Conference preview: DuPage Valley
By Matt Le Cren
New DeKalb coach Sara Kooistra will have her welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment this spring.
Not only will Kooistra be making her head-coaching debut, she will be doing so at the helm of a team taking a steep step up in class by joining the DuPage Valley Conference.
“It’s a little daunting,” Kooistra said. “We obviously know what the competition is like out here, so we’re excited, but we’re prepared for competitive play.”
There will be plenty of that in the DVC, where every team is good and no game is easy.
But before penciling in the Barbs for a basement finish, know this: Kooistra isn’t a hayseed who walked in off the street; and her players aren’t beginners.
Kooistra played on the Sycamore team that reached the Class AA state semifinals in 2009 and later enjoyed a college career that included one year at Northern Illinois and three more at St. Xavier.
The Barbs finished 10-10-2 in 2019, though they didn’t play the kind of schedule the DVC schools are known for. But Kooistra, a former Kaneland assistant coach, is guardedly optimistic.
“I don’t know a ton about the DVC,” she said. “But we have a lot of quality kids coming back.”
Chief among the returners are senior forward Olivia Olson, senior winger Amber Moore and junior defender/midfielder Bella De La Cruz. Senior goalkeeper Allison Youhanan also returns, although she might see more time in the field this season.
Kooistra is still in the process of getting to know her players. She said there is a fine line between preparing them for the increased level of play while still maintaining their confidence.
“I feel like it’s, we don’t want to scare them,” Kooistra said. “We’re coming into this new conference with really great teams and most of them compete at the state level every year.
“But we also want them to be well aware of the level that they need to compete at to play against these teams and win.”
The list of DeKalb’s new league foes is formidable. There is defending state champion Naperville North, which didn’t even win the DVC last year. The Huskies have won four state championships.
Waubonsie Valley, the reigning league champs, have won three state titles. Neuqua Valley has one title and finished second as recently as 2015, while Naperville Central has appeared in two state championship games, albeit before any of the current players were born.
Even the baby of the group, Metea Valley, which opened a decade ago, has won six-straight regional titles and seven in the past eight years. They advanced to four-straight sectional finals (2015-18), losing all of them to current DVC teams.
Naperville Central coach Ed Watson, the esteemed dean of DVC coaches, said the 2020 DVC race will be a true crapshoot. He’s willing to venture a prediction but smart enough not to bet on it.
“I got to believe that Waubonsie is probably the favorite,” Watson said. “They have the two best returning players.
“Any one of the teams in the conference is dangerous. DeKalb is a wild card, because we haven’t seen DeKalb. But they have fit in very capably in all the other sports [including winning the DVC in boys basketball]. Any time you play in the DVC you better be ready to play.”
Watson believes his team will be ready and might have the best offense it has had in years. The Redhawks haven’t had an all-state attacking player since current Chicago Red Stars standout and U.S National Team member Casey Short graduated in 2008.
They still don’t have that kind of star power but may have a trio of young forwards who can do some damage. Regardless of how they perform, the Redhawks will be solid again on defense, where they return Carnegie Mellon recruit Sarah Scoles, Leah Velker, Morgan McCracken, Sophie Skoubis and Sullivan Schubel.
Three-year varsity player Emma Irle, who joined Skoubis on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List after last season, also is back and plays on the perimeter at all three levels of the field.
In the midfield, St. Ambrose commit Sophie Granato joins Illinois State-bound senior Hannah Bradley-Leon, a Watch List member after her sophomore season, who is healthy after missing last season following knee surgery.
“The problem with Hannah when she was a sophomore was she was trying to play to teammates that weren’t capable of doing what she needed them to do,” Watson said. “And now I think that we’re going to surround her with some girls that can play.
“I’m pretty excited about the group that we have. I like the talent that we have.
“We have a mixture of youth and experience. (The question) is how do we play together.”
Naperville North coach Steve Goletz is asking the same question after graduating eight starters from a team that won only eight games against a grueling regular season schedule but got hot in the playoffs and rode a boatload of talent to a surprise state championship.
The Huskies do return their two leading scorers in Purdue-bound striker Hannah Martin and IUPUI recruit Leah Shumate, both Chicagoland Soccer All-State selections. Martin tallied 18 goals last season while Shumate developed into a top playmaker and deadly set piece specialist, finishing with eight goals and six assists.
But stalwart defender Emily Magee will sit out her senior season with a torn ACL, leaving a huge hole on the inexperienced backline. The only other returning players who have seen significant playing time are senior midfielder Paige Sylvester, a Benedictine commit, and junior forward Emily Dulik. Both made the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List, as did sophomore midfielder Ellie Gerner
“This is a true tryout for me this year in terms of (there are) a lot of underclassmen that are going to have an opportunity this year,” Goletz said. “I don’t think that’s always been the case at Naperville North because of how strong the program is.
