Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Not every week in soccer has equal meaning. Last week shook the foundation of the local prep scene.
On Thursday the IHSA released the seedings for the state tournament. It's a reminder of just how close we are to the end of the regular season. Just two weeks remain for the larger class programs in Class AA and Class 3A, and one for Class A.
The Naperville Invitational, the state’s most important regular season tournament, detonated and helped further clarify the standings at the top. All you had to do was see the Final Four, bringing together four of the top five rated programs in this poll.
St. Charles North survived a scare by winning its first game at the Tournament of Champions on penalty kicks. They posted back-to-back impressive wins to capture their bracket in Burlington, Iowa.
On the local front, the story was in Naperville. New Trier went a stunning 5-0 this week, winning early week games against Niles North and previously ranked Libertyville. On consecutive days, the Trevians defeated Naperville Central, no. 4 Neuqua Valley and no. 5 Naperville North. New Trier won its first tournament championship since 2010.
The games illustrated just how razor tight the teams are at the top. New Trier survived Neuqua Valley on penalty kicks and posted a 1-0 win against Naperville North, which defeated defending Class 3A and tournament champion Barrington by that same margin.
Naperville North played four ranked teams in five days: no. 4 Neuqua Valley, no. 12 St. Charles East, no. 3 Barrington and no. 2 New Trier.
Two other significant tournaments also played out this weekend. Glenbrook North, undervalued for too long by this poll, breaks into the top 10 by virtue of its Glenbrook Cup title win over rival Glenbrook South. The Spartans looked very impressive dispatching Grayslake North and Warren in the early rounds.
In what could be a supersectional preview, Latin defeated St. Ignatius to capture the second edition of the Chicago Cup. Natalie Pontikes, the tournament MVP, scored the game-winner in the 58th minute. Those teams earned respective no. 2 Class AA seeds.
We will get more into the potential matchups and seeds as we get closer to the start of the state tournament. Barrington got moved out of Lake County and was pushed out west. Barrington and St. Charles North, who played to a 2-2 earlier this year, could meet in a supersectional.
New Trier earned the top seed of the very deep Glenbrook South Sectional. Naperville North is the top seed of the Plainfield North Sectional followed by Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley,
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Not every week in soccer has equal meaning. Last week shook the foundation of the local prep scene.
On Thursday the IHSA released the seedings for the state tournament. It's a reminder of just how close we are to the end of the regular season. Just two weeks remain for the larger class programs in Class AA and Class 3A, and one for Class A.
The Naperville Invitational, the state’s most important regular season tournament, detonated and helped further clarify the standings at the top. All you had to do was see the Final Four, bringing together four of the top five rated programs in this poll.
St. Charles North survived a scare by winning its first game at the Tournament of Champions on penalty kicks. They posted back-to-back impressive wins to capture their bracket in Burlington, Iowa.
On the local front, the story was in Naperville. New Trier went a stunning 5-0 this week, winning early week games against Niles North and previously ranked Libertyville. On consecutive days, the Trevians defeated Naperville Central, no. 4 Neuqua Valley and no. 5 Naperville North. New Trier won its first tournament championship since 2010.
The games illustrated just how razor tight the teams are at the top. New Trier survived Neuqua Valley on penalty kicks and posted a 1-0 win against Naperville North, which defeated defending Class 3A and tournament champion Barrington by that same margin.
Naperville North played four ranked teams in five days: no. 4 Neuqua Valley, no. 12 St. Charles East, no. 3 Barrington and no. 2 New Trier.
Two other significant tournaments also played out this weekend. Glenbrook North, undervalued for too long by this poll, breaks into the top 10 by virtue of its Glenbrook Cup title win over rival Glenbrook South. The Spartans looked very impressive dispatching Grayslake North and Warren in the early rounds.
In what could be a supersectional preview, Latin defeated St. Ignatius to capture the second edition of the Chicago Cup. Natalie Pontikes, the tournament MVP, scored the game-winner in the 58th minute. Those teams earned respective no. 2 Class AA seeds.
We will get more into the potential matchups and seeds as we get closer to the start of the state tournament. Barrington got moved out of Lake County and was pushed out west. Barrington and St. Charles North, who played to a 2-2 earlier this year, could meet in a supersectional.
New Trier earned the top seed of the very deep Glenbrook South Sectional. Naperville North is the top seed of the Plainfield North Sectional followed by Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley,
| Rk | LW | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | St. Charles North | 14 | 0 | 1 | Very impressive Tournament of Champions performance |
| 2 | 2 | New Trier | 13 | 0 | 2 | Naperville Invitational title caps remarkable 5-0 week |
| 3 | 5 | Naperville North | 11 | 3 | 3 | Alyssa Siebers all-tournament at Naperville Invitational |
| 4 | 3 | Barrington | 10 | 2 | 2 | Midfielder Ashley Armando emerging talent for Fillies |
| 5 | 4 | Neuqua Valley | 7 | 5 | 0 | Erin McCarthy is an elite defender |
| 6 | 8 | St. Francis | 11 | 3 | 1 | Makes statement on national stage in Iowa |
| 7 | 12 | Metea Valley | 10 | 5 | 1 | Katy Flanders is superb defender |
| 8 | 6 | Loyola | 10 | 1 | 4 | Very impressive win over Glenbrook North |
| 9 | HM | Glenbrook North | 8 | 1 | 4 | Takes Glenbrook Cup over neighborhood rival |
| 10 | 7 | Glenbrook South | 12 | 2 | 4 | Loses Glenbrook Cup on penalty shootout |
| 11 | 17 | Burlington Central | 13 | 2 | 0 | Jordan King is an elite talent |
| 12 | 13 | St. Charles East | 9 | 4 | 4 | Alondra Carranza is a top sophomore |
| 13 | 9 | Wheaton Warrenville South | 11 | 4 | 0 | Katie Johnson has been outstanding |
| 14 | 16 | Wauconda | 11 | 1 | 1 | Jill Rejczyk is a top keeper |
| 15 | 18 | Deerfield | 14 | 3 | 1 | Julia Neal is another offensive star |
| 16 | 14 | Lemont | 15 | 1 | 0 | Strong showing in Burlington, Iowa |
| 17 | HM | Lake Zurich | 7 | 0 | 3 | Samantha Hartman is dynamite |
| 18 | 10 | Batavia | 12 | 2 | 2 | Anna Holcombe is a skilled forward |
| 19 | 21 | Lane | 8 | 3 | 2 | Camaron Niforos comes of age |
| 20 | 15 | Evanston | 9 | 6 | 3 | Kat Sehgal plays with poise and skill |
| 21 | 20 | Waubonsie Valley | 9 | 3 | 3 | Earns top four seed in loaded sectional |
| 22 | 24 | Latin | 14 | 1 | 0 | Natalie Pontikes MVP of Chicago Cup |
| 23 | 21 | Prairie Ridge | 11 | 0 | 0 | Subsection top seed at Class AA Rochelle |
| 24 | 24 | Plainfield North | 11 | 2 | 2 | Midfielder Renae Blevins is a playmaker |
| 25 | 25 | Stagg | 14 | 2 | 0 | Top Class 3A seed at Reavis |
Look out for: Wheaton Academy, Carmel, Fenwick, Geneva, Benet, Downers Grove North, St. Ignatius, Stevenson, Sycamore, Glenbard East, Lyons, Andrew, Libertyville, Morton, Naperville Central