Scouting DuPage County girls soccer
Top local teams: Benet, Downers Grove South, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton Warrenville South, York
Top players: Molly Abromitis (Glenbard West, Sr., M), Rachele Armand (Waubonsie Valley, So., D), Jackie Belmonte (Hinsdale South, Sr., M), Flo Beshiri (Downers Grove, South, Jr., D), Brianna Borsellino (Montini, Sr., F), Marla Boresellino (Montini, Sr., M), Haley Charlton (Wheaton Warrenville South, Sr., D), Natalie D’Agostino (Immaculate Conception, Sr, M), Jill D’Amico (Naperville Central, Jr., GK), Kelly Diedrich (Benet, Sr., D), Daniella DiGioia (Lake Park, Sr., F), Mallory Feinstein (Hinsdale Central, Sr., F), Alyssa Fox (Metea Valley, So. F), Kelsey Graham (Wheaton Warrenville South, Sr., GK), Megan Green (Waubonsie Valley, Sr., M), Carrie Hanley (Glenbard South, Sr., M), Hannah Klancic (Waubonsie Valley, Sr., M), Keri Kujawa (Downers Grove South, Sr., F), Noelle Leary (Neuqua Valley, Sr. ), Sarrah Ludwig (Downers Grove South, Jr., F), Krissy Many (Naperville Central, Sr., M), Andi Matichak (St. Francis, Jr., F), Jamie Meno (Naperville North, Sr., D), Erin Mrazek (Glenbard East, Jr., M), Claire Munaretto (Benet, Sr., GK), Lauren Noonan (Neuqua Valley, Sr., D), Christina Ordonez (York, Jr., F), Megan Oyster (Neuqua Valley, Sr., D), Lindsey Paganucci (Glenbard East, Jr., M), Lexi Peterson (Wheaton Warrenville South, Jr., F), Jessica Price (Waubonsie Valley, Sr., M), Megan Radloff (West Chicago, Sr., F), Jenna Romano (Waubonsie Valley, So., D), Adrienne Schertz (Naperville North, Sr., M), Maria Schwabe (Benet, Sr., D), Crystal Thomas (Wheaton Academy, Jr., M/F), Nicole Urban (Lisle, Sr., F), Katie Watt (Glenbard West, Sr., F), Kate Wiegman (Wheaton North, Sr., F), Alexa Wilde (Neuqua Valley, Sr., M), Ally Witt (Wheaton Academy, Jr., F).
Outlook: Waubonsie Valley, winner of last spring’s Class 3A state title and champion in three of the last four years, bid farewell to Vanessa DiBernardo and goalkeeper Allison Fox but have plenty of returning talent to make it one of the top teams to beat once again. The Warriors boast a roster featuring eight seniors who have already committed to play at the next level. That list includes Maggie Carson (Armstrong Atlantic State), Megan Green (Illinois), Hannah Klancic (Augustana), Jordan Myers (Wisconsin-Whitewater), Jessica Price (Lewis), Kerri Skotnicki (Augustana), Jillian Staton (Wittenberg) and Mary Wright (St. Louis).
Things won’t be much different at Neuqua Valley this spring as the Wildcats should be very competitive once again. UCLA-recruit, Parade All-America and three-time all-stater, Megan Oyster is back to lead the way for the Wildcats, along with Baylor recruit Alexa Wilde, Noelle Leary (Illinois) and Lauren Noonan (Northern Illinois University). The talent does not end there, though, as Zoey Goralski and Gianna Dal Pozzo also are back for another season while the team receives a nice boost from newcomers Olivia Schmitt, Shannon Donlon and Talise Romain. “This should be an exciting year for Neuqua Valley,” Wildcats coach Joe Moreau said. “We have a good mix of veteran players and young players. The western suburbs should once again be very competitive.”
Metea Valley will field its first varsity squad this season. The Mustangs will be without seniors and will feature a squad with 11 sophomores, five freshmen and five juniors. “We’ve got a pretty talented team,” Metea Valley coach Pat Feulner said. “The kids play in clubs all over so they aren’t playing together in the off-season, so the main thing has been to build continuity in the group and they’ve responded well.” The team went 17-1-2 at the JV level last spring. Alyssa Fox led the team with 20 goals. Other notable standouts for the Mustangs include goalkeeper Megan Geldernick, defender Hannah Thayer and Tina Tomaras. “We have 20 kids that are all good solid kids,” Feulner said. “We don’t have the one or two national kids, but we have 20 real solid kids who have trained hard with us for a year now.”
