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Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 state ranking

By Patrick Z. McGavin

On May 21, Triad defeated O’Fallon 2-0.

In essence, the nonconference match became a regular-season championship game.

“We were missing our keeper (Grace Vincent) that day,” O’Fallon star Aubrey Mister said. “That game really prepared us for the rest of the season.”

The result led to historic firsts in the fifth edition of the Final 50. It stopped two streaks with the coronation of the first Class AA team in the top spot and the first non-Chicago-area school to earn the honor.

The historic conclusion to the pandemic year offered a celebration for the Metro East as three St. Louis-based powers conquered the rest of the state.

Althoff smashed Timothy 7-0 behind a state-record performance of four goals by Regan Moody in the Class A state championship. 

Triad edged Joliet Catholic 1-0 for the Class AA title on a crazy goal after a high-rise height flip throw-in by Lany Harshany.

O’Fallon completed the impressive run by defeating previously perfect Lyons 1-0 on a 25-yard free kick by sophomore midfielder Kiley McMinn in the Class 3A title game.

“We all play club together, all of these girls on Althoff and Triad,” Mister said. “It feels like we’re all one big team.”

O’Fallon also smashed the hammerlock on the 3A championships held by Naperville North, Barrington and New Trier. 

Those three schools combined to win the last eight state titles in 3A. 

O’Fallon is the first large-school state champion from outside of the Chicago area since Granite City defeated Naperville North in the 2011 state title. 

Granite City played Triad to a scoreless tie in the first game of the season, the only result separating the Knights from a perfect run.

Saturday marked the first time in the history of the three-class format that three state championships were decided on the same day on the same field.

The day that belonged to the South, also may have auguered a preview of what’s to come. Althoff is graduating just three seniors.Triad had only five seniors.

O’Fallon loses Mister, but the Memphis recruit said the Panthers have a strong group of incoming prospects.

After a two-year absence of high school competition, trying to get a feel for how the season might play out was an exercise in outright speculation.

It was that way everywhere.

“The season was kind of weird at first,” Mister said. “We were wearing masks when we first started, and that was kind of weird. 

“I honestly think we just got through it. We were so focused on winning and playing our game. We didn’t play for a year, but our attitude was we’re going to come in and kick butt.”

Soccer is always messy and complicated, and the difference at the highest level of success and failure is measured in the smallest increments.

“It’s that one shot, it’s the one goal, it’s the one save that wins the state championship,” Lyons forward Ava Dallavo said about her first half shot that smashed off the crossbar in the championship match against O’Fallon. 

“One penalty kick or foul changes the game.”

The whole season existed in part to forget the immediate results and celebrate the ecstatic return of the sport, the emotional intensity, the camaraderie and friendships that were irretrievably lost in 2020.

“Having last season taken away from us, we really cherished every moment we had together,” Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. 

The Final 50 poll is a fusion of the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, which ranks the best teams in and around Chicago, with the Illinois 10, which ranks the best outside of the Windy City's territory.

To understand the coding, the 50 teams are ranked in order. Also listed are the final regular season rank (RS) and the preseason rank (PR).

NR means the team was not ranked in that poll. HM, which only applies to Chicago area schools, means that the team was among the 15 squads listed in the honorable mention section of the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.

For the teams that were ranked in the Illinois 10 poll, the letter I accompanies the final regular season and preseason ranks.



​
RK RS Pr Team W L T Comment
1I128Triad2401AA champ, beat O’Fallon and Althoff
2I449O’Fallon20203A champ, Aubrey Mister a special talent
3910Lyons20103A runnerup so close to perfection
434Libertyville1820Beat N. Trier, Barrington twice
559Barrington1731Fillies had great chemistry, 3A 4th
612St. Charles East2211Put on an offensive show
741New Trier2024Six-year state finals run ends
8117Naperville North1233Team to beat next year
928Benet1810Flirted with perfection, great run
101531Sandburg1820Best out of the south suburbs
111314Evanston1433Could not solve New Trier
12I539Althoff2220Champ in A, Regan Moody historic
13I3NRGlenwood1510Lost only to Triad
14712Naperville Central1324Won DVC but lost to nemesis
151620Joliet Catholic1621Morgan Furmaniak left mark, AA 2nd
16613Loyola1622Ramblers have great junior class
171923Stevenson1441Beat Libertyville in NSC, shared title
18106St. Charles North1552Took St. Charles East to the wire
1983Warren1523Blue Devils are a team to watch in ‘22
201238Glenbrook North1423Loaded junior class returns
21NR17Columbia1270Lost to Althoff 5-4 in epic sectional final
22NRNRMarquette (Alton)1371Nearly topped Althoff in supersectional
2325NRWheaton Academy19503rd in A, Amy Alexander sparkled
24NRNRSaint Viator1451AA 3rd place, a tourney surprise
25I234Normal2221Lost only to Naperville C, O’Fallon
26NRNREdwardsville940Beat O’Fallon in conference
271415Lane1242Indians win sixth-straight city title
28HM5Buffalo Grove1163Injuries toppled promising run
292221Fremd1140Lost only to ranked teams
3017NROswego East14101st perfect regular season in history
31HM26Saint Ignatius1571AA 4th Shannon Rydz leads strong returners
322116Young1351Loaded with elite juniors
3318NRSt. Francis1310Beat Timothy, Wheaton A in conference
34I929ND (Peoria)1532Fell to JCA in supersectional
35NRNRWaterloo1372Challenged Triad in state tourney
3624NRBurlington Central1571Sectional winner its mettle
3720NRHighland Park1340Giants were a surprise story
38I10NRFreeport1510Lost only to Burlington Central
39NRNRHononegah1520Won 3rd overall sectional
40NRNRRochester1360Savannah Maley is an elite sophomore
41NR41Deerfield1582Warriors teeming with young talent
42HM40Jones1141Carmen Marshall left lasting legacy
43NRNRPayton1570Takes school’s 2nd sectional
44NRNRLincoln-Way C1222The best of the SouthWest Suburban
4523NRBartlett1131Serena Salvato powered U8 champs
46I737Dunlap1540Lost 2-1 heartbreaker to ND (Peoria)
47I636Geneseo1330Taylor Desplinter left her mark
48NRNRGranite City1261Tough southern schedule, tied Triad
49NRNRTimothy1730Emma Carter led A runnerup
50I845ND (Quincy)1731Lia Quintero elite so., A 4th place
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