Scouting DuPage County girls soccer
Top teams: Glenbard East, Hinsdale Central, Metea Valley, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton Academy
Top players: Hannah Atkinson (Wheaton North, sr. F), Alyssa Bombacino (Neuqua Valley, so., F), Ellie Bumpus (Benet, sr., MF), Katy Coseglia (Hinsdale Central, sr., GK), Ryan Dudycha (Naperville Central, sr., F), Emma Dannhausen-Brun (Hinsdale Central, sr., F), Jade Eriksen-Russo (Metea Valley, jr., F), Anna Fank (Wheaton Warrenville South, sr., F), Paige Filipek (Waubonsie Valley, sr., F), Sarah Griffith (Waubonsie Valley, sr., MF), Maggie Hillman (Naperville Central, jr., MF), Jacey Kent (Lake Park, sr., MF), Morgan Krause (Naperville North, jr., D), Maddie Krejci (Naperville North, sr., MF), Emma Martinez (Glenbard North, jr, MF/F), Nicole Mondi (Neuqua Valley, jr., D), Jamie Netzley (Wheaton Academy, sr., F), Brittany Paganucci (Glenbard East, sr., F), Kendra Pasquale (St. Francis, so., MF), Gretchen Pearson (Wheaton Academy, jr., F), Autumn Rasmussen (Downers Grove South, sr., F), Julia Rauch (Glenbard South, MF, sr.), Katie Reitz (West Chicago, sr., F), Paige Taylor (Glenbard East, jr., D), Kayla Trinka (Lisle, sr., MF), Emily Wilhelm (Naperville North, jr., D), Miranda Williams (Metea Valley, sr., D).
Outlook: This is the first season of the new-look DuPage Valley Conference. What's perennially the toughest conference in the state got even tougher with the addition of Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley and the addition of more games.
Glenbard North will be a work in progress with as many as five freshmen being asked to step in and contribute. "We will be very young. They are enthusiastic but obviously inexperienced," Panthers coach David Stanfield said. "I hope the girls grasp some basic defensive and offensive tactical concepts, improve their overall technique." Junior three-year starter Emma Martinez returns along with seniors Anna Matthew and Ashley Class.
Lake Park is in a similar situation with the Panthers. The Lancers only have three seniors and 10 players on their roster are underclassmen. "Jacey Kent will bring the necessary experience and leadership to our young players," Lancers coach Anthony Passi said. Kent, a senior midfielder, has 15 varsity goals and 12 assists.
Metea Valley returns seven starters, including leading scorer Jade Eriksen-Russo, defender Miranda Williams and goalkeeper Amy Ahern. "Overall, I expect us to compete with the top teams in the state," Mustangs coach Chris Whaley said. "Our group of seniors provides us with some experience, but overall we have a number of girls that will be playing for the first time." The Mustangs went 15-8-3 last year while advancing to the sectional finals for the second straight time.
Naperville North's been known for being the home of some of the most prolific scorers in the state thanks to Zoe Swift and Abbie Boswell. Now, it's time for Maddie Krejci and Alexis Dandridge to carry the bulk of the offense for a Huskies squad that should be equally tough on defense with Elizabeth Cablk in net and defenders Morgan Krause and Emily Wilhelm returning to anchor the back line.
Naperville Central's season once again will be defined by its ability or inability to put the ball in the back of the net. "It's the ultimate concern we have every year without a dominant scorer," Redhawks coach Ed Watson said. "You can't have zero at the end of the game," The good news is that their defense once again should be a strong unit and keep them in games, whether or not Ryan Dudycha, Isabel Reedy, Maggie Hillman, among others, can produce enough offense, is the major concern.
Neuqua Valley, the Class 3A runner-up, will be affected after graduating several key players. The team will feature only three returning starters, but they're very good ones, including Marquette recruit Alyssa Bombacino. The lack of experience may hurt the Wildcats early on, but the program has frequently been able to reload quickly thanks to a lot of rising talent.
Waubonsie Valley went 6-0-1 during its final season in the Upstate Eight Conference and should be unfazed with the new competition since it's familiar with the Naperville schools already. What will Paige Filipek, who scored 32 goals last year, do for an encore? Midfielder Sarah Griffith and defender Grace Anderson also return. The Warriors could feature a lot of youth this season, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a bit of an unknown.
Wheaton North is coming off an unforgettable 16-3-3 season in which it won the DVC for the first time since 2006. The Falcons have several players back from that squad but will need to replace the 22 goals scored by Lexi Pelafas. The Falcons will look for a combined team effort in that regard with Hannah Atkinson leading the way. Zoe Welsh returns in goal.
Wheaton Warrenville South has a pleasant mix of experience and newcomers with senior Anna Fank, who scored 16 goals last season, leading the way. "Our experience and speed of play should have us compete for a DVC title," Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. Seniors Allison Harvey, Ava Fickle and Sarah Burns all return while a talented class of freshmen is expected to make a difference immediately.
Glenbard East should be fun to watch. Senior Brittany Paganucci, Holly Ward, Elizabeth Toledo, senior Taylor Ray (transfer from Glenbard South) and freshman Amy Chiero give the Rams a diverse and potent attack. "Strong outlook for 2016," Rams coach Kent Overbey said. "We've got a great group of returning players which includes our two top scorers from last year." Keeper Sierra Dana and defenders Katie Hansen and Paige Taylor also are back.
West Chicago has decided to switch things up and will be playing three in back. "We're going to try this new formation and see what we can do with it," Wildcats coach J. Cesar Gomez said. "We'll find teams that we'll beat and others that will take advantage of our three in back, but we're going to stick with it." Offensively, the key connection will stem from senior midfielder Maddie Aguilar who will look to deliver to senior forward Katie Reitz among others.
