D-C's Vickstrom chooses Washington U.

Dundee-Crown senior soccer player and Algonquin resident, Kyle Vickstrom has committed to play Division III soccer at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

A 3-year varsity starter, Vickstrom was a member of the 2007 Daily Herald All-Area team, and was also honored as a member of the boys soccer all-state all-academic team this past November.

The all-state all-academic team is selected by the Chicago Fire in conjunction with the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association.

With serious consideration toward Grinnell College in Iowa as well as Cornell University in New York, a visit to Washington U. this past November made the decision easy.

"The main thing that appealed to me was the academic reputation at Wash-U," Vickstrom said. "Getting the opportunity to play soccer there is just a huge bonus."

Playing since the age of 4, Vickstrom joined club soccer at age 9 and always had dreams of playing at the professional level some day.

"Since I started at Dundee-Crown, I knew that I wanted to play college soccer," he said.

The diverse defender joins the elite Washington program which has made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances to become one of the nation's best.

Since the inception of the Division III tournament in 1974, the Bears have posted a 27-18-4 NCAA tournament record, and have finished as national runners-up three times.

Vickstrom will play under head coach Joe Clarke, who has a 127-62-22 overall record in his 11 years at the helm for a .654 winning percentage. The Bears have also made 5 NCAA tournament appearances under Clarke.

"Coach Clarke has a great track record, and I am very excited to play for him," Vickstrom said. "I have a great gut-feeling about this entire college experience.

"The campus is very impressive and very beautiful."

Vickstrom will study Biology/Pre-medicine while attending Washington University.