Team preview: South Elgin
By Dave Owen
The Storm hit with unexpected force last year.
Coming off a three-win season in 2018, the South Elgin Storm roared to a 14-4-3 record and an undefeated run (7-0-2) to the Upstate Eight Conference title.
With the return of Chicagoland Soccer All-State sophomore striker Katrina Barthelt (33 goals in 2019) and eight seniors who have been on varsity since at least sophomore year, potential for even bigger things are in the forecast.
“I think the talent is even greater this year,” Barthelt said. “We have a lot to offer that people won’t see coming.
“If we can get the opportunity to play, it will be fun to see what we will bring the table.”
That warning certainly was wise last spring. South Elgin jumped to a 3-0-1 start to set an immediate tone, and huge shutout wins later in the year at Glenbard East and West Aurora paved the way to the program’s first-ever UEC title.
“Winning the title was crazy,” Barthelt said. “It was a turnaround season that not even we expected.
“It wasn't just a memorable season for myself as a freshman, but also for the seniors who were playing in their last year. It is probably one of the best soccer memories I will ever have.”
The Cinderella season produced a regional title and didn’t end until a sectional loss to eventual Class 3A runner-up Barrington.
“Last year we were able to win the UEC because we were no longer a young team,” South Elgin coach Laura Szwaja said. “I used to joke with them at the beginning of last season that we had nothing to lose except for more games. We lost a lot of games by one (goal) in 2018, and I told them that that's how soccer games were often determined - one goal can make all the difference.”
Among the many players contributing, two in particular were noteworthy in the Storm’s massive improvement.
“Last year, Megan McClure emerged as our starting goalie to have a great season with 10 shutouts,” Szwaja said. “And we added freshman Katrina Barthelt, who helped us offensively scoring 33 goals.
“We were able to win a lot of games last year with those two leading the way on both ends of the field, with the experience between them, and with a mentality that if we kept fighting our talent would help us find success.”
While Barthelt emerged quickly as an offensive force, she deflected credit to her elders for the South Elgin rise.
“Our seniors set the expectation with us right away,” Barthelt said, “and mixed hard work with a ton of fun and bonding. We have big shoes to fill.”
Fortunately for the Storm, another excellent senior class is in place to help kick things into an even higher gear.
“All eight of them played varsity together as juniors,” Szwaja said of the Class of 2020. “Six of them have been on the varsity team since sophomore year, and two of them are four-year varsity players.”
Up on varsity since freshman year are midfielder Nicole Peeters and defender Taylor Latsonas.
Goalkeeper McClure; defenders Kaleigh LaRue, Kayla Mathis and Danielle Kucharski; and forwards Haley Molidor and Bella Tusa have all played on varsity since their sophomore seasons.
While newer to the Storm, forward Olivia Piaskowy is another senior expected to make an impact.
And if that stellar senior class and Barthelt weren’t enough reasons for optimism, more talent has arrived.
“One more thing to note about this year's team was the addition of (sophomores) Kelly Flores and Emily DeLaMora, and (junior) Abby Roy, who were all joining our team after playing club soccer last year.
“They are coming from Eclipse, Sockers, and Campton, and adding them to the mix made what we already had in place more dominant.”
Roy enters with elite credentials.
“Abby Roy has committed to play at Purdue University when she graduates,” Szwaja said, “and she’s going to add a strength in the attacking mid position that we did not have last year.
“Kelly Flores is going to join her there, and those two are a dynamic duo that are fun to watch work off each other.”
Helping Barthelt and the forwards do their work up top will be returning sophomores Norah Stueck and Chloe Beucler.
“And Norah's twin sister, Mallory Stueck, is joining us this year as our back-up goalie with a promising future in our program,” Szwaja said.
Optimism would normally be spreading fast with a talent-packed roster like this. Instead, the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus is taking understandable, but painful, precedence.
“To say this (delay) has been rough is an understatement for all of our team, especially these seniors,” Szwaja said.
“LaRue, Kucharski, Mathis and Latsonas were our starting backline last year, and they (the defender corps) are one of the many reasons we found the success we did. Tusa and Molidor are forwards that were ready for their chance to build on the scoring progress we found last year.”
Now, the high hopes are in limbo.
“All eight (returning seniors) were vital to our team's progress as a program that was worth pausing to watch,” Szwaja said. “As a coach, we dream about teams like the one I have right now, and this situation has just left me absolutely devastated.
“I'm trying to be optimistic for them, but there are days where I just don't know what to say to them.”
Hopefully being able to say the words ‘our season opener is today’ sometime in early May will ease the pain.
“In the few short weeks we had together (before the shutdown), we were focusing on consistency to lead us to success,” Szwaja said. “These girls work together so well, we wanted to build on their strong sense of team.
“I know this time is hard, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get back out there with them. A day without soccer, especially when my team is as entertaining as this team, is a rough day.”
Click here to see the Storm team page!
