Chicagoland Soccer First 50 state ranking
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The most recent girls soccer games played in Illinois were brilliant: one a double-overtime thriller; and the other a shocking tactical affair that came down to kicks.
At their conclusions, Benet and Naperville North captured the AA and 3A state titles June 1, 2019, at North Central College.
Storylines converged and entwined, the greatness of New Trier’s Emma Weaver—the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Year—and the brilliance of Barrington, which watched its string of back to back state titles deprived by the Huskies.
Three schools have dominated the 3A field—Naperville North, Barrington and New Trier—combining for all nine titles since 2011. The titles have come in waves, two in a row for the Huskies, three straight for the Trevians, back to back for the Fillies, and most recently the Huskies.
Weaver was the first underclassman and non-championship team member to win the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Year award. After the season has hopefully been played to some degree, she is expected to become just the second four-time all-state player in the history of Chicagoland Soccer’s all-state teams. Interestingly, she will join the other, Glenbrook South’s Makayla Stadler, at Villanova.
Barrington, is ranked no. 1 in the country by Top Drawer Soccer. Chicago dominates the national field in the poll, with three of the top nine (Barrington 1, New Trier 4, Naperville North 9) and six of the top 20. Waubonsie Valley (17), St. Charles East (19) and St. Charles North (20) also represented.
Lake Forest jumped in at no. 33. The Scouts, who have been out of the big picture the last couple seasons despite solid, tough and respectable campaigns, now have the best class in their history. Multiple Big 10 recruits are back after playing after two years on the DA circuit.
Benet (no. 29), Young (43) and Fremd (48) comnplete the Illinois’ contingent.
That is the backdrop.
The foreground, of course, is the terrifying specter and subsequent shutdown occasioned by the novel coronavirus. We are all in the middle—morally, personally, economically and sociologically—and dealing with the very real and profound repercussions.
For Illinois High School Sports, it meant the cancellation of the end of the winter season, which wiped out the boys state basketball championships. Now the spring season is on hiatus. The order of Gov. J.B. Pritzker to close schools is held through April 7. Chicago Public Schools are closed through April 21.
We can all dream. The hope is that the stay in shelter, physical distancing and the other actions imposed by the state—however desperately inconvenient—will make possible the resumption of Illinois high school sports.
Girls’ soccer—as evidenced by the Top Drawer national pool—shows how important and vital the sport is locally.
The First 50 is a statewide poll open to all teams in Illinois, regardless of school size, geographical region or conference affiliation. We hope that publishing it is a way to damn the cruelty of the COVID-19 disease. The health and safety of these brilliant young women and their coaches and support staff is of highest concern.
As always, this is a way to start the conversation toward the athletes and their coaches and their schools that mean so much to them. IHSA officials remain optimistic about the viability of the spring season.
The Chicagoland Soccer board of directors was split on publishing the poll and chose to ask our Twitter followers their opinion. After an overwhelming majority voted to read the rankings, here is the Chicagoland Soccer First 50. We hope it provides a helpful and hopeful diversion.
Here’s looking forward to the return of our regular in-season polls: the Top 25; and Illinois 10.
Preseason rank in the First 50 poll is followed by last year’s Final 50 rank and the 2019 record.
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The most recent girls soccer games played in Illinois were brilliant: one a double-overtime thriller; and the other a shocking tactical affair that came down to kicks.
At their conclusions, Benet and Naperville North captured the AA and 3A state titles June 1, 2019, at North Central College.
Storylines converged and entwined, the greatness of New Trier’s Emma Weaver—the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Year—and the brilliance of Barrington, which watched its string of back to back state titles deprived by the Huskies.
Three schools have dominated the 3A field—Naperville North, Barrington and New Trier—combining for all nine titles since 2011. The titles have come in waves, two in a row for the Huskies, three straight for the Trevians, back to back for the Fillies, and most recently the Huskies.
Weaver was the first underclassman and non-championship team member to win the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Year award. After the season has hopefully been played to some degree, she is expected to become just the second four-time all-state player in the history of Chicagoland Soccer’s all-state teams. Interestingly, she will join the other, Glenbrook South’s Makayla Stadler, at Villanova.
Barrington, is ranked no. 1 in the country by Top Drawer Soccer. Chicago dominates the national field in the poll, with three of the top nine (Barrington 1, New Trier 4, Naperville North 9) and six of the top 20. Waubonsie Valley (17), St. Charles East (19) and St. Charles North (20) also represented.
Lake Forest jumped in at no. 33. The Scouts, who have been out of the big picture the last couple seasons despite solid, tough and respectable campaigns, now have the best class in their history. Multiple Big 10 recruits are back after playing after two years on the DA circuit.
Benet (no. 29), Young (43) and Fremd (48) comnplete the Illinois’ contingent.
That is the backdrop.
The foreground, of course, is the terrifying specter and subsequent shutdown occasioned by the novel coronavirus. We are all in the middle—morally, personally, economically and sociologically—and dealing with the very real and profound repercussions.
For Illinois High School Sports, it meant the cancellation of the end of the winter season, which wiped out the boys state basketball championships. Now the spring season is on hiatus. The order of Gov. J.B. Pritzker to close schools is held through April 7. Chicago Public Schools are closed through April 21.
We can all dream. The hope is that the stay in shelter, physical distancing and the other actions imposed by the state—however desperately inconvenient—will make possible the resumption of Illinois high school sports.
Girls’ soccer—as evidenced by the Top Drawer national pool—shows how important and vital the sport is locally.
The First 50 is a statewide poll open to all teams in Illinois, regardless of school size, geographical region or conference affiliation. We hope that publishing it is a way to damn the cruelty of the COVID-19 disease. The health and safety of these brilliant young women and their coaches and support staff is of highest concern.