“You’re going to have your peaks and valleys in terms of old and young and I think this year is definitely going to be a more inexperienced group. But as always, we won’t dodge anybody -- still got the schedule.”
Indeed, the Huskies open the season March 16 by hosting Barrington, which is a rematch of last year’s state title game that the Huskies won on penalty kicks after 100 scoreless minutes. On March 18 they visit another Mid-Suburban League power, Fremd.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the state year-after-year, especially with a young team, often means the Huskies won’t have the best record in the area, but Goletz likes the trade-off.
“I really feel that last year proved to me how our group grew from start to finish,” Goletz said. “I really do think there’s a lot of value in testing yourself against the best teams in the state. We do that every year.
“You run a fine line on that in terms of confidence. Kids want to see you win but I think the big thing is we hope that the kids trust us as a coaching staff in terms of the growth that we are able to make and the errors that are brought out by good teams. Sometimes those things are hidden if you’re not playing against great competition.”
Metea Valley was really young last year but still managed to win a regional title despite a weak offense. The Mustangs bring back nine starters, including Chicagoland Soccer All-State goalkeeper Nikki Coryell and standout defenders Paige Buranosky and Nicole Dawson. All are seniors.
The Valparaiso-bound Coryell is a fearless four-year starter who recorded an 0.86 goals-against average and nine shutouts last season, while Dawson is a Wisconsin-Whitewater recruit. Buranosky is a tough-nosed three-year starter who also earned Chicagoland Soccer all-state honors last season. She will not play in college, instead focusing on studying nursing.
“We gave up very few goals last year, but we also scored very few,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley. “But as a coach you’re excited when you return an all-state goalkeeper and two senior defenders and potentially nine starters.
“We’ll be good defensively but we won’t have to necessarily focus as much on it. We can push numbers forward a little bit more, take a few more risks.”
Who will take those risks?
Sydney Rohm, the only other returning senior, will be one of them. Sophomores Jocelyn Grabow and Ella Johnson will take larger roles after starting last year.
“We had a solid freshmen group last year and good sophomores,” Whaley said. “I’m hoping they’ve done some good stuff over the club season and are in a good spot to contribute.”
Despite averaging just 1.1 goals per game, the Mustangs continued their tradition of pulling playoff upsets when they knocked off higher-seeded Lockport in the regional final, then played eventual state champion Naperville North tough in a 1-0 sectional semifinal loss.
“I love the culture of our program,” Whaley said. “I would say that the girls expect to win regionals and trophies and compete at the highest level. It doesn’t really matter what seed they are or what our record is, they’ve got good fight to them.”
So does Neuqua Valley, which also could be primed for a bounce-back season after struggling offensively a year ago. Like Metea, the Wildcats are strong defensively, returning Indiana State-bound junior goalkeeper Tara Tesmond and a bunch of great fullbacks led by Ball State recruit Paige Munar and Brooke Miller, one of the top sophomores in the state and a member of the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List. Outside back Megan Olah also returns.
“The backline will be strong,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “Miller is a great athlete. She can play pretty much anywhere, but I don’t see her playing up-top.
“The question for us is can we score goals?”
That remains to be seen, but Moreau is optimistic that several freshmen forwards could make their mark along with returning senior Julia Rushing. If so, the Wildcats have a pair of great playmakers to get the ball in senior Piper Biziorek, a North Carolina-Charlotte commit who has been impressive on the wing but can also play center mid, and junior Katelyn Nardulli, who has committed to Xavier. Biziorek is on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List.
Waubonsie Valley had its most successful season since 2014 a year ago, going 17-3-2 and winning their first DVC title before making a run to the sectional final, where they were stopped by Naperville North.
Waubonsie returns two terrific attacking players in senior striker Megan Burling, who earned All-American honors in her first year of high school soccer after scoring 27 goals and recording eight assists. The UC-Santa Barbara recruit forms a deadly duo with senior midfielder Grace Setter, a UIC signee who recorded 19 goals and 12 assists last spring. Both were named to the Chicagoland Soccer All-State team.
All-conference center back Mollie Vitek and starting goalkeeper Nicole Kleronomos also return from a relatively young roster.
As for who will win the DuPage Valley Conference title this season, Moreau said it’s a toss-up. Whaley agreed.
“That’s a good question,” Whaley said. “I have no idea.
“Everybody seems to be returning some talent, and we were all competitive last year.”
Let the competition begin.