By Dave Owen
The Storm hit with unexpected force last year.
Coming off a three-win season in 2018, the South Elgin Storm roared to a 14-4-3 record and an undefeated run (7-0-2) to the Upstate Eight Conference title.
With the return of Chicagoland Soccer All-State sophomore striker Katrina Barthelt (33 goals in 2019) and eight seniors who have been on varsity since at least sophomore year, potential for even bigger things are in the forecast.
“I think the talent is even greater this year,” Barthelt said. “We have a lot to offer that people won’t see coming.
“If we can get the opportunity to play, it will be fun to see what we will bring the table.”
That warning certainly was wise last spring. South Elgin jumped to a 3-0-1 start to set an immediate tone, and huge shutout wins later in the year at Glenbard East and West Aurora paved the way to the program’s first-ever UEC title.
“Winning the title was crazy,” Barthelt said. “It was a turnaround season that not even we expected.
“It wasn't just a memorable season for myself as a freshman, but also for the seniors who were playing in their last year. It is probably one of the best soccer memories I will ever have.”
The Cinderella season produced a regional title and didn’t end until a sectional loss to eventual Class 3A runner-up Barrington.
“Last year we were able to win the UEC because we were no longer a young team,” South Elgin coach Laura Szwaja said. “I used to joke with them at the beginning of last season that we had nothing to lose except for more games. We lost a lot of games by one (goal) in 2018, and I told them that that's how soccer games were often determined - one goal can make all the difference.”
Among the many players contributing, two in particular were noteworthy in the Storm’s massive improvement.
“Last year, Megan McClure emerged as our starting goalie to have a great season with 10 shutouts,” Szwaja said. “And we added freshman Katrina Barthelt, who helped us offensively scoring 33 goals.
“We were able to win a lot of games last year with those two leading the way on both ends of the field, with the experience between them, and with a mentality that if we kept fighting our talent would help us find success.”
While Barthelt emerged quickly as an offensive force, she deflected credit to her elders for the South Elgin rise.
“Our seniors set the expectation with us right away,” Barthelt said, “and mixed hard work with a ton of fun and bonding. We have big shoes to fill.”
Fortunately for the Storm, another excellent senior class is in place to help kick things into an even higher gear.
“All eight of them played varsity together as juniors,” Szwaja said of the Class of 2020. “Six of them have been on the varsity team since sophomore year, and two of them are four-year varsity players.”
Up on varsity since freshman year are midfielder Nicole Peeters and defender Taylor Latsonas.
Goalkeeper McClure; defenders Kaleigh LaRue, Kayla Mathis and Danielle Kucharski; and forwards Haley Molidor and Bella Tusa have all played on varsity since their sophomore seasons.
While newer to the Storm, forward Olivia Piaskowy is another senior expected to make an impact.
And if that stellar senior class and Barthelt weren’t enough reasons for optimism, more talent has arrived.
“One more thing to note about this year's team was the addition of (sophomores) Kelly Flores and Emily DeLaMora, and (junior) Abby Roy, who were all joining our team after playing club soccer last year.
“They are coming from Eclipse, Sockers, and Campton, and adding them to the mix made what we already had in place more dominant.”
Roy enters with elite credentials.
“Abby Roy has committed to play at Purdue University when she graduates,” Szwaja said, “and she’s going to add a strength in the attacking mid position that we did not have last year.
“Kelly Flores is going to join her there, and those two are a dynamic duo that are fun to watch work off each other.”
Helping Barthelt and the forwards do their work up top will be returning sophomores Norah Stueck and Chloe Beucler.
“And Norah's twin sister, Mallory Stueck, is joining us this year as our back-up goalie with a promising future in our program,” Szwaja said.
Optimism would normally be spreading fast with a talent-packed roster like this. Instead, the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus is taking understandable, but painful, precedence.
“To say this (delay) has been rough is an understatement for all of our team, especially these seniors,” Szwaja said.
“LaRue, Kucharski, Mathis and Latsonas were our starting backline last year, and they (the defender corps) are one of the many reasons we found the success we did. Tusa and Molidor are forwards that were ready for their chance to build on the scoring progress we found last year.”
Now, the high hopes are in limbo.
“All eight (returning seniors) were vital to our team's progress as a program that was worth pausing to watch,” Szwaja said. “As a coach, we dream about teams like the one I have right now, and this situation has just left me absolutely devastated.
“I'm trying to be optimistic for them, but there are days where I just don't know what to say to them.”
Hopefully being able to say the words ‘our season opener is today’ sometime in early May will ease the pain.
“In the few short weeks we had together (before the shutdown), we were focusing on consistency to lead us to success,” Szwaja said. “These girls work together so well, we wanted to build on their strong sense of team.
“I know this time is hard, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get back out there with them. A day without soccer, especially when my team is as entertaining as this team, is a rough day.”
Click here to see the Storm team page!