Team preview: St. Charles North
By Gary Larsen
High expectations are the norm at St. Charles North.
The North Stars went 203-53-30 in 12 seasons under former coach Ruth Vostal and the program has maintained a high standard through coach Brian Harks’ first four years at the helm.
North has gone 79-8-7 under Harks and has won four-consecutive Class 3A sectional titles. It’s a 16-year culture of winning that players wearing black and royal blue are simply expected to maintain.
Junior defender Makenna Collins remembers the pressure she felt in meeting that standard as a varsity freshman, and how that pressure was alleviated.
“I was so nervous as a freshman because I knew how successful the program was,” Collins said. “It was nerve-wracking. But once you’re in that environment practicing, all the nerves kind of go away because everyone is there for each other, trying to make everyone else better.”
Vostal was the matriarch of North’s soccer culture, setting the bar with second-place state finishes in 2004 and 2012, and a third-place finish in 2010.
“I’ve got to give Ruth Vostal a ton of credit,” Harks said. “She was the coach since Day One of the program’s beginning, and she did a really strong job of setting the foundation that the program is built on.
“Once that foundation was laid it became more about carrying on a tradition, with each group of girls passing on their knowledge, experience, and lessons to the next group. I still look to (Vostal) for advice, and the tradition she set still plays a big role.”
When the season hopefully begins in April, Harks is poised to continue his own tradition of fielding top-shelf soccer teams at St. Charles North. The North Stars are ranked fifth in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 preseason rankings.
Everything obviously hinges on current restrictions due to COVID-19 being lifted in April. If they are, North will field yet another team capable of making a run to the state finals.
“I think we’re going to be great this year,” senior forward Sarah Andrey said. “We have a lot of good players coming back. We haven’t had much connection yet this year but from the couple practices we did have at the beginning of the season, we work really well together. We have some good new freshmen, plus sophomores and juniors that will have a big impact on the field.”
Andrey had 14 goals and 8 assists as a Chicagoland Soccer all-state forward last year. Senior mid Sami Rydberg was also all-state as a junior and finished with 13 goals and five assists.
Andrey, Rydberg, and senior defender Alyssa Kraft are all in their fourth seasons as varsity players for Harks. Kraft moved from outside back to defensive mid as a junior, where “as she won the ball she was able to connect and be the hinge-point of our attack,” Harks said. “Her soccer IQ is absolutely phenomenal.”
Collins and fellow junior Grace Barresi teamed up as central defenders last year in front of all-state goalkeeper Sara Maleski, a senior last year now playing for Mississippi College.
Senior Jordan Boyd, who will play for North Central College next year, replaces Maleski between the pipes.
“She has taken that leadership role of goalie on her shoulders, and we have a lot of faith in her,” Harks said of Boyd. “She’s very athletic, she has good hands, and she used to be a field player so she’s also quality with her feet.”
The North Stars only gave up roughly three shots on net per game last year, and Collins expects more of the same from this year’s team. The North Stars also graduated all-state midfielder CeCe Wahlberg, now playing at Indiana State, but they don’t expect any less from themselves.
“We lost players that were super-beneficial to our team, but we also picked up some good players,” Collins said. “I feel like our culture is so set in stone that it doesn’t matter who we have. Everyone is on the team for a reason, and we have a culture that we follow.”
Rydberg’s play at center mid will be key with Wahlberg gone, and Harks believes she’s more than up to the challenge.
“Last year as a junior she really stepped into a leadership role,” he said. “As a senior we’re really looking for her to take control at midfield and continue to dominate the way she has in the past.”
For Andrey, the graduation of Wahlberg and forward Claudia Najera (Iowa State) places even more responsibility on her shoulders up top this year. It’s a challenge she embraces as a quick, tough, and smart senior striker.
“Sarah really came into her own last year, and it’s been fun watching her grow as a player,” Harks said. “During her freshman and sophomore years, there was no better teacher for Sarah than a player like Gia Wahlberg.
Wahlberg is a 2018 St. Charles North grad now playing forward at Michigan State. The culture of winning under Vostal and Harks relies on upperclassmen mentoring younger players, and Andrey was a sponge in absorbing information from Wahlberg.
“I looked up to our seniors and juniors and Gia was a big role model for me,” Andrey said. “Her work rate really stood out to me. She worked for everything, in practice, in games, off the field. She was relentless.
“She always pushed herself to the limit and wouldn’t take any breaks. So for me, it was ‘How can I push myself to work harder and not take breaks, always work hard in practice, and always give it my everything?'
“As an upperclassmen, I’ve just wanted to be a role model like that for the freshmen and sophomores and be someone to look up to.”
Like all high school teams in Illinois right now, the North Stars are doing everything they can to maintain contact with each other within the rules. Players participate in a daily group chat via social media and also work independently to meet daily challenges laid down by the North Stars’ coaching staff.
“It’s hard because we all just want to go out and play and be together as a team. That’s what we’re missing most is being together as a team and practicing, and working, and going to games together.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the season, or where we’re going to pick up, but I’m just looking forward to them saying that school is back up and practices can start up again, so we get out there and start grinding.”
Click here to see the North Stars team page!
