Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
This is the final phase, the prelude to the final order of things.
A season that started just nine weeks ago now zooms to the crucial stage -- the start of the state tournament in Class AA and Class 3A.
This is the final poll until the closing Final 50 poll following the conclusion of the Class AA and Class 3A state tournaments on the first weekend of June. That pool will bring together the Top 25 poll and the Illinois 10, and will consider any school, public or private, that played in Illinois this year.
This is also the start of crucial player awards being handed out, with all-conference lists, all-state and all-sectional performers as determined by the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association.
Chicagoland Soccer’s fourth annual all-state will also publish. New Trier’s extraordinary midfielder Emma Weaver was the best player in the state during the regular season. She was named an All-American.
In the comment section for this week’s final poll, the Top 25 lists the school’s state tournament seed at its designated sectional complex. For instance, two-time defending Class 3A state champion and top-ranked Barrington, “Top-seed at Guilford,” refers to the sectional at Guilford High School in Rockford.
Unless otherwise indicated, each seed refers to a Class 3A sectional.
The Chicagoland Soccer coverage schools are part of the following sectionals in Class 3A: East Aurora, Glenbard East, Andrew, Buffalo Grove, New Trier, Guilford and Schaumburg.
The Class AA sectionals included here are: Antioch, the subsectional at Hampshire and Nazareth.
Even before a single game is played in the state tournament, a natural debate flows over the best sectional: East Aurora is top-heavy with three teams (Neuqua Valley, Naperville North, Waubonsie Valley) and two honorable mention teams; Glenbard East has three ranked teams, two of which, Jones and Young, as city teams are seeded higher than Chicago Public League programs are normally considered here; Andrew does not have a team in the final regular season poll, though top-seeds Sandburg, Andrew and Mother McAuley have been previously ranked, and Lincoln-Way Central has been a consistent honorable mention program.
Buffalo Grove features third-ranked Stevenson.
New Trier is arguably the best team around -- the Trevians are sectional hosts and the top seed. They are going for their sixth-straight sectional title. Their opposition includes five ranked programs, including five-time city champion Lane, whose sixth-seed is nearly the same as its ranking this week -- the no. 8 slot is its highest of the season. Evanston will contend. The Wildkits moved up a slot after an impressive end-of-the-regular-season victory over Benet. Loyola, which earned a share of the conference title, is back in the poll at no. 25.
Cary-Grove dropped out of the poll after a 3-1 loss against conference rival Prairie Ridge. The Trojans took Barrington to double-overtime last year in the sectional final. The Fillies are the only-ranked team at Guilford, but Cary-Grove and South Elgin are near the top of the honorable mention programs.
The deepest sectional is clearly Schaumburg, whose top-six seeds are ranked, headed by no. 2 St. Charles North and no. 5 St. Charles East who are joined by Batavia, Conant, Wheaton Warrenville South and Geneva.
That is impressive. These playoffs should be too.
Games through end of regular season (May 11)
By Patrick Z. McGavin
This is the final phase, the prelude to the final order of things.
A season that started just nine weeks ago now zooms to the crucial stage -- the start of the state tournament in Class AA and Class 3A.
This is the final poll until the closing Final 50 poll following the conclusion of the Class AA and Class 3A state tournaments on the first weekend of June. That pool will bring together the Top 25 poll and the Illinois 10, and will consider any school, public or private, that played in Illinois this year.
This is also the start of crucial player awards being handed out, with all-conference lists, all-state and all-sectional performers as determined by the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association.
Chicagoland Soccer’s fourth annual all-state will also publish. New Trier’s extraordinary midfielder Emma Weaver was the best player in the state during the regular season. She was named an All-American.
In the comment section for this week’s final poll, the Top 25 lists the school’s state tournament seed at its designated sectional complex. For instance, two-time defending Class 3A state champion and top-ranked Barrington, “Top-seed at Guilford,” refers to the sectional at Guilford High School in Rockford.
Unless otherwise indicated, each seed refers to a Class 3A sectional.
The Chicagoland Soccer coverage schools are part of the following sectionals in Class 3A: East Aurora, Glenbard East, Andrew, Buffalo Grove, New Trier, Guilford and Schaumburg.
The Class AA sectionals included here are: Antioch, the subsectional at Hampshire and Nazareth.
