Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
A somewhat surreal week kicked off the new season. The common refrain touched all sides, the issue that was bound to complicate the opening stretch of the year.
What was the outcome after so few teams were able to get outside and play full-field soccer before the early March 11 opening date?
Those and other questions remain tantalizingly unresolved until more games are played this week.
Most grass fields proved unplayable. Snow lined a great many fields. The first week was not exactly a mulligan. Context is necessary, and the worst thing is to jump to conclusions, on either side.
“The teams that you see the first week of the season are not going to be the same that you see once we get to April or later,” one prominent coach said.
Top-ranked Barrington and Neuqua Valley played to a 1-1 draw on Thursday. The game was played with a 45-mile an hour wind. Both sides had to deal with it, and each scored when playing with the wind.
Part of the subjectivity of the poll is to reward coaches that schedule exceptionally tough opponents, like Barrington that opened with Naperville North and Neuqua Valley, or the Wildcats that started the year with an opening double against no. 1 and no. 2 (Barrington and St. Charles North, respectively).
The Lyons’ boys did the same last fall with Naperville North and Libertyville. Lyons lost both games. The Lions eventually reached a Class 3A supersectional, where they lost narrowly to now three-time state champion Naperville North.
That leads to one of the maxims of this poll: Schedules matter more than records.
The other interesting early development was how the early tournaments provided a snapshot going forward: Glenbard East and Sandburg made big leaps from the First 50 preseason poll.
Those are definitely teams on the make.
The Windy City Ram Classic is the largest ad first really significant tournament of the season. It will feature first-time entrant, new no. 7 Glenbrook South, and now no. 9 Glenbard East in a semifinal on Tuesday. That makes for a fantastic start to the week.
From here on out, the game is going to get hotter in every sense.
Records through March 16
By Patrick Z. McGavin
A somewhat surreal week kicked off the new season. The common refrain touched all sides, the issue that was bound to complicate the opening stretch of the year.
What was the outcome after so few teams were able to get outside and play full-field soccer before the early March 11 opening date?
Those and other questions remain tantalizingly unresolved until more games are played this week.
Most grass fields proved unplayable. Snow lined a great many fields. The first week was not exactly a mulligan. Context is necessary, and the worst thing is to jump to conclusions, on either side.
“The teams that you see the first week of the season are not going to be the same that you see once we get to April or later,” one prominent coach said.
Top-ranked Barrington and Neuqua Valley played to a 1-1 draw on Thursday. The game was played with a 45-mile an hour wind. Both sides had to deal with it, and each scored when playing with the wind.
Part of the subjectivity of the poll is to reward coaches that schedule exceptionally tough opponents, like Barrington that opened with Naperville North and Neuqua Valley, or the Wildcats that started the year with an opening double against no. 1 and no. 2 (Barrington and St. Charles North, respectively).
The Lyons’ boys did the same last fall with Naperville North and Libertyville. Lyons lost both games. The Lions eventually reached a Class 3A supersectional, where they lost narrowly to now three-time state champion Naperville North.
That leads to one of the maxims of this poll: Schedules matter more than records.
The other interesting early development was how the early tournaments provided a snapshot going forward: Glenbard East and Sandburg made big leaps from the First 50 preseason poll.
Those are definitely teams on the make.
The Windy City Ram Classic is the largest ad first really significant tournament of the season. It will feature first-time entrant, new no. 7 Glenbrook South, and now no. 9 Glenbard East in a semifinal on Tuesday. That makes for a fantastic start to the week.
From here on out, the game is going to get hotter in every sense.
Records through March 16
| Rk | LW | Team | W | L | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Barrington | 1 | 0 | 1 | Tina Teik has 2 assists against Naperville N |
| 2 | 2 | St. Charles North | 1 | 0 | 1 | Cece Wahlberg is back in the midfield |
| 3 | 4 | New Trier | 0 | 0 | 2 | Lily Conley is skilled midfielder |
| 4 | 5 | Neuqua Valley | 0 | 1 | 1 | Danielle Hopkins is a thrill to watch |
| 5 | 3 | Naperville North | 0 | 1 | 1 | Reilly Riggs is an elite defender |
| 6 | 6 | St. Francis | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hannah Rittenhouse is an exhilarating player |
| 7 | 10 | Glenbrook S | 3 | 0 | 0 | Reached Ram Classic semifinals |
| 8 | 8 | Lyons | 0 | 0 | 0 | Eileen Murphy is fun to watch |
| 9 | 26 | Glenbard East | 3 | 0 | 0 | Amy Chiero sparks huge win over Andrew |
| 10 | 7 | Andrew | 2 | 1 | 0 | Lost PK shootout to Glenbard E |
| 11 | NR | Sandburg | 3 | 0 | 1 | Impressive win over Deerfield |
| 12 | 13 | Evanston | 2 | 0 | 0 | Ryann Lucas keys win over Niles North |
| 13 | 15 | WW South | 1 | 0 | 0 | Paige Miller is a dynamic talent |
| 14 | 22 | Benet | 2 | 0 | 0 | Mia Casmere off to an electric start |
| 15 | 16 | Lane | 1 | 0 | 0 | Melissa Garcia has spectacular debut for Indians |
| 16 | 19 | Fremd | 2 | 0 | 0 | Caeleigh Stone is a skilled attacking talent |
| 17 | 32 | Stagg | 3 | 0 | 0 | Looking to repeat in Windy City |
| 18 | 37 | Prairie Ridge | 2 | 0 | 0 | Strong shutout of Loyola |
| 19 | 9 | Loyola | 0 | 1 | 0 | Maggie Brett is a special player |
| 20 | 12 | Deerfield | 2 | 1 | 0 | Marissa Hyland is off to fast start |
| 21 | NR | Hersey | 2 | 1 | 0 | Chloe Sena is a gifted junior |
| 22 | 14 | Wauconda | 2 | 0 | 1 | Solid start to new season |
| 23 | 11 | Carmel | 1 | 1 | 0 | Shutout win over Lake Forest |
| 24 | 27 | Naperville C | 3 | 1 | 0 | Abbey Hillman on an early tear |
| 25 | 30 | Batavia | 2 | 0 | 0 | Anna Holcombe is a bright talent |
Look out for: Maine South, Conant, Wheaton Academy, Morton, Downers Grove North, Cary-Grove, Libertyville, Geneva, Glenbrook North, Lincoln-Way West, Metea Valley, Lake Forest, St. Charles East, Lemont, Prospect.