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 | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Barrington | 3 | 0 | 1 | Christine Batliner is superb defender |
| 2 | 2 | St. Charles North | 2 | 0 | 1 | Claudia Najera is explosive talent |
| 3 | 3 | New Trier | 3 | 0 | 2 | Meghan Dwyer is gifted keeper |
| 4 | 7 | Glenbrook South | 7 | 0 | 0 | Win in debut of Windy City Ram Classic |
| 5 | 4 | Neuqua Valley | 1 | 1 | 1 | Katelyn Nardulli is breakout sophomore |
| 6 | 12 | Evanston | 3 | 0 | 0 | Callista O’Connor GW-goal against Loyola |
| 7 | 14 | Benet | 5 | 0 | 0 | Kate Flynn is very talented |
| 8 | 16 | Fremd | 2 | 1 | 0 | Lauren Burk is disruptive defender |
| 9 | HM | St. Charles East | 3 | 1 | 0 | Kayla Villa is explosive in space |
| 10 | 5 | Naperville North | 1 | 2 | 1 | Leah Shumate is thrilling talent |
| 11 | 9 | Glenbard East | 5 | 1 | 0 | Maia Zatarski is gifted freshman |
| 12 | 8 | Lyons | 0 | 0 | 1 | Sophie Grabis is elite keeper |
| 13 | 13 | WW South | 2 | 0 | 0 | Allie Anderson is a vivid talent |
| 14 | 15 | Lane | 3 | 0 | 0 | Camaron Niforos is breakout junior |
| 15 | 10 | Andrew | 5 | 1 | 0 | Strong showing at Windy City Ram Classic |
| 16 | 11 | Sandburg | 4 | 1 | 1 | Impressive at Wheaton North Kickoff Classic |
| 17 | 6 | St. Francis | 0 | 1 | 1 | Caroline Zimmer is explosive in space |
| 18 | 20 | Deerfield | 5 | 2 | 0 | Shayna Wood is versatile talent |
| 19 | NR | Stevenson | 4 | 0 | 1 | Impressive win over Wauconda |
| 20 | 22 | Wauconda | 3 | 1 | 1 | Tough early schedule catches attention |
| 21 | NR | Waubonsie Valley | 2 | 0 | 1 | Megan Burling makes instant impact |
| 22 | HM | Lake Forest | 3 | 1 | 0 | Leland Keller is top flight defender |
| 23 | HM | Prospect | 4 | 0 | 2 | Ashley Welk has great start to year |
| 24 | 21 | Hersey | 2 | 1 | 1 | Laura Burkhardt is knockout talent |
| 25 | 18 | Prairie Ridge | 3 | 0 | 1 | Slowed down by Buffalo Grove |
Look out for: Carmel, Maine South, Lincoln-Way West, Cary-Grove, Naperville Central, Conant, Geneva, Batavia, Wheaton Academy, Libertyville, Loyola, Downers Grove North, St. Ignatius, Stagg, Lincoln-Way Central.