Whirlwind World Cup soccer experience for South Elgin teen
It's the season to give thanks, and teenager Taylor Vancil knows that she has plenty to be thankful for - starting with her next-door neighbors.
In a whirlwind year, the Bonnellis of South Elgin offered up a slice of normalcy and stability for the St. Charles North senior.
A job change forced Vancil's parents to leave their West suburban home and move to Colorado in July. But with her senior year on the cusp, Vancil didn't want to start over at a new school.
So the Bonnellis opened their home and Vancil moved in.
The familiar routine of staying in the same school and hanging out with the same friends was a comfort that offset the craziness of being on a World Cup soccer team.
From January until mid-November, Vancil trained with some of the nation's best up-and-coming female soccer players.
They went to monthly Olympic developmental camps in Florida and New Jersey and many places in between. They also played in international tournaments in Trinidad and Tobago, even New Zealand.
It was all in preparation for the U17 FIFA World Cup tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, earlier this month.
Vancil, a goalkeeper, was one of 21 teenagers in the country to make the team, which serves as a pipeline for future women's senior national teams and Olympic teams.
The U.S. won the silver medal, losing to Korea in the championship game 2-1 in overtime. Vancil played every minute of the tournament and wound up winning the Golden Glove award as the best goalkeeper at the World Cup.
"It stings a little that we weren't able to win the gold," said Vancil, who made 11 saves against Korea. "But we're happy to have won second. It's second in the world, which is pretty good.
"In soccer, the World Cup is the biggest tournament you can ever play in. It's such a big deal, such an awesome thing to be a part of. To think that of all the kids all over the country, you're the one who is getting that chance to do that - it's just crazy."
Vancil believes that national-team scouts took notice of her during all her years of playing club soccer for Eclipse of Libertyville, one of the most elite clubs in the Chicago area.
Instead of playing soccer for her high school team, Vancil elected to play year round for Eclipse, which travels the country to participate in the best youth tournaments.
"I never really regretted (not playing for St. Charles North)," Vancil said. "From a playing standpoint, it's good to play club year round because you're getting a lot of development. And I don't think I would have made that (World Cup) team without all the help I got from my coaches there."
Vancil said it wasn't until a week before the U.S. team left for New Zealand that the players found out who made the World Cup team.
"The coaches took a bunch of us out to dinner and (the head coach) stood up and gave a speech and then told us that we all made it," Vancil said. "It was really exciting. You get to know all these girls pretty well. You start to feel comfortable with them and like a real team. We were all relieved to be on the team together."
Vancil will soon be on another new team.
She will graduate early from St. Charles North next month and then she'll start classes at the University of Louisville, where she'll begin her freshman season on the soccer field next fall.
All the while, she'll be eagerly awaiting the next call from the national team.
"That would be awesome. I'd like to (keep moving up toward the senior team)," Vancil said. "I think I started following soccer closely when I was about 11 or 12 and that's what I've been thinking about since then."
Top honors: Congratulations to former Lake Zurich volleyball star Jennifer Berwanger, who was named first team all-conference on Friday by the Missouri Valley Conference.
A sophomore outside hitter at Southern Illinois, Berwanger led the team in kills this fall, averaging 3.64 per set.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com 320480Taylor Vancil, a St. Charles North senior, wears her medal and holds the Golden Glove Award from U17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand.Courtesy of Taylor Vancil