Naperville North is still very young, but don’t mistake youth for a lack of talent, as this group is extremely talented and another year older after going 13-7-2 against a loaded schedule. The Huskies will look to a pair of seniors for leadership in midfielder Adrienne Schertz and defender Jamie Meno. “We have 15 players returning so we have a lot of experience,” Huskies coach Brent Terada said. “But we’re still a very young team. We played six or seven freshmen last year so they now have a year of varsity experience under their belt and we’re adding another to that mix and I expect all the kids to get time, so that should be good.” Across town at Naperville Central, the Redhawks will look to replace 11 players that graduated from a 16-3-5 squad. “The biggest thing is a lack of varsity experience,” Naperville Central coach Ed Watson said. “But because of injuries last year we had 25 girls go through the varsity team and about half of those are back this year.” Scoring remains a question mark for the Redhawks, but they feel extremely comfortable with Jill D’Amico in goal. The two-time all-state selection had a 0.41 GAA with 13 shutouts in 2010. The Redhawks welcome back fourth-year players Krissy Many and Ashley Tegge.
Wheaton Warrenville South went 18-4-3 with its season coming to an end in a sectional loss to eventual Class 3A champion Waubonsie Valley. Junior forwards Lexi Peterson and Kate Fowee return to lead the attack and experienced defenders Laine Jackson and Haley Charlton are also back, along with senior goalkeeper Kelsey Graham (17.5 varsity shutouts) and sophomore midfielder Dana Miller. “Our speed of play should have us competing for another DVC title, regional final and hopefully a sectional final,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “We’ll have a good mix of young players and experienced players, and coupled with team depth should carry us deep into the playoffs barring injury.”
Glenbard North knows how tough the DuPage Valley Conference can be, but the Panthers hope to continue to make strides this spring with a mix of young players and veterans. Seniors Elise Chalus, Kelly Sprague and Lindsay Taylor, along with juniors Jocelyn McDonnell, Jessica Kras and Nicole Strawn all return, along with seven freshmen and sophomores. “From what I’ve seen, we have more speed up top this year, which could improve our scoring potential,” Glenbard North coach David Stanfield said. “We shall see.” West Chicago is another team that hopes to be more competitive in the DVC. “We lost a couple players but are returning 12, including Megan Radloff (23 goals last spring),” West Chicago coach Cesar Gomez said. Junior midfielders Bianca Navejas, Jenny Amaro and Jessica Quinn will play big minutes, senior Kelsey Myers will be the last line of defense and supported by defenders Sarah Opel and Rachel Thomas. Gomez is hoping for big things from sophomore forward Andie Lazzerina as the team is coming off a 9-15-1 year. “The goal is to keep improving in the DVC,” Gomez said. “We have very tough competition and we don’t have that many athletes that can do the little things right all the time, so hopefully we can do that and be successful.” Wheaton North also hopes to move up somewhat in the DVC after finishing in fourth place last season. The team boasts strength with its midfielders and forwards with Kate Wiegman back at forward, along with Ashley Oltman and Tiffany Traxinger in the midfield. The team also added Sydney Sharkey, a transfer from Wheaton Academy who had 15 assists last spring.
Lake Park has a few freshmen and sophomores who will play significant roles for a Lancers squad that went 8-8-4 last spring. Leaders for the Lancers include sweeper and captain Briana Small, sophomore midfielder Megan Lindbert and senior forward Daniella DiGiola (Lewis University). “Daniella is a very talented player who has tremendous foot skills,” Lancers coach Chris Fruehling said. “Megan has great distribution, ballhandling and finishing skills. Briana is a strong leader that keeps the back line organized and aggressive.”
Nicole Urban, the most prolific scorer in Lisle history, is set to begin her final season for the Lions. Urban enters the season with 101 varsity goals. She’ll be joined by five returning starters from last’s year team which took fourth place in Class 1A. Although the Lions will have a mix of experience (11 juniors and seniors) and inexperience (eight freshmen and sophomores) they expect another very competitive spring.
Wheaton Academy should be able to score plenty of goals this season with Crystal Thomas and Ally Witt returning. The team lost eight players to graduation and a transfer but still have a solid core of returning players. “Our system will change a bit to fit our personnel, bur our team vision to play every day in such a way that we will glorify God will still drive our team,” Wheaton Academy coach Scott Marksberry said. “We plan to work hard, play smart soccer and get better every day.” Wheaton Academy is coming off of a 19-4-1 season in which it also took third place in Class 2A.
Montini lost a half dozen seniors to graduation but have the Borsellino cousins (Brianna and Marla) returning. “They’ll carry the bulk of the load this year,” Montini coach Barry Briggs said. “We have a pretty good group of freshmen that will help us out a lot.” Brianna Borsellino has committed to Northwestern.
York is coming off a 20-5 campaign and West Suburban Silver championship. Krzysztof Halupka is the new coach for the Dukes, who will be led offensively by scoring machine Christina Ordonez (53 varsity goals). York only lost a couple players to graduation, has six key seniors backs and welcomes a handful of talented sophomores.