By Gary Larsen
High expectations are the norm at St. Charles North.
The North Stars went 203-53-30 in 12 seasons under former coach Ruth Vostal and the program has maintained a high standard through coach Brian Harks’ first four years at the helm.
North has gone 79-8-7 under Harks and has won four-consecutive Class 3A sectional titles. It’s a 16-year culture of winning that players wearing black and royal blue are simply expected to maintain.
Junior defender Makenna Collins remembers the pressure she felt in meeting that standard as a varsity freshman, and how that pressure was alleviated.
“I was so nervous as a freshman because I knew how successful the program was,” Collins said. “It was nerve-wracking. But once you’re in that environment practicing, all the nerves kind of go away because everyone is there for each other, trying to make everyone else better.”
Vostal was the matriarch of North’s soccer culture, setting the bar with second-place state finishes in 2004 and 2012, and a third-place finish in 2010.
“I’ve got to give Ruth Vostal a ton of credit,” Harks said. “She was the coach since Day One of the program’s beginning, and she did a really strong job of setting the foundation that the program is built on.
“Once that foundation was laid it became more about carrying on a tradition, with each group of girls passing on their knowledge, experience, and lessons to the next group. I still look to (Vostal) for advice, and the tradition she set still plays a big role.”
When the season hopefully begins in April, Harks is poised to continue his own tradition of fielding top-shelf soccer teams at St. Charles North. The North Stars are ranked fifth in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 preseason rankings.
Everything obviously hinges on current restrictions due to COVID-19 being lifted in April. If they are, North will field yet another team capable of making a run to the state finals.
“I think we’re going to be great this year,” senior forward Sarah Andrey said. “We have a lot of good players coming back. We haven’t had much connection yet this year but from the couple practices we did have at the beginning of the season, we work really well together. We have some good new freshmen, plus sophomores and juniors that will have a big impact on the field.”
Andrey had 14 goals and 8 assists as a Chicagoland Soccer all-state forward last year. Senior mid Sami Rydberg was also all-state as a junior and finished with 13 goals and five assists.
Andrey, Rydberg, and senior defender Alyssa Kraft are all in their fourth seasons as varsity players for Harks. Kraft moved from outside back to defensive mid as a junior, where “as she won the ball she was able to connect and be the hinge-point of our attack,” Harks said. “Her soccer IQ is absolutely phenomenal.”
Collins and fellow junior Grace Barresi teamed up as central defenders last year in front of all-state goalkeeper Sara Maleski, a senior last year now playing for Mississippi College.
Senior Jordan Boyd, who will play for North Central College next year, replaces Maleski between the pipes.
“She has taken that leadership role of goalie on her shoulders, and we have a lot of faith in her,” Harks said of Boyd. “She’s very athletic, she has good hands, and she used to be a field player so she’s also quality with her feet.”
The North Stars only gave up roughly three shots on net per game last year, and Collins expects more of the same from this year’s team. The North Stars also graduated all-state midfielder CeCe Wahlberg, now playing at Indiana State, but they don’t expect any less from themselves.
“We lost players that were super-beneficial to our team, but we also picked up some good players,” Collins said. “I feel like our culture is so set in stone that it doesn’t matter who we have. Everyone is on the team for a reason, and we have a culture that we follow.”
Rydberg’s play at center mid will be key with Wahlberg gone, and Harks believes she’s more than up to the challenge.
“Last year as a junior she really stepped into a leadership role,” he said. “As a senior we’re really looking for her to take control at midfield and continue to dominate the way she has in the past.”
For Andrey, the graduation of Wahlberg and forward Claudia Najera (Iowa State) places even more responsibility on her shoulders up top this year. It’s a challenge she embraces as a quick, tough, and smart senior striker.
“Sarah really came into her own last year, and it’s been fun watching her grow as a player,” Harks said. “During her freshman and sophomore years, there was no better teacher for Sarah than a player like Gia Wahlberg.
Wahlberg is a 2018 St. Charles North grad now playing forward at Michigan State. The culture of winning under Vostal and Harks relies on upperclassmen mentoring younger players, and Andrey was a sponge in absorbing information from Wahlberg.
“I looked up to our seniors and juniors and Gia was a big role model for me,” Andrey said. “Her work rate really stood out to me. She worked for everything, in practice, in games, off the field. She was relentless.
“She always pushed herself to the limit and wouldn’t take any breaks. So for me, it was ‘How can I push myself to work harder and not take breaks, always work hard in practice, and always give it my everything?'
“As an upperclassmen, I’ve just wanted to be a role model like that for the freshmen and sophomores and be someone to look up to.”
Like all high school teams in Illinois right now, the North Stars are doing everything they can to maintain contact with each other within the rules. Players participate in a daily group chat via social media and also work independently to meet daily challenges laid down by the North Stars’ coaching staff.
“It’s hard because we all just want to go out and play and be together as a team. That’s what we’re missing most is being together as a team and practicing, and working, and going to games together.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the season, or where we’re going to pick up, but I’m just looking forward to them saying that school is back up and practices can start up again, so we get out there and start grinding.”
Click here to see the North Stars team page!