Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
With young athletes it is almost impossible to gauge their development over the nearly two-year absence from the high school game caused by the pandemic.
Highland Park coach Kate Straka made the point beautifully after her team’s 2-1 victory over Glenbrook South.
“My last memory of them was really as freshmen girls and now they are junior women,” Straka said. “They are playing hard, they’re stronger and that has increased our level of play as a program.”
Willowbrook coach Julio Del Real made a similar point after watching his team start the season 2-0-0, with back-to-back 5-1 conference victories over Leyden and Addison Trail.
The elapsed time allowed for a sharp appraisal of what happened away from the team.
“We know for a fact that a lot of the girls were active,” he said. “We know they were playing club. To see they are doing a lot better than we expected because of the long layoff is a very pleasant surprise.
“It shows the girls have put in the time.”
All the Illinois teams have returned from the same structural backdrop: the start of training a year ago, the shutdown and eventual cancelation of the season.
Now call it The Return.
Del Real also made the salient point that the most accurate account of a team’s abilities is not measured now but likely a month away.
So many uncontrollable factors colored the first week of the season, according to Lane coach Michelle Vale.
“I definitely think things like the weather, the masks, the fact that we had a year off from playing, all of these things are definitely factors we are going to continue to keep in mind,” she said after her team’s 3-0 victory over Deerfield on Saturday.
The top-tier programs with their depth, experience and access to players with club soccer training are going to have an edge. As the weather warms up and teams get additional playing time, the game is going to be more representative of what to expect going forward.
The top four from a week ago are unchanged. The top 15 is also largely stabilized from a week ago. Records are meaningful, to a point. Competition is always the more relevant dividing line.
Teams are still finding their way, while others have made statements -- no. 2 St. Charles East has scored an astonishing 34 goals in five games.
As Deerfield coach Rich Grady said, many teams still have a kind of wistful or melancholy lament for the lost season of a year ago. If anything, the first two weeks have offered the galvanizing chance to take it all back, with a vengeance.
Games through Sunday
By Patrick Z. McGavin
With young athletes it is almost impossible to gauge their development over the nearly two-year absence from the high school game caused by the pandemic.
Highland Park coach Kate Straka made the point beautifully after her team’s 2-1 victory over Glenbrook South.
“My last memory of them was really as freshmen girls and now they are junior women,” Straka said. “They are playing hard, they’re stronger and that has increased our level of play as a program.”
Willowbrook coach Julio Del Real made a similar point after watching his team start the season 2-0-0, with back-to-back 5-1 conference victories over Leyden and Addison Trail.
The elapsed time allowed for a sharp appraisal of what happened away from the team.
“We know for a fact that a lot of the girls were active,” he said. “We know they were playing club. To see they are doing a lot better than we expected because of the long layoff is a very pleasant surprise.
“It shows the girls have put in the time.”
All the Illinois teams have returned from the same structural backdrop: the start of training a year ago, the shutdown and eventual cancelation of the season.
Now call it The Return.
Del Real also made the salient point that the most accurate account of a team’s abilities is not measured now but likely a month away.
So many uncontrollable factors colored the first week of the season, according to Lane coach Michelle Vale.
“I definitely think things like the weather, the masks, the fact that we had a year off from playing, all of these things are definitely factors we are going to continue to keep in mind,” she said after her team’s 3-0 victory over Deerfield on Saturday.
The top-tier programs with their depth, experience and access to players with club soccer training are going to have an edge. As the weather warms up and teams get additional playing time, the game is going to be more representative of what to expect going forward.
The top four from a week ago are unchanged. The top 15 is also largely stabilized from a week ago. Records are meaningful, to a point. Competition is always the more relevant dividing line.
Teams are still finding their way, while others have made statements -- no. 2 St. Charles East has scored an astonishing 34 goals in five games.
As Deerfield coach Rich Grady said, many teams still have a kind of wistful or melancholy lament for the lost season of a year ago. If anything, the first two weeks have offered the galvanizing chance to take it all back, with a vengeance.
Games through Sunday
Rk | LW | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | New Trier | 3 | 0 | 2 | Caroline Finnigan strong presence in middle |
2 | 2 | SC East | 5 | 0 | 0 | Megan Sreniawski is explosive up-top |
3 | 3 | Warren | 2 | 0 | 1 | Liza Matimore is impressive talent |
4 | 4 | Libertyville | 4 | 0 | 0 | Posted 1-0 win over Barrington |
5 | 7 | Naperville N | 2 | 0 | 0 | Jr Taylor Korosec makes brilliant debut |
6 | 10 | Benet | 3 | 0 | 0 | Mariana Pinto is a creative talent |
7 | 5 | Barrington | 3 | 1 | 1 | Riley Raynor is dangerous in space |
8 | 16 | Glenbrook North | 4 | 0 | 0 | Defeated strong Mundelein team 2-1 |
9 | 12 | Evanston | 5 | 0 | 0 | Posted three shutout wins this week |
10 | 8 | Naperville C | 2 | 1 | 1 | Emma Irle is a dynamic player |
11 | 13 | Lyons | 2 | 0 | 0 | D Elli Kosanovich a 3-year starter |
12 | 9 | Neuqua V | 2 | 2 | 0 | MF Grace Williams a talent to watch |
13 | 15 | Joliet Cath | 3 | 0 | 0 | Angels have deep junior class |
14 | 20 | Sandburg | 2 | 0 | 0 | Outscored opponents 12-0 |
15 | 14 | Loyola | 2 | 1 | 1 | D Maya Basan terrific 2-way talent |
16 | 11 | SC North | 1 | 1 | 2 | Talia Pellegrini stabilizes middle of attack |
17 | 17 | Wheaton North | 3 | 0 | 1 | Louisville recruit Julia Simon bolsters attack |
18 | HM | Metea Valley | 3 | 1 | 1 | Jocelyn Grabow an elite jr talent |
19 | 6 | Buffalo Gr | 2 | 2 | 0 | Strong win over Stevenson |
20 | 18 | Stevenson | 2 | 1 | 0 | Falls 3-2 vs. Buffalo Grove |
21 | 25 | LW Central | 3 | 0 | 0 | Shutout win over Bradley-Bour Saturday |
22 | HM | S Elgin | 2 | 0 | 0 | Katrina Barthelt is magic with the ball |
23 | HM | Wheaton A | 3 | 2 | 0 | Sara Swoboda is an elite keeper |
24 | HM | St. Ignatius | 2 | 1 | 0 | Beat Young 1-0 on Saturday |
25 | NR | St. Francis | 2 | 0 | 0 | Katherine Lemke a dynamic 2-way talent |
Look out for: Lane, Young, Fremd, Cary-Grove, Mundelein, Highland Park, TGlenbard West, Wheaton Warrenville South, Geneva, Waubonsie Valley, Oswego East, Timothy, Glenbard East, Willowbrook, Jones.
Proudly powered by Weebly