Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 state ranking
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The images blur, and the parallels are uncanny. Once again, two great teams, as good as any in the country, played exhilarating soccer that made the heart race for 100 minutes.
What else is there to say except Barrington versus New Trier is as good as it gets. Barrington’s 3-2 shootout victory in six shots completed a fantastic finish.
The season is a rhyme, a bookend, with the two top teams ending where they began, ranked 1-2 by Chicagoland Soccer.
Barrington’s remarkable five-day run of beating two previously undefeated teams ranked no. 1 and no. 2 in the country by Top Drawer Soccer is a breathtaking achievement.
They also beat no. 3 Naperville North, another team that belongs in the top five in the country, in the 76th minute. Barrington and Naperville North played three times, the first game of the year, the semifinals of the Naperville Invitational and the state semifinals. They finished 1-1-1 and had a zero scoring differential.
Huskies’ star Katelynn Buescher completed one of the great runs, scoring the game-winner against Belleville West in the supersectional and ending the scoring in the 3-0 third place victory over Andrew.
New Trier beat Naperville North 1-0 in the championship of the Naperville Invitational. The Trevians reached the state final for the fifth-consecutive year. The electrifying Nicole Kaspi and rock-steady defender Caroline Iserloth won two state titles and had two runnerup finishes in their storied careers.
Sydney Parker ended her career, the tears and smiles yoked together, having made her name as one of the top 10 two-way players to come out of the state this millennium.
St. Francis completed an extraordinary state tournament run by knocking out once-beaten Lemont and then upstart Saint Viator for its second state title. Junior Hannah Rittenhouse scored three goals in the final to tie a state all-class record. Senior Kendra Pasquale, like Buescher an Illinois-recruit, added a goal and assist.
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.
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The images blur, and the parallels are uncanny. Once again, two great teams, as good as any in the country, played exhilarating soccer that made the heart race for 100 minutes.
What else is there to say except Barrington versus New Trier is as good as it gets. Barrington’s 3-2 shootout victory in six shots completed a fantastic finish.
The season is a rhyme, a bookend, with the two top teams ending where they began, ranked 1-2 by Chicagoland Soccer.
Barrington’s remarkable five-day run of beating two previously undefeated teams ranked no. 1 and no. 2 in the country by Top Drawer Soccer is a breathtaking achievement.
They also beat no. 3 Naperville North, another team that belongs in the top five in the country, in the 76th minute. Barrington and Naperville North played three times, the first game of the year, the semifinals of the Naperville Invitational and the state semifinals. They finished 1-1-1 and had a zero scoring differential.
Huskies’ star Katelynn Buescher completed one of the great runs, scoring the game-winner against Belleville West in the supersectional and ending the scoring in the 3-0 third place victory over Andrew.
New Trier beat Naperville North 1-0 in the championship of the Naperville Invitational. The Trevians reached the state final for the fifth-consecutive year. The electrifying Nicole Kaspi and rock-steady defender Caroline Iserloth won two state titles and had two runnerup finishes in their storied careers.
Sydney Parker ended her career, the tears and smiles yoked together, having made her name as one of the top 10 two-way players to come out of the state this millennium.
St. Francis completed an extraordinary state tournament run by knocking out once-beaten Lemont and then upstart Saint Viator for its second state title. Junior Hannah Rittenhouse scored three goals in the final to tie a state all-class record. Senior Kendra Pasquale, like Buescher an Illinois-recruit, added a goal and assist.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 1 | Barrington | 21 | 3 | 2 | Fillies win impressive back-to-back 3A titles |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | New Trier | 24 | 1 | 2 | Trevians make fifth-straight 3A title appearance |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | Naperville N | 21 | 4 | 4 | Katelynn Buescher leads Huskies to third place trophy |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | SC North | 21 | 1 | 1 | Barrington denies perfection |
