Chicagoland Soccer
IHSSCA Soccer Person of the Year award winner: 2009; 2010
  • 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
  • Roundup 3-24-22
  • GS: Lane at Jones 4-4-22
  • GS: Deerfield vs. SV 4-10-22
  • New Page
  • New Page
  • GS: Evanston at Deerfield 5-10-22
Chicagoland Soccer First 50 state ranking

By Patrick Z. McGavin


Editor's note: The IHSA cancelled the state series for all spring sports on April 21. This is a repost of the site's preseason poll post.

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) complete 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 rkTeamWLTComment
12Barrington2221Looking for 4th-straight 3A title appearance
23New Trier2235Emma Weaver in a class by herself
39St. Charles E2260Saints loaded with offensive weapons
41Naperville N1554Hannah Martin leads Huskies 3A title defense
54St. Charles N1922North Stars back and reloaded
618Waubonsie V1732Megan Burling leads stacked roster
7NRLake Forest1182Returning club players make Scouts sing
86Benet2431Kate Flynn leads Redwings shift to 3A
917Fremd1453Ranked nationally by Top Drawer
1015Lane1941Deep Indians going for 6th-straight city title
1116Young1871”Our year to do damage,” coach says
1219St. Ignatius1932Wolfpack gifted and hungry
1314Evanston1462Callista O’Connor powers deep team
1411Neuqua V1054Wildcats have great freshman class
1510Wauconda1932Seconds away from AA 2019 title
1640Naperville C1191Looks more offensively dangerous
1745Warren1393Blue Devils physical and dangerous
1833Glenbard E1852Rams have great blend of talent and youth
198Lyons1841Ava Dallavo is superb talent
2022Lemont1851Indians showcase great offensive talent
2143Loyola972Superb sophomore class ready to break out
22NRDeerfield13122Malori Killoren keys Warriors
2313Glenbrook S2042Titans have wealth of experience, talent
247Columbia2721Talent galore from A powerhouse titleist
2521Joliet Cath1830Makenzie Kaput leads deep, versatile side
2629Sandburg1551Club players bolster strong roster
275Stevenson2222Patriots look to build off 2019 magic
2824Conant1632Talent and experience to burn
2920Triad2042Key personnel back from AA 3rd place run
3026ND (Peoria)1851A perennial threat
3139Jones1870Carmen Marshall is fun to watch
3223Batavia1752Grace Salyers leads quality side
33NRND (Quincy)2130Back for another dominant run
3441Metea V1192Mustangs look to be special defensively
3528Cary-Grove1431A program on the rise
3632S Elgin1443Soph Katrina Barthelt older, more dangerous
3730NSCD1640Raiders jump up in class and belong
38NRCarmel7114Corsairs have intriguing young talent
3934CL Central1940Another resurgent team in Fox Valley
4035Prairie Ridge2021A loaded team ready for encore
4142Maine South1653Explosive and dangerous offense
4244Normal1952One of the best of Central Illinois
4338Geneva1162GK Katie Montgomery a bright talent
4425WW South1451Next generation of talent looks to shine
4537Geneseo2221A program on the go
4636Dunlap1641Another program on the rise
47NRBurlington C1451Illinois recruit Zoey Kolhoff is major talent
4846O’Fallon1472One of top programs in St. Louis ‘burbs
4948Althoff2151Gave Columbia toughest 2019 game
50NRLisle1832Tara Kane is a top junior talent
Proudly powered by Weebly