Even before a single game is played in the state tournament, a natural debate flows over the best sectional: East Aurora is top-heavy with three teams (Neuqua Valley, Naperville North, Waubonsie Valley) and two honorable mention teams; Glenbard East has three ranked teams, two of which, Jones and Young, as city teams are seeded higher than Chicago Public League programs are normally considered here; Andrew does not have a team in the final regular season poll, though top-seeds Sandburg, Andrew and Mother McAuley have been previously ranked, and Lincoln-Way Central has been a consistent honorable mention program.
Buffalo Grove features third-ranked Stevenson.
New Trier is arguably the best team around -- the Trevians are sectional hosts and the top seed. They are going for their sixth-straight sectional title. Their opposition includes five ranked programs, including five-time city champion Lane, whose sixth-seed is nearly the same as its ranking this week -- the no. 8 slot is its highest of the season. Evanston will contend. The Wildkits moved up a slot after an impressive end-of-the-regular-season victory over Benet. Loyola, which earned a share of the conference title, is back in the poll at no. 25.
Cary-Grove dropped out of the poll after a 3-1 loss against conference rival Prairie Ridge. The Trojans took Barrington to double-overtime last year in the sectional final. The Fillies are the only-ranked team at Guilford, but Cary-Grove and South Elgin are near the top of the honorable mention programs.
The deepest sectional is clearly Schaumburg, whose top-six seeds are ranked, headed by no. 2 St. Charles North and no. 5 St. Charles East who are joined by Batavia, Conant, Wheaton Warrenville South and Geneva.
That is impressive. These playoffs should be too.
Games through end of regular season (May 11)
| Rk | LW | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Barrington | 16 | 1 | 1 | Top-seed at Guilford |
| 2 | 2 | St. Charles North | 15 | 1 | 2 | Top-seed at Schaumburg |
| 3 | 3 | Stevenson | 18 | 1 | 2 | Top-seed at Buffalo Grove |
| 4 | 4 | New Trier | 17 | 2 | 5 | Top-seed at own sectional |
| 5 | 6 | St. Charles East | 19 | 5 | 0 | Third-seed at Schaumburg |
| 6 | 5 | Benet | 17 | 3 | 1 | Top-seed at Class AA Nazareth |
| 7 | 9 | Lyons | 13 | 2 | 1 | Top-seed at Glenbard East |
| 8 | 11 | Lane | 18 | 3 | 1 | Sixth-seed at New Trier |
| 9 | 10 | Neuqua Valley | 9 | 4 | 4 | Second-seed at East Aurora |
| 10 | 8 | Naperville North | 8 | 5 | 4 | Top-seed at East Aurora |
| 11 | 14 | Waubonsie Valley | 14 | 2 | 2 | Third-seed at East Aurora |
| 12 | 7 | Batavia | 15 | 4 | 2 | Fourth-seed at Schaumburg |
| 13 | 12 | St. Ignatius | 16 | 2 | 2 | Second-seed at Class AA Nazareth |
| 14 | 13 | Conant | 14 | 2 | 2 | Second-seed at Schaumburg |
| 15 | 17 | Lemont | 17 | 4 | 1 | Second-seed at Class AA Rich East |
| 16 | 19 | Wauconda | 13 | 2 | 1 | Top-seed at Class AA Antioch |
| 17 | 23 | WW South | 13 | 4 | 1 | Sixth-seed at Schaumburg |
| 18 | 16 | Fremd | 11 | 4 | 3 | Third-seed at Buffalo Grove |
| 19 | 15 | Glenbrook South | 17 | 3 | 2 | Second-seed at New Trier |
| 20 | 21 | Evanston | 12 | 5 | 2 | Third-seed at New Trier |
| 21 | HM | Prairie Ridge | 17 | 1 | 1 | Second-seed at Class AA Hampshire subsectional |
| 22 | 18 | Geneva | 10 | 5 | 1 | Fifth-seed at Schaumburg |
| 23 | 25 | Young | 15 | 6 | 1 | Seventh-seed at Glenbard East |
| 24 | 24 | Jones | 17 | 6 | 0 | Third-seed at Glenbard East |
| 25 | HM | Loyola | 9 | 6 | 3 | Fifth seed at New Trier |
Look out for: Cary-Grove, Sandburg, Joliet Catholic, Metea Valley, South Elgin, Glenbard East, Crystal Lake Central, Mundelein, Warren, North Shore Country Day, Maine South, Andrew, Plainfield South, Lincoln-Way Central, Sycamore.