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).
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).
| Rk | 18 rk | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Barrington | 21 | 3 | 2 | Fillies seek third-straight Class 3A title |
| 2 | 4 | SC North | 21 | 1 | 1 | 8 starters back from one-loss team |
| 3 | 3 | Naperville N | 21 | 4 | 4 | Wis. recruit Maddie Schlecht joins powerhouse |
| 4 | 2 | New Trier | 24 | 1 | 2 | Emma Weaver is nationally rated junior |
| 5 | 6 | Neuqua V | 14 | 6 | 0 | 7 starters back from Class 3A sectional finalist |
| 6 | 5 | St. Francis | 18 | 4 | 3 | Defending Class AA champions moved up to 3A |
| 7 | 8 | Andrew | 21 | 6 | 0 | 9 starters back from Class 3A fourth place team |
| 8 | 34 | Lyons | 15 | 6 | 1 | Five starters return from 3A sectional finalist |
| 9 | 13 | Normal W | 20 | 7 | 3 | Jess Hieb leads Class AA fourth place finisher |
| 10 | 7 | Loyola | 17 | 2 | 4 | Ramblers have superb junior class |
| 11 | 12 | Glenbrook S | 19 | 4 | 5 | New coach, same talented roster |
| 12 | 17 | Carmel | 16 | 5 | 1 | Zenaya Barnes keys tuff lineup, 3A 'super' qualifier |
| 13 | 19 | Deerfield | 18 | 5 | 3 | Warriors brimming with top-line offensive talent |
| 14 | 29 | ND (Peoria) | 22 | 4 | 0 | Multiple starters return from AA 'super' team |
| 15 | 14 | Normal | 19 | 5 | 2 | Will battle with West for local supremacy |
| 16 | 42 | Evanston | 14 | 8 | 3 | 8 starters back from 3A sectional qualifier |
| 17 | 18 | Wauconda | 17 | 2 | 1 | Abigail McHugh leads 8 returning AA supersectional starters |
| 18 | 32 | WW South | 15 | 8 | 0 | Paige Miller leads experienced and talented team |
| 19 | 21 | Lane | 14 | 4 | 2 | City power boasts deep and talented junior class |
| 20 | 20 | DG North | 14 | 7 | 4 | Trojans boast versatile and flexible lineup, 3A supersectional team |
| 21 | 11 | St Viator | 18 | 6 | 2 | Payton McDonnell leads skilled group, AA state runner-up |
| 22 | 10 | Belleville W | 17 | 6 | 3 | Captured program's first sectional title last year |
| 23 | NR | Fremd | 7 | 10 | 4 | Looks to be rapidly improved with talent influx |
| 24 | 16 | Cary-Grove | 12 | 3 | 2 | 3A sectional finalist is program on the rise |
| 25 | 15 | Burlington C | 23 | 3 | 0 | Zoey Kolhoff is an elite talent |
| 26 | 28 | Benet | 20 | 4 | 1 | Top 8 scorers return from Class AA supersectional finalist |
| 27 | 49 | Geneva | 12 | 7 | 4 | Looks to be very potent offensively |
| 28 | 23 | Edwardsville | 13 | 5 | 3 | Historically strong program has talent and youth |
| 29 | 27 | Notre Dame (Q) | 26 | 3 | 2 | Bumped up to AA after second A title | 30 | 50 | Mundelein | 11 | 6 | 3 | Gigi Sahagun leads potent offensive attack |
| 31 | 25 | Glenbrook N | 12 | 3 | 4 | Spartans play a very physical and aggressive style |
| 32 | 43 | Glenbard E | 16 | 4 | 4 | Lindsey Novak leads strong nucleus of returning players |
| 33 | NR | Naperville C | 11 | 12 | 1 | Caroline Reedy part of 7 returners from sectional semifinalist |
| 34 | 26 | Metea V | 14 | 8 | 3 | Mustangs retool behind Nikki Coryell and tight backline |
| 35 | 9 | Lemont | 25 | 2 | 0 | Victoria Silvar is a high-scoring sophomore |
| 36 | 33 | Batavia | 14 | 4 | 2 | Bulldogs return 7 starters, Ashley Whelpley from ACL injury |
| 37 | NR | Lake Forest | 8 | 7 | 2 | Leland Kellar leads a talented, hungry team |
| 38 | NR | Collinsville | 13 | 10 | 3 | Proud program looks to rebound |
| 39 | 30 | Waterloo | 18 | 3 | 3 | Key returners from Class AA supersectional qualifier |
| 40 | 47 | Triad | 16 | 5 | 3 | Class AA sectional finalist is model of consistency |
| 41 | 36 | Stagg | 18 | 5 | 1 | Talented team with multiple starters back from 3A sectional finalist |
| 42 | 35 | Fenwick | 14 | 5 | 4 | Friars have depth and skill at key positions |
| 43 | 41 | SC East | 13 | 6 | 6 | Kayla Villa leads talented and versatile roster |
| 44 | 24 | Conant | 15 | 6 | 3 | Enjoy key returning personnel from 3A sectional finalist |
| 45 | NR | Bartlett | 11 | 7 | 3 | Mikayla Brown leads 5 returning starters |
| 46 | 38 | Columbia | 22 | 4 | 0 | Perennial power looks to reload |
| 47 | 22 | Prairie Ridge | 17 | 1 | 0 | Quality program looks to make another statement |
| 48 | 31 | Latin | 20 | 2 | 0 | Multiple starters return from Class AA sectional qualifier |
| 49 | NR | Warren (Gurnee) | 8 | 11 | 3 | Courtney Chomko leads young, talented roster |
| 50 | NR | Wheaton A | 13 | 7 | 2 | 6 starters back from AA sectional semifinalist |