Addison Trail is hopeful that senior midfielders Maria Koulogeorgas and Petra Kyriakopoulos can give the team nice leadership and control the tempo. The Blazers have great numbers, but whether that can translate into success remains unknown in the West Suburban Gold.
Downers Grove South has a lot of senior experience and eight returning starters overall, including forward Autumn Rasmussen. Scoring shouldn't be a problem with Rasmussen, Lexi Dimovski, Natalia Pinto and Meghan Riordan. "The team has a lot of depth and competition for starting positions heading into the season," Mustangs coach Chris Hernandez said.
Hinsdale South only lost one starter to graduation and three players total from last year. Jean Cote returns from an ACL injury and will be back in net. She was the starter during the team's state playoff run in 2014. "Many players are capable of playing multiple positions so our depth will come from that asset," Hornets coach Jen Belmonte said. "The team has also played together now for a year so the team chemistry should be another asset."
Willowbrook will rely heavily on its defense to keep it in games with four-year goalkeeper Alexis Jones back for her final year and Alyssa Spada anchoring the back line. The Warriors will be experienced with 19 upperclassmen on the roster.
Glenbard West might be awfully young, but that doesn't mean the Hilltoppers will back down from a difficult nonconference schedule, as well as within the West Suburban Silver. Furthermore, their young players are talented. Junior Sophie Bouton even scored 4 goals in her first varsity game. "A nice thing about our team is they do pass the ball very well," Hilltoppers assistant coach Morgan Kasperek said. Goalkeeper Lauren Glavis is the team's lone senior and the roster features seven underclassmen.
It's a good thing when you return 14 players, including seven starters from a 19-7 team. Hinsdale Central won a sectional title a year ago and appears poised to have another successful season. "Their collective skill level and tactical savvy will allow them to wield greater control over more matches this season," Red Devils coach Michael M. Smith said. "In addition, many of the newcomers were on last year's extremely successful JV1 team and they are excited to show their quality at the varsity level."
Downers Grove North should be defensively sound but may struggle to score. "It is hard to tell how our offense will look because most of my scoring threats are new to the team," Trojans coach Bob Calder said. Midfielders Abby Swanson and Simone Gardner are new to the squad while senior defenders Alyse Dutcher and Arlinda Osmani are back to lead a backline that surrendered only 13 goals in 22 games last season.
York returns 10 players from a 13-6-2 squad that won a regional title. "All returning players will contribute to the team and team atmosphere in their own way," interim coach Stevan Dobric said. "The main role they will need to play is set the tone for training and in games so new players know what to expect and will also be successful. Seniors will be expected to set the tone and push everyone to grow further."
Benet is coming off another strong season with a 17-5-2 mark a season ago, but they'll need to replace the dynamic Kerry Abello, who has returned to her club this spring. The Redwings have four-year starter Ellie Bumpus back to control the midfield and as has been the case in recent years, a flock of new upcoming talent is expected to step in and make an impact immediately.
Montini will be young and quick. "I'm excited to see how we will fare in our new conference," Broncos coach Sue Brown said about the team joining the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference. "Looking forward to growing as a team. The sky is the limit with this young group." Seniors Rylee Kibbey and Paulina Lopez and sophomores Sonia Finch, Kate Crotty and Alondra Holler all return.
The outlook is bright at St. Francis, especially since sophomore Kendra Pasquale is back after scoring 17 goals as a freshman. "We'll be much more athletic than last year and we'll have a lot more pace," Spartans coach Jim Winslow said. "Our strength is our youth but it's also are weakness." That youth has shown that it can rise to the occasion as Pasquale and Kaitlyn Joniak, among others, played like upperclassmen a season ago. Their roster features 14 freshmen and sophomores this spring.
Glenbard South's difficult nonconference schedule might not yield many wins, but first-year coach Kevin Berner is hopeful it prepares the Raiders for success in the Metro Suburban Conference and a postseason run. "We play a brutal nonconference schedule," Berner said. "If we can keep our kids healthy and happy then we should have a successful run at winning conference and a regional." A strong group of seniors will play a pivotal role, including forward Marly Benner and midfielder Julia Rauch.
Wheaton Academy returns 10 starters and boasts a roster of 19 upperclassmen so the Warriors should be ready for another great season after going 19-4-1 a year ago. Ninety-one of the team's 95 goals last year were scored by players who are back this season. Jamie Netzley, Gretchen Pearson and Erin Teevans combined for 55 goals and 43 assists. Defensively, all but one starter returns from a group that posted 15 shutouts. The team dropped from Class 2A to Class 1A and should have the kind of talent to compete for a state championship.
IC Catholic Prep is coming off a 15-7-1 campaign in which it won a sectional semifinal before losing to Latin. "We are young but have talent on the field," Knights coach Tom Schergen said. "We anticipate being able to compete in all of the games we have on our schedule and look forward to the state playoffs." Maeve Gillette is one of the few key senior returnees while juniors Tessa Langan, Kaitlyn Grady and Tess Reardon and sophomore Grace Fuller return.
Timothy Christian advanced to the sectional finals for the first time last season and will look to build off that momentum. "Our biggest strength is in the middle of the field," Trojans coach Jon Hamelinck said, "All of the players playing down the middle are returning starters." The team will need to rebuild its backline due to losses from graduation.
Fenton will be experienced with 15 upperclassmen while Lisle, on the other hand, only has three seniors, Kesley Liss, Kayla Tinka and Olivia Mullas and two juniors, Calli Tomko and Amy Tromp.