Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Normally this week would mark the beginning of the state tournament for the larger schools.
The Chicago Public League starts pool play Tuesday for its city tournament, effectively the beginning of the tournament phase.
With most conferences cutting back on travel and doing baseball-style double round-robin schedules as opposed to traditional matchups with outside conferences, the season has offered a strong opportunity to survey growth and development.
There have been some mashing together of play outside of conferences. New Trier lost to Libertyville and beat Stevenson. The Patriots just removed Libertyville from the list of teams with a perfect record with the 1-0 victory Saturday.
The double-format allows for quick turnarounds: Naperville Central and Naperville North hook up again Tuesday after their previous game ended in a double-overtime 1-1 tie.
New Trier plays Glenbrook North and Evanston this week; they previously played the Spartans to a scoreless draw and handed Evanston its only loss.
It seems pretty clear, in retrospect, that even the best teams needed a solid month of play against strong competition to get a proper feel for their place.
Top-ranked St. Charles East has seemed fully formed from the opening week. Many of the other programs are hitting their stride, making for some electrifying competition.
It is again worth pointing out that sometimes teams drop a position or two from the previous week despite not losing, or at worst, maybe having a tie. The alteration of the order is often more predicated on the rise of another team.
The top 10 teams in this week’s poll are a combined 92-6-13. The teams locked in between No.11-20 are not very far behind. Three of those teams are unbeaten and untied.
Lyons and Sandburg have yet to give up a goal this season.
Speaking of the Public League, Young and Lane return to the Top 25. Jones is hovering right behind them in the honorable mention. Young, Lane and Jones finished in the order in the regular-season standings of the Premier.
Lane is the five-time defending city champion.
The necessary focus has been on the return of the game after a lost season. It has overshadowed just how quickly the season has gone by. The start of the city tournament is a jolting reminder of how quickly everything moves.
Let’s enjoy it as it zips past us.
Games through Sunday
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Normally this week would mark the beginning of the state tournament for the larger schools.
The Chicago Public League starts pool play Tuesday for its city tournament, effectively the beginning of the tournament phase.
With most conferences cutting back on travel and doing baseball-style double round-robin schedules as opposed to traditional matchups with outside conferences, the season has offered a strong opportunity to survey growth and development.
There have been some mashing together of play outside of conferences. New Trier lost to Libertyville and beat Stevenson. The Patriots just removed Libertyville from the list of teams with a perfect record with the 1-0 victory Saturday.
The double-format allows for quick turnarounds: Naperville Central and Naperville North hook up again Tuesday after their previous game ended in a double-overtime 1-1 tie.
New Trier plays Glenbrook North and Evanston this week; they previously played the Spartans to a scoreless draw and handed Evanston its only loss.
It seems pretty clear, in retrospect, that even the best teams needed a solid month of play against strong competition to get a proper feel for their place.
Top-ranked St. Charles East has seemed fully formed from the opening week. Many of the other programs are hitting their stride, making for some electrifying competition.
It is again worth pointing out that sometimes teams drop a position or two from the previous week despite not losing, or at worst, maybe having a tie. The alteration of the order is often more predicated on the rise of another team.
The top 10 teams in this week’s poll are a combined 92-6-13. The teams locked in between No.11-20 are not very far behind. Three of those teams are unbeaten and untied.
Lyons and Sandburg have yet to give up a goal this season.
Speaking of the Public League, Young and Lane return to the Top 25. Jones is hovering right behind them in the honorable mention. Young, Lane and Jones finished in the order in the regular-season standings of the Premier.
Lane is the five-time defending city champion.
The necessary focus has been on the return of the game after a lost season. It has overshadowed just how quickly the season has gone by. The start of the city tournament is a jolting reminder of how quickly everything moves.
Let’s enjoy it as it zips past us.
Games through Sunday
| Rk | LW | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | St. Charles East | 14 | 0 | 0 | McKenna Gahagan solidifies middle attack |
| 2 | 3 | Benet | 10 | 0 | 0 | Frosh Ashley Donovan an emerging weapon |
| 3 | 2 | Libertyville | 9 | 1 | 0 | Stevenson ends perfect run |
| 4 | 4 | New Trier | 11 | 1 | 3 | Kendall Sierens diversifies the attack |
| 5 | 6 | Barrington | 7 | 1 | 2 | Nicole Gwiasda nails Fremd game-winner |
| 6 | 5 | Naperville Central | 7 | 1 | 3 | Malia Velker is disruptive defender |
| 7 | 7 | Loyola | 9 | 1 | 2 | Brooke Semple sparks win over Fenwick |
| 8 | 9 | Warren | 9 | 1 | 3 | Katelyn Crowson scores twice against Carmel |
| 9 | 10 | Sandburg | 10 | 0 | 0 | Still unscored upon |
| 10 | 12 | Lyons | 9 | 0 | 0 | Keeper Izzy Lee unscored upon |
| 11 | 25 | St. Charles North | 9 | 3 | 2 | Sophia Sutherland comes up huge |
| 12 | 8 | Naperville North | 6 | 2 | 1 | Keeper Abby Haskell has been a revelation |
| 13 | 11 | Joliet Catholic | 8 | 0 | 1 | Showdown with Benet Monday |
| 14 | 13 | Evanston | 10 | 1 | 2 | New Trier rematch Wednesday |
| 15 | 16 | Glenbrook North | 8 | 0 | 3 | New Trier looms Monday |
| 16 | 18 | Stevenson | 8 | 2 | 1 | Impressive shutout of Libertyville |
| 17 | 17 | St. Francis | 8 | 0 | 0 | Ellie Bielenda is a freshman to watch |
| 18 | 21 | Fremd | 7 | 2 | 0 | Gemma Gillespie sharpens the middle |
| 19 | 24 | Oswego East | 8 | 0 | 0 | Mikayla Lambert stars against West Aurora |
| 20 | 20 | Cary-Grove | 8 | 0 | 0 | Confronts Prairie Ridge Tuesday |
| 21 | HM | Young | 9 | 3 | 1 | Stella Ljung brings pace and shape to middle attack |
| 22 | HM | Lane | 7 | 3 | 2 | Scout Murray is devastating in space |
| 23 | 22 | Buffalo Grove | 7 | 4 | 3 | Lost to Fremd on own-goal |
| 24 | 23 | South Elgin | 6 | 0 | 2 | Steuck sisters power defense |
| 25 | NR | Burlington Central | 10 | 5 | 0 | Holds down St. Charles E |
Look out for: Geneva, Wheaton North, Bartlett, Plainfield North, Highland Park, Jones, Prairie Ridge, Downers Grove South, Deerfield, Lisle, Oswego, Oak Forest, Metea Valley, Fenwick, Morton
Proudly powered by Weebly