By Matt Le Cren
New DeKalb coach Sara Kooistra will have her welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment this spring.
Not only will Kooistra be making her head-coaching debut, she will be doing so at the helm of a team taking a steep step up in class by joining the DuPage Valley Conference.
“It’s a little daunting,” Kooistra said. “We obviously know what the competition is like out here, so we’re excited, but we’re prepared for competitive play.”
There will be plenty of that in the DVC, where every team is good and no game is easy.
But before penciling in the Barbs for a basement finish, know this: Kooistra isn’t a hayseed who walked in off the street; and her players aren’t beginners.
Kooistra played on the Sycamore team that reached the Class AA state semifinals in 2009 and later enjoyed a college career that included one year at Northern Illinois and three more at St. Xavier.
The Barbs finished 10-10-2 in 2019, though they didn’t play the kind of schedule the DVC schools are known for. But Kooistra, a former Kaneland assistant coach, is guardedly optimistic.
“I don’t know a ton about the DVC,” she said. “But we have a lot of quality kids coming back.”
Chief among the returners are senior forward Olivia Olson, senior winger Amber Moore and junior defender/midfielder Bella De La Cruz. Senior goalkeeper Allison Youhanan also returns, although she might see more time in the field this season.
Kooistra is still in the process of getting to know her players. She said there is a fine line between preparing them for the increased level of play while still maintaining their confidence.
“I feel like it’s, we don’t want to scare them,” Kooistra said. “We’re coming into this new conference with really great teams and most of them compete at the state level every year.
“But we also want them to be well aware of the level that they need to compete at to play against these teams and win.”
The list of DeKalb’s new league foes is formidable. There is defending state champion Naperville North, which didn’t even win the DVC last year. The Huskies have won four state championships.
Waubonsie Valley, the reigning league champs, have won three state titles. Neuqua Valley has one title and finished second as recently as 2015, while Naperville Central has appeared in two state championship games, albeit before any of the current players were born.
Even the baby of the group, Metea Valley, which opened a decade ago, has won six-straight regional titles and seven in the past eight years. They advanced to four-straight sectional finals (2015-18), losing all of them to current DVC teams.
Naperville Central coach Ed Watson, the esteemed dean of DVC coaches, said the 2020 DVC race will be a true crapshoot. He’s willing to venture a prediction but smart enough not to bet on it.
“I got to believe that Waubonsie is probably the favorite,” Watson said. “They have the two best returning players.
“Any one of the teams in the conference is dangerous. DeKalb is a wild card, because we haven’t seen DeKalb. But they have fit in very capably in all the other sports [including winning the DVC in boys basketball]. Any time you play in the DVC you better be ready to play.”
Watson believes his team will be ready and might have the best offense it has had in years. The Redhawks haven’t had an all-state attacking player since current Chicago Red Stars standout and U.S National Team member Casey Short graduated in 2008.
They still don’t have that kind of star power but may have a trio of young forwards who can do some damage. Regardless of how they perform, the Redhawks will be solid again on defense, where they return Carnegie Mellon recruit Sarah Scoles, Leah Velker, Morgan McCracken, Sophie Skoubis and Sullivan Schubel.
Three-year varsity player Emma Irle, who joined Skoubis on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List after last season, also is back and plays on the perimeter at all three levels of the field.
In the midfield, St. Ambrose commit Sophie Granato joins Illinois State-bound senior Hannah Bradley-Leon, a Watch List member after her sophomore season, who is healthy after missing last season following knee surgery.
“The problem with Hannah when she was a sophomore was she was trying to play to teammates that weren’t capable of doing what she needed them to do,” Watson said. “And now I think that we’re going to surround her with some girls that can play.
“I’m pretty excited about the group that we have. I like the talent that we have.
“We have a mixture of youth and experience. (The question) is how do we play together.”
Naperville North coach Steve Goletz is asking the same question after graduating eight starters from a team that won only eight games against a grueling regular season schedule but got hot in the playoffs and rode a boatload of talent to a surprise state championship.
The Huskies do return their two leading scorers in Purdue-bound striker Hannah Martin and IUPUI recruit Leah Shumate, both Chicagoland Soccer All-State selections. Martin tallied 18 goals last season while Shumate developed into a top playmaker and deadly set piece specialist, finishing with eight goals and six assists.
But stalwart defender Emily Magee will sit out her senior season with a torn ACL, leaving a huge hole on the inexperienced backline. The only other returning players who have seen significant playing time are senior midfielder Paige Sylvester, a Benedictine commit, and junior forward Emily Dulik. Both made the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List, as did sophomore midfielder Ellie Gerner
“This is a true tryout for me this year in terms of (there are) a lot of underclassmen that are going to have an opportunity this year,” Goletz said. “I don’t think that’s always been the case at Naperville North because of how strong the program is.
