Chicagoland Soccer
IHSSCA Soccer Person of the Year award winner: 2009; 2010
  • Home
  • Schedule
  • Results
  • SoccerCenter
  • Teams
  • Player of the match
  • Testimonials
  • Standings
  • Archives
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Contact us
  • Links
  • Pros
    • Chicago Fire 2016
    • Chicago Fire 2015
    • Chicago Red Stars 2015
  • G
  • SCE
  • GS: Loyola at
  • Roundup
Chicagoland Soccer First 50 state ranking

By Patrick Z. McGavin



The new girls season is the ultimate blank text ready to be filled in. That is not to say predictive clues and answers are not forthcoming.

What seems unequivocal is that Chicago is again the nerve center of girls’ soccer, here and anywhere else. Four local programs are ranked in the top 10 in the national Top 50 rankings of Top Drawer Soccer.

Two-time defending Class 3A state champion Barrington is national no. 1 to open the year, followed by runner-up New Trier (3), Naperville North (9) and St. Charles North (10).

Barrington (2017 and 2018), New Trier (2014, 2015 and 2016) and Naperville North (2012 and 2013) have won the last seven large schools state championship. They are the standard in Illinois soccer.

St. Charles North is just behind them, even without a state championship to their name. The North Stars have lost to Barrington and New Trier in the supersectional in each of the last two years.

All told, 11 of the teams ranked in Top Drawer’s national Top 50 are from Illinois, with 10 from the Chicagoland Soccer coverage joined by two-time defending Class A champion Notre Dame (Quincy).

Our normal process here is to separate the Chicago programs from the best of the Illinois programs into two polls, our Top 25 and the Illinois 10. Our end of the year Final 50 intertwined the two.

Now, for something different that adds some variety and a change of pace. This special first First 50 combines the two polls for a statewide look at the teams and programs to track for the forthcoming season.

Barrington is seeking to match the Naperville North boys’ program that captured its third-straight state title last fall. The season begins on a bittersweet note. The Fillies’ best player, Illinois recruit Ashley Prell, suffered a torn ACL playing club soccer.

Prell scored the goal and the deciding shootout PK in the Fillies’ victory over New Trier in last year’s state championship. She finished with 22 goals and 11 assists. She is the state’s best player. It says a lot about Barrington that the Fillies could lose such a dynamic player and still be the team to beat.

That is how good Barrington appears, with eight starters back. In addition to Prell, the major absence is all-state keeper Samantha Schmitz, now at Harvard, who was the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Year last season.

Twelve Barrington players who scored goals last year are back. Junior Tina Teik is now the centerpiece. She has the size, range and athleticism to be the best player in the state. Her rapid ascension is a big reason for the Fillies’ recent dominance.

New Trier has played in five-straight state championship games, winning three and losing the last two years in shootouts to the Fillies.

St. Charles North has eight starters back, including Cece Wahlberg, Claudia Najera and Sami Rydberg from an offensively explosive team that finished 21-1-1 last year.

Naperville North finished third last season.

The marquee opener of the 2019 campaign is Naperville North at Barrington on Tuesday (March 12). The teams played three times last year and went 1-1-1 with a zero scoring differential.

They tied in the first match, the Huskies won in a Naperville Invitational semifinal and Barrington won the state semifinal on a goal in the 76th minute.

This poll opens what surely will be another memorable year of girls’ soccer, locally and throughout the state. This poll is a conversation starter, an opening survey of who and what to look out for.

To breakdown the coding, the 50 teams are ranked in order. The second number is where the team finished in last year’s Final 50 state ranking. NR means the team was not ranked. The records are from the 2018 season.

Beginning with the in-season polls which start next Sunday (March 17), Chicagoland Soccer will publish a Top 25 with 15 honorable mention programs and the Illinois 10 for teams out of the Chicagoland Soccer coverage area.

Now let's turn our attention to the games. It all starts Monday (March 11).

Rk18 rkTeamWLTComment
11Barrington213 2 Fillies seek third-straight Class 3A title
24SC North 211 18 starters back from one-loss team
3 3Naperville N214 4Wis. recruit Maddie Schlecht joins powerhouse
42New Trier2412Emma Weaver is nationally rated junior
56Neuqua V 146 0 7 starters back from Class 3A sectional finalist
6 5St. Francis184 3Defending Class AA champions moved up to 3A
78Andrew21609 starters back from Class 3A fourth place team
8 34 Lyons 15 6 1 Five starters return from 3A sectional finalist
9 13Normal W207 3 Jess Hieb leads Class AA fourth place finisher
10 7Loyola1724 Ramblers have superb junior class
1112Glenbrook S194 5New coach, same talented roster
1217Carmel165 1Zenaya Barnes keys tuff lineup, 3A 'super' qualifier
1319Deerfield185 3Warriors brimming with top-line offensive talent
1429ND (Peoria)2240Multiple starters return from AA 'super' team
1514Normal 1952 Will battle with West for local supremacy
1642Evanston148 38 starters back from 3A sectional qualifier
1718Wauconda172 1Abigail McHugh leads 8 returning AA supersectional starters
18 32WW South 158 0 Paige Miller leads experienced and talented team
1921Lane1442City power boasts deep and talented junior class
2020DG North1474Trojans boast versatile and flexible lineup, 3A supersectional team
2111St Viator186 2Payton McDonnell leads skilled group, AA state runner-up
2210Belleville W176 3Captured program's first sectional title last year
23NRFremd7104Looks to be rapidly improved with talent influx
2416Cary-Grove123 23A sectional finalist is program on the rise
2515Burlington C 233 0Zoey Kolhoff is an elite talent
2628Benet2041 Top 8 scorers return from Class AA supersectional finalist
2749Geneva127 4 Looks to be very potent offensively
2823Edwardsville135 3Historically strong program has talent and youth
2927Notre Dame (Q)263 2Bumped up to AA after second A title
30 50Mundelein116 3Gigi Sahagun leads potent offensive attack
3125Glenbrook N123 4 Spartans play a very physical and aggressive style
3243Glenbard E164 4 Lindsey Novak leads strong nucleus of returning players
33NRNaperville C11121Caroline Reedy part of 7 returners from sectional semifinalist
34 26Metea V148 3Mustangs retool behind Nikki Coryell and tight backline
359Lemont2520 Victoria Silvar is a high-scoring sophomore
36 33Batavia 144 2Bulldogs return 7 starters, Ashley Whelpley from ACL injury
37NRLake Forest 872Leland Kellar leads a talented, hungry team
38 NRCollinsville 1310 3Proud program looks to rebound
39 30Waterloo 18 3 3Key returners from Class AA supersectional qualifier
40 47Triad165 3Class AA sectional finalist is model of consistency
4136Stagg 18 51Talented team with multiple starters back from 3A sectional finalist
42 35Fenwick145 4Friars have depth and skill at key positions
4341SC East 1366 Kayla Villa leads talented and versatile roster
44 24Conant156 3Enjoy key returning personnel from 3A sectional finalist
45NRBartlett1173Mikayla Brown leads 5 returning starters
4638Columbia224 0Perennial power looks to reload
47 22Prairie Ridge171 0 Quality program looks to make another statement
4831Latin2020 Multiple starters return from Class AA sectional qualifier
49 NRWarren (Gurnee)811 3Courtney Chomko leads young, talented roster
50 NRWheaton A137 2 6 starters back from AA sectional semifinalist
Proudly powered by Weebly