| 5 | 11 | 21 | St. Francis | 18 | 4 | 3 | Hannah Rittenhouse hat-trick powers Class AA title |
| 6 | 5 | 2 | Neuqua V | 12 | 6 | 0 | Played state’s toughest schedule |
| 7 | 6 | 6 | Loyola | 17 | 2 | 4 | Heartbreaking loss against rival New Trier in sectional final |
| 8 | HM | NR | Andrew | 21 | 6 | 0 | Makes impression with first state trophy in program history |
| 9 | 10 | 13 | Lemont | 25 | 2 | 0 | Indians earn third state trophy in four years |
| 10 | I10 | INR | Belleville W | 17 | 6 | 3 | First sectional title in program history |
| 11 | NR | NR | St Viator | 18 | 6 | 2 | Lions get hot for memorable Class AA run |
| 12 | 9 | HM | Glenbrook S | 19 | 4 | 5 | Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic title tops superb season |
| 13 | I2 | INR | Normal W | 20 | 7 | 3 | Wildcats earn third AA state trophy in program history |
| 14 | I3 | I2 | Normal | 19 | 5 | 2 | Dueled Belleville West in memorable 3A sectional title game |
| 15 | 7 | HM | Burlington C | 23 | 3 | 0 | 48 combined wins last two years |
| 16 | NR | NR | Cary-Grove | 12 | 3 | 2 | Took Barrington to brink in sectional title game |
| 17 | 16 | 25 | Carmel | 16 | 5 | 1 | First sectional title as a Class 3A program |
| 18 | 12 | 17 | Wauconda | 17 | 2 | 1 | 31 shutouts last two years |
| 19 | 13 | HM | Deerfield | 18 | 5 | 3 | Samantha Linn’s school record 26 assists spurred fearsome attack |
| 20 | HM | 5 | DG North | 14 | 7 | 4 | Back to back 3A sectional crowns |
| 21 | 14 | 19 | Lane | 14 | 4 | 2 | Unprecedented fourth-consecutive city title |
| 22 | 15 | NR | Prairie Ridge | 17 | 1 | 0 | Unbeaten in the regular season |
| 23 | I6 | I4 | Edwardsville | 13 | 5 | 3 | Beat Belleville West twice |
| 24 | NR | NR | Conant | 15 | 6 | 3 | Defeated Barrington and reached sectional final |
| 25 | 8 | NR | Glenbrook N | 12 | 3 | 4 | Shared CS North title with Deerfield |
| 26 | 25 | 9 | Metea V | 14 | 8 | 3 | Rarned fifth-straight regional title |
| 27 | I4 | I3 | ND (Quincy) | 26 | 3 | 2 | Back-to-back Class A state championships |
| 28 | 21 | HM | Benet | 20 | 4 | 1 | Posted school record for wins, sectional champ |
| 29 | I5 | I6 | ND (Peoria) | 22 | 4 | 0 | Captured loaded AA sectional |
| 30 | INR | INR | Waterloo | 18 | 3 | 3 | Stunned Triad for sectional title |
| 31 | 18 | HM | Latin | 20 | 2 | 0 | Won PepsiCo bracket and Chicago Cup |
| 32 | 20 | NR | WW South | 15 | 8 | 0 | Reached championship of top PepsiCo Showdown bracket |
| 33 | 19 | HM | Batavia | 14 | 4 | 2 | Retooled lineup again model of consistency |
| 34 | 23 | 11 | Lyons | 15 | 6 | 1 | Lions sweep West Suburban Silver, reach sectional final |
| 35 | HM | NR | Fenwick | 14 | 5 | 4 | Windy City Ram Classic finalists played St. Francis, Loyola even |
| 36 | NR | HM | Stagg | 18 | 5 | 1 | Captured Windy City Ram Classic and reached 3A sectional final |
| 37 | I9 | INR | Althoff | 20 | 4 | 4 | Julia O’Neill powers third place Class A finish |
| 38 | I1 | I7 | Columbia | 22 | 4 | 0 | Sectional finalist administered Lemont’s only in-season defeat |
| 39 | INR | INR | Dunlap | 15 | 5 | 2 | Memorable showdown with Notre Dame (Peoria) in AA sectional final |
| 40 | NR | HM | Libertyville | 13 | 7 | 0 | PepsiCo Showdown semifinalist and 3A sectional finalist |
| 41 | 22 | 16 | SC East | 13 | 6 | 6 | Lost top player and still hyper competitive against elite schedule |
| 42 | HM | HM | Evanston | 14 | 8 | 3 | Bright young talent energizes future |
| 43 | HM | HM | Glenbard E | 16 | 4 | 4 | Senior class concluded best-ever four-year run |
| 44 | HM | NR | Kaneland | 13 | 5 | 2 | Rachael Lutter is one of the state’s top juniors |
| 45 | I7 | INR | Mahomet-S | 21 | 3 | 0 | Completed one of program’s best-ever runs |
| 46 | I8 | INR | Dixon | 18 | 7 | 2 | Emerged as a program to watch |
| 47 | INR | I5 | Triad | 16 | 5 | 3 | 2017 Class AA champions again showed mettle and grace |
| 48 | 17 | NR | Waubnsie V | 13 | 5 | 3 | Kennedy Metzger led team against formidable schedule |
| 49 | HM | 7 | Geneva | 12 | 7 | 4 | Bright young talent assures program remains competitive |
| 50 | NR | NR | Mundelein | 11 | 6 | 3 | Myah Strokosch leads Mustangs to undisputed North Suburban title |