“You’re going to have your peaks and valleys in terms of old and young and I think this year is definitely going to be a more inexperienced group. But as always, we won’t dodge anybody -- still got the schedule.”
Indeed, the Huskies open the season March 16 by hosting Barrington, which is a rematch of last year’s state title game that the Huskies won on penalty kicks after 100 scoreless minutes. On March 18 they visit another Mid-Suburban League power, Fremd.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the state year-after-year, especially with a young team, often means the Huskies won’t have the best record in the area, but Goletz likes the trade-off.
“I really feel that last year proved to me how our group grew from start to finish,” Goletz said. “I really do think there’s a lot of value in testing yourself against the best teams in the state. We do that every year.
“You run a fine line on that in terms of confidence. Kids want to see you win but I think the big thing is we hope that the kids trust us as a coaching staff in terms of the growth that we are able to make and the errors that are brought out by good teams. Sometimes those things are hidden if you’re not playing against great competition.”
Metea Valley was really young last year but still managed to win a regional title despite a weak offense. The Mustangs bring back nine starters, including Chicagoland Soccer All-State goalkeeper Nikki Coryell and standout defenders Paige Buranosky and Nicole Dawson. All are seniors.
The Valparaiso-bound Coryell is a fearless four-year starter who recorded an 0.86 goals-against average and nine shutouts last season, while Dawson is a Wisconsin-Whitewater recruit. Buranosky is a tough-nosed three-year starter who also earned Chicagoland Soccer all-state honors last season. She will not play in college, instead focusing on studying nursing.
“We gave up very few goals last year, but we also scored very few,” Metea Valley coach Chris Whaley. “But as a coach you’re excited when you return an all-state goalkeeper and two senior defenders and potentially nine starters.
“We’ll be good defensively but we won’t have to necessarily focus as much on it. We can push numbers forward a little bit more, take a few more risks.”
Who will take those risks?
Sydney Rohm, the only other returning senior, will be one of them. Sophomores Jocelyn Grabow and Ella Johnson will take larger roles after starting last year.
“We had a solid freshmen group last year and good sophomores,” Whaley said. “I’m hoping they’ve done some good stuff over the club season and are in a good spot to contribute.”
Despite averaging just 1.1 goals per game, the Mustangs continued their tradition of pulling playoff upsets when they knocked off higher-seeded Lockport in the regional final, then played eventual state champion Naperville North tough in a 1-0 sectional semifinal loss.
“I love the culture of our program,” Whaley said. “I would say that the girls expect to win regionals and trophies and compete at the highest level. It doesn’t really matter what seed they are or what our record is, they’ve got good fight to them.”
So does Neuqua Valley, which also could be primed for a bounce-back season after struggling offensively a year ago. Like Metea, the Wildcats are strong defensively, returning Indiana State-bound junior goalkeeper Tara Tesmond and a bunch of great fullbacks led by Ball State recruit Paige Munar and Brooke Miller, one of the top sophomores in the state and a member of the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List. Outside back Megan Olah also returns.
“The backline will be strong,” Neuqua Valley coach Joe Moreau said. “Miller is a great athlete. She can play pretty much anywhere, but I don’t see her playing up-top.
“The question for us is can we score goals?”
That remains to be seen, but Moreau is optimistic that several freshmen forwards could make their mark along with returning senior Julia Rushing. If so, the Wildcats have a pair of great playmakers to get the ball in senior Piper Biziorek, a North Carolina-Charlotte commit who has been impressive on the wing but can also play center mid, and junior Katelyn Nardulli, who has committed to Xavier. Biziorek is on the Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List.
Waubonsie Valley had its most successful season since 2014 a year ago, going 17-3-2 and winning their first DVC title before making a run to the sectional final, where they were stopped by Naperville North.
Waubonsie returns two terrific attacking players in senior striker Megan Burling, who earned All-American honors in her first year of high school soccer after scoring 27 goals and recording eight assists. The UC-Santa Barbara recruit forms a deadly duo with senior midfielder Grace Setter, a UIC signee who recorded 19 goals and 12 assists last spring. Both were named to the Chicagoland Soccer All-State team.
All-conference center back Mollie Vitek and starting goalkeeper Nicole Kleronomos also return from a relatively young roster.
As for who will win the DuPage Valley Conference title this season, Moreau said it’s a toss-up. Whaley agreed.
“That’s a good question,” Whaley said. “I have no idea.
“Everybody seems to be returning some talent, and we were all competitive last year.”
Let the competition begin.