As always, this is a way to start the conversation toward the athletes and their coaches and their schools that mean so much to them. IHSA officials remain optimistic about the viability of the spring season.
The Chicagoland Soccer board of directors was split on publishing the poll and chose to ask our Twitter followers their opinion. After an overwhelming majority voted to read the rankings, here is the Chicagoland Soccer First 50. We hope it provides a helpful and hopeful diversion.
Here’s looking forward to the return of our regular in-season polls: the Top 25; and Illinois 10.
Preseason rank in the First 50 poll is followed by last year’s Final 50 rank and the 2019 record.
| Rank | '19 rk | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Barrington | 22 | 2 | 1 | Looking for 4th-straight 3A title appearance |
| 2 | 3 | New Trier | 22 | 3 | 5 | Emma Weaver in a class by herself |
| 3 | 9 | St. Charles E | 22 | 6 | 0 | Saints loaded with offensive weapons |
| 4 | 1 | Naperville N | 15 | 5 | 4 | Hannah Martin leads Huskies 3A title defense |
| 5 | 4 | St. Charles N | 19 | 2 | 2 | North Stars back and reloaded |
| 6 | 18 | Waubonsie V | 17 | 3 | 2 | Megan Burling leads stacked roster |
| 7 | NR | Lake Forest | 11 | 8 | 2 | Returning club players make Scouts sing |
| 8 | 6 | Benet | 24 | 3 | 1 | Kate Flynn leads Redwings shift to 3A |
| 9 | 17 | Fremd | 14 | 5 | 3 | Ranked nationally by Top Drawer |
| 10 | 15 | Lane | 19 | 4 | 1 | Deep Indians going for 6th-straight city title |
| 11 | 16 | Young | 18 | 7 | 1 | ”Our year to do damage,” coach says |
| 12 | 19 | St. Ignatius | 19 | 3 | 2 | Wolfpack gifted and hungry |
| 13 | 14 | Evanston | 14 | 6 | 2 | Calista O’Connor powers deep team |
| 14 | 11 | Neuqua V | 10 | 5 | 4 | Wildcats have great freshman class |
| 15 | 10 | Wauconda | 19 | 3 | 2 | Seconds away from AA 2019 title |
| 16 | 40 | Naperville C | 11 | 9 | 1 | Looks more offensively dangerous |
| 17 | 45 | Warren | 13 | 9 | 3 | Blue Devils physical and dangerous |
| 18 | 33 | Glenbard E | 18 | 5 | 2 | Rams have great blend of talent and youth |
| 19 | 8 | Lyons | 18 | 4 | 1 | Ava Dallavo is superb talent |
| 20 | 22 | Lemont | 18 | 5 | 1 | Indians showcase great offensive talent |
| 21 | 43 | Loyola | 9 | 7 | 2 | Superb sophomore class ready to break out |
| 22 | NR | Deerfield | 13 | 12 | 2 | Malori Killoren keys Warriors |
| 23 | 13 | Glenbrook S | 20 | 4 | 2 | Titans have wealth of experience, talent |
| 24 | 7 | Columbia | 27 | 2 | 1 | Talent galore from A powerhouse titleist |
| 25 | 21 | Joliet Cath | 18 | 3 | 0 | Makenzie Kaput leads deep, versatile side |
| 26 | 29 | Sandburg | 15 | 5 | 1 | Club players bolster strong roster |
| 27 | 5 | Stevenson | 22 | 2 | 2 | Patriots look to build off 2019 magic |
| 28 | 24 | Conant | 16 | 3 | 2 | Talent and experience to burn |
| 29 | 20 | Triad | 20 | 4 | 2 | Key personnel back from AA 3rd place run |
| 30 | 26 | ND (Peoria) | 18 | 5 | 1 | A perennial threat |
| 31 | 39 | Jones | 18 | 7 | 0 | Carmen Marshall is fun to watch |
| 32 | 23 | Batavia | 17 | 5 | 2 | Grace Salyers leads quality side |
| 33 | NR | ND (Quincy) | 21 | 3 | 0 | Back for another dominant run |
| 34 | 41 | Metea V | 11 | 9 | 2 | Mustangs look to be special defensively |
| 35 | 28 | Cary-Grove | 14 | 3 | 1 | A program on the rise |
| 36 | 32 | S Elgin | 14 | 4 | 3 | Soph Katrina Barthelt older, more dangerous |
| 37 | 30 | NSCD | 16 | 4 | 0 | Raiders jump up in class and belong |
| 38 | NR | Carmel | 7 | 11 | 4 | Corsairs have intriguing young talent |
| 39 | 34 | CL Central | 19 | 4 | 0 | Another resurgent team in Fox Valley |
| 40 | 35 | Prairie Ridge | 20 | 2 | 1 | A loaded team ready for encore |
| 41 | 42 | Maine South | 16 | 5 | 3 | Explosive and dangerous offense |
| 42 | 44 | Normal | 19 | 5 | 2 | One of the best of Central Illinois |
| 43 | 38 | Geneva | 11 | 6 | 2 | GK Katie Montgomery a bright talent |
| 44 | 25 | WW South | 14 | 5 | 1 | Next generation of talent looks to shine |
| 45 | 37 | Geneseo | 22 | 2 | 1 | A program on the go |
| 46 | 36 | Dunlap | 16 | 4 | 1 | Another program on the rise |
| 47 | NR | Burlington C | 14 | 5 | 1 | Illinois recruit Zoey Kolhoff is major talent |
| 48 | 46 | O’Fallon | 14 | 7 | 2 | One of top programs in St. Louis ‘burbs |
| 49 | 48 | Althoff | 21 | 5 | 1 | Gave Columbia toughest 2019 game |
| 50 | NR | Lisle | 18 | 3 | 2 | Tara Kane is a top junior talent |