Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
What a difference a year makes.
The compressed girls’ season a year ago operated within the narrow confines of pandemic-shortened scheduling that restricted travel, effectively eliminated in-season tournaments and meant teams largely played conference-only schedules.
The return toward normality took another major step forward this week with a couple of significant tournaments, the Windy City Ram Classic and the Wheaton North Kickoff Classic.
The Windy City Ram Classic final turned out to be a closely-held contest of neighboring schools.
Lincoln-Way Central defeated Lincoln-Way East in penalty kicks.
Lincoln-Way Central has given up just one goal in five games. The Knights also defeated Glenbrook South 1-0 in the semifinals.
Lincoln-Way East knocked out Andrew on penalties in the other semifinal.
Andrew beat Glenbrook South in penalties for third place.
That is how closely held the top four teams were. It literally could have gone any way.
“It’s the reason why I love this tournament,” Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said after his team’s 1-0 loss against Lincoln-Way Central in the quarterfinal round.
Tournaments offer a microcosm of the season, the ability to see different styles and different teams in a compact space.
The top 10 is largely unchanged.
Metea Valley, which remains 10th in the poll, earned the championship of the round-robin formatted Kickoff Classic.
They finished with 10 points, going undefeated in the tournament. Plainfield North prevented a Mustangs clean sweep of the four-game schedule with a 2-2 tie.
Benet beat Plainfield North and lost to Glenbard West. It was the kind of field that produced topsy-turvy and well-played games.
The other significant storyline this week was the relative absence of games given the number of teams on spring break. That situation continues next week.
Teams that are banged up or dealing with injuries have time to heal and come back strong.
The season plays out in stages. The first two weeks has shown some excellent play. Historically dominant programs like Libertyville, Lyons and the two Naperville schools, Central and North, continue to show well.
Naperville Central has posted five shutouts. Naperville North has conceded one goal in five games against elite competition.
The early powers have established their own order.
It will be interesting to see how the next stage of the season plays out.
The various factors are now jammed together, making for a true season, something we have definitely been waiting for a long time.
By Patrick Z. McGavin
What a difference a year makes.
The compressed girls’ season a year ago operated within the narrow confines of pandemic-shortened scheduling that restricted travel, effectively eliminated in-season tournaments and meant teams largely played conference-only schedules.
The return toward normality took another major step forward this week with a couple of significant tournaments, the Windy City Ram Classic and the Wheaton North Kickoff Classic.
The Windy City Ram Classic final turned out to be a closely-held contest of neighboring schools.
Lincoln-Way Central defeated Lincoln-Way East in penalty kicks.
Lincoln-Way Central has given up just one goal in five games. The Knights also defeated Glenbrook South 1-0 in the semifinals.
Lincoln-Way East knocked out Andrew on penalties in the other semifinal.
Andrew beat Glenbrook South in penalties for third place.
That is how closely held the top four teams were. It literally could have gone any way.
“It’s the reason why I love this tournament,” Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said after his team’s 1-0 loss against Lincoln-Way Central in the quarterfinal round.
Tournaments offer a microcosm of the season, the ability to see different styles and different teams in a compact space.
The top 10 is largely unchanged.
Metea Valley, which remains 10th in the poll, earned the championship of the round-robin formatted Kickoff Classic.
They finished with 10 points, going undefeated in the tournament. Plainfield North prevented a Mustangs clean sweep of the four-game schedule with a 2-2 tie.
Benet beat Plainfield North and lost to Glenbard West. It was the kind of field that produced topsy-turvy and well-played games.
The other significant storyline this week was the relative absence of games given the number of teams on spring break. That situation continues next week.
Teams that are banged up or dealing with injuries have time to heal and come back strong.
The season plays out in stages. The first two weeks has shown some excellent play. Historically dominant programs like Libertyville, Lyons and the two Naperville schools, Central and North, continue to show well.
Naperville Central has posted five shutouts. Naperville North has conceded one goal in five games against elite competition.
The early powers have established their own order.
It will be interesting to see how the next stage of the season plays out.
The various factors are now jammed together, making for a true season, something we have definitely been waiting for a long time.
| Rk | LW | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Libertyville | 2 | 0 | 0 | Lauren Rocco a force of nature |
| 2 | 2 | Lyons | 3 | 0 | 0 | Rielly Chesna is creative midfielder |
| 3 | 3 | Naperville C | 5 | 0 | 0 | GK Abby O'Connor is unscored upon |
| 4 | 4 | Naperville N | 5 | 0 | 0 | Lucy Iverson is a game-changer |
| 5 | 5 | New Trier | 2 | 0 | 1 | Josie Noble is dangerous up-top |
| 6 | 7 | Warren | 1 | 0 | 1 | Reese Mertens is bright young talent |
| 7 | 8 | Barrington | 1 | 1 | 0 | Nicole Gwiasda is nervy talent |
| 8 | 9 | Evanston | 3 | 0 | 0 | Adriana Merriam keys dramatic win at Loyola |
| 9 | 11 | St. Charles N | 2 | 0 | 0 | Sidney Tims is a defensive stopper |
| 10 | 10 | Metea V | 4 | 0 | 1 | Jordan Lange keys Kickoff Classic title |
| 11 | 13 | Glenbrook N | 4 | 0 | 0 | Four shutouts to start season |
| 12 | 14 | Stevenson | 1 | 0 | 0 | Gracie Wingfield a talent to watch |
| 13 | 16 | Lane | 3 | 0 | 0 | Jocelyn Ramirez a superb 2-way threat |
| 14 | 12 | St. Charles E | 3 | 1 | 0 | Yazmin Martinez has skill to burn |
| 15 | 6 | Loyola | 2 | 2 | 1 | Eva Pattison is ferocious defender |
| 16 | HM | L-W Central | 5 | 0 | 0 | Windy City Ram Classic champions |
| 17 | HM | L-W East | 4 | 1 | 0 | Falls to rival on Pks in title game |
| 18 | 17 | Andrew | 4 | 1 | 0 | Only loss came on penalties |
| 19 | 19 | Oswego E | 1 | 1 | 0 | Taylor English is bright offensive force |
| 20 | 15 | Benet | 3 | 2 | 0 | Katie Lewellyan a dangerous offensive talent |
| 21 | 21 | Deerfield | 3 | 0 | 0 | Ally Lin is dynamic with the ball |
| 22 | HM | Carmel | 0 | 0 | 0 | Anna Hartman is an elite scorer |
| 23 | 20 | Geneva | 3 | 1 | 0 | Kya Trejo is skilled in the middle |
| 24 | 24 | Hinsdale C | 3 | 0 | 1 | Ava Elliott is a disruptive stopper |
| 25 | 18 | Glenbrook S | 3 | 2 | 1 | Anna Durow a quality 2-way talent |
Look out for: Glenbard West, Plainfield North, Timothy, Lincoln-Way West, Young, Wheaton North, Neuqua Valley, Batavia, Oswego, Joliet Catholic, Morton, Fremd, Crystal Lake Central, South Elgin.
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