is deeply attractive to her.
“One thing I have always loved about the game is the creativity,” she said. “No one game is ever going to be exactly the same. It’s fast, and it is always changing, and the format of the game and pace allows for a lot of creativity.”
She makes the most salient of points. Soccer has different layers, and the game often features looser arrangements and movements within the larger framework.
Jungels is part of the orchestra. Every once in a while, she can go off-rhythm. The sound is not lost.
She has the freedom to always come back home.
“I have always gravitated to being more of a defensive player,” she said. “Right back has always been really appealing to me. I think it is a very diverse role as opposed to the other positions on the field.
“You have a role in offensive playmaking.”
The game has always had a personal meaning. Meaghan and her older sister Katie started playing in Chicago youth soccer leagues.
Katie quickly moved to other interests. Meaghan stayed with it, eventually signing with a series of prominent clubs.
The best girls high school programs in the city are also at the most coveted academic institutions. Young is a standout school, the perfect place for the brilliant student.
“I was very lucky that it happened the way that it did,” she said. “Soccer was not necessarily one of the key components of where I was going to school.
“Education is my primary concern.”
LaBauex had to reconstruct his back with the graduation of keeper Mia Engelmann and stoppers Addie Schlensker and Carson Herman.
Jungels and Lauren Ehlers are foundational pieces. LaBauex was confident that part of the team would coalesce around the two returners.
Events turned upside down. Now everything is built out of memories and imaging what might have been.
A season that never formally took off due to the novel coronavirus proved heartbreaking for a team that had a lot to prove and so many reasons to be excited.
“It has been a shock, especially for the seniors not to see their hard work pay off,” Jungels said. “As a team we started preparing very hard in October.
“We have been able to cope as a team. At the beginning there was still hope. It is still very sad we are not going to see the benefits.”
The only consolation was the pandemic ripped through everybody on the team largely the same way. The shared experience helped mitigate the pain and disappointment.
“Everyone is going through not exactly the same thing, but a similar one thing, and that really helps in a team environment,” Jungels said.
Jungels is complicated emotionally: serious and smart; though also sly and glancing in her humor and personal style.
“I really respect her ability to speak up and suggest solutions to issues whether it be about soccer or not,” Lisanti said.
It is hard to think about a playing future when so much of the present is shrouded in the unknown. Jungels is not really pursuing formal scholarship playing-opportunities in college.
The game is too much a part of her DNA to fully give up. She imagines playing club or intramurals. She also has a year left at Young. The Dolphins are likely to be dynamite again next spring.
She is always going to have a place to make something vital or exciting happen.
“What motivates me is the connection I have with my team,” she said.
“That is really important with my time.”t.