Downers Grove South has Keri Kujawa back for another year. The senior had more goals than games she played last spring. The Mustangs lost Lauren Rusk for the season due to a knee injury but have a good deal of talent and experience returning in Megan Martin, Cara Doogan, Sarrah Dugan, Amanda Meyers and Flo Beshiri. On the other side of town, Downers Grove North has a young squad but welcomes back a pair of two-time West Suburban Silver selections in goalkeeper Maddie Fitzpatrick and Shannon Schafer.
Hinsdale South looks to turn around its 8-13 record from a season ago. The Hornets return a lot of experienced players, led by senior midfielder Jackie Belmonte. Seniors Nicole Maslow, Meagan McPherson, Brittney Noble, Staci Ruzicka, Melissa Van Hoegarden, and Jamie Walker also return. Across town at Hinsdale Central, the Red Devils will look to bounce back after losing 11 of 14 to finish the 2010 campaign. Leading scorer Mallory Feinstein is back, but the team is inexperienced on defense and in goal and will need to mature quickly in those aspects of the game.
Scorer Andi Matichak is back to lead St. Francis. The team also has a new coach as Jim Winslow takes over a team that won 15 games last year. The team should be strong in the midfield with Taylor Ravlin, Kaity Bucaro and Taylor Bucaro all returning.
Timothy Christian is coming off a 6-11-2 year and will have plenty of new faces in the lineup this spring. Senior goalkeeper Aimee Vos will be a solid last line of defense, which will be needed as the unit will feature several new players. Midfielders Michelle Ditchfield, Colleen Griffin and Kyla Smits also return.
Benet won eight of its last nine games last season and has nearly everyone back from last year’s 17-6 team. “We had a real strong defense last year and we’ll work a lot harder on offense this year,” Benet coach Henry Wind said. “We changed our system from a 4-4-2 marking man to a 4-3-3 zone to get the forwards up front. If this doesn’t work then we can always change back.” Claire Munaretto is very solid in goal with defenders Maria Schwabe, Colleen Lewellyan and Kelly Diedrich protecting her. Midfielders Brittany Pullen, Jamie Borges, Alexa Liber and Katie Kaufmann and forward Madi Burke will all play pivotal roles for the Redwings.
Fenton expects to be better than last year’s 8-13-1 team. “We return the core of the defense and offense,” Fenton coach Victor Ruiz said. “And we have a freshman forward, Tina Guarino, who should help out. Ruiz has been pleased with what he’s seen from the team in the preseason, including the return of Jamie Keller, who had an ACL injury last spring. Midfielder Jaricza Florez, forward Jessica Falco, defender Lindsey Steiden and goalkeeper Katherine McEvoy will all play significant roles for the Bison.
Addison Trail lost too many games last season in which it only yielded a couple goals or less. “If we can show progress with our new lineup and follow through on our finishes, we’ll be an over .500 team,” Addison Trail coach Sergio Nunez said. “With limited seniors, our leadership and experience will hover over Janet Garcia.” Freshmen Lexy Paleothodoros and Isamar Garcia will make the leap into high school and will look to make an immediate impact like sophomores Devin Fruzyna and Tori Busse did a year ago.
Glenbard South features a roster of 13 players who are freshmen and sophomores. “Many of our players, though young, have tasted what playing at the varsity level is like,” Raiders coach Glen Eggert said. “They realize more clearly the commitment it takes to win at this level and are ready to do the work and make the sacrifices it will take to succeed.” All-conference midfielder Carrie Hanley returns to lead the Raiders along with sophomore midfielder Nicole Schutte. Sophomore Dana Jourdan will handle the goalkeeping duties.
Glenbard West believes its senior leadership should allow the team to improve on last season’s 8-8-1 mark. Seniors Molly Abromitis, Lauren Davis, Katie Watt and Andee Peterson are all three- and four-year varsity players for the Hilltoppers. The team features 13 returnees and just five new faces. “Last year’s team experienced few close losses to reputable competition,” Hilltoppers coach Maciej Kusmierz said. “Many of these losses were a result of small details that turned out to play a critical part in the outcome. The objective of this year’s team is to minimize those simple, easily avoidable mistakes, especially when facing formidable opposition.”
Can Glenbard East get into double digits in wins while reducing the number in the “L” column to a single digit this spring? The team certainly has two players who can find the back of the net in juniors Erin Mrazek and Lindsey Paganucci. Furthermore, hard-nosed players Jessie Grumstrup (MF) and Nicole Darga (D) return, along with some promising newcomers in goalkeeper Veronica Fairbairn, Katie Difino, Bethany Wood and freshmen Alex Ruffer and Sadie Moore. “(Mrazek and Paganucci) have both been on varsity since Day One, started every single game of their career, and played every minute of every game that mattered,” Glenbard East coach Kent Overbey said.
Willowbrook only won four matches last year but will look for some new players to make an immediate impact with several returners. “We will rely on our returning players to provide leadership and guidance to the new players,” Willowbrook coach Pete Montgomery said. Freshmen Lindsey Peterson, Melissa Rader and Lauren Carroll are considered to be a few of the team’s top new players.