Huntley's soccer girls hatched this winning plan a year ago

What the Huntley girls soccer team hopes to achieve this season is not something the Red Raiders first sat down and talked about at the start of the season.

No, what this group wants to achieve by the first weekend of June is a plan they hatched last spring, almost immediately after a 1-0 loss to Maine South in the Class AA sectional finals, ending a 21-2 season two wins shy of the state tournament.

And so far, there's no reason to believe Huntley can't achieve its goal of competing for a state championship. After all, the Raiders stood 15-1-1 on the season through Wednesday, the only loss being to St. Ignatius in the semifinals of the prestigious Pepsi Showdown, and the tie coming against fourth-ranked St. Charles North in another more recent Pepsi event.

"A big part of it is they have a goal they're shooting for and they're working hard to get there," said sixth-year coach Kris Grabner, whose 11th ranked team is hoping to wrap up its third straight Fox Valley Conference Fox Division championship prior to beginning the Class 3A postseason in the Crystal Lake South regional.

"They've all worked their butts off during the travel season and we've tried to play the best schedule we can, and that helps get you ready for the state tournament," Grabner added.

That schedule has included nonconference games with Elgin, Burlington Central, Glenbard North, Hersey, New Trier, Libertyville and Hononegah, in addition to St. Ignatius and St. Charles North. Couple that with FVC crossovers against Jacobs, Dundee-Crown and CL South, and it's easy to see the Red Raiders shy away from no one.

Huntley has gained its place among state contenders with a variety of methods - things like balance both offensively and defensively, hard work, and great chemistry.

Let's start with the defense, a unit that has allowed just 6 goals and has 13 shutouts in 17 games. Also a defense that has made life fairly easy for goalkeepers Sara Hoffman and Kaytlyn Owens, who have been called on to make only 36 saves in those 17 games.

"Defense is really important because you can't win if the other team scores," said junior defender Jamie Wimberly, who, like many of the Huntley players, competes for the Crystal Lake Force club team. "But you have to score too, and we have good chemistry on the field. We all get along and that makes it a lot easier."

Grabner says his defense does much more than just stop the other team.

"We have very technical defenders that don't just clear the ball out," he said. "They look to connect a pass and that shows we can control the pace of the game. I've always felt our midfield is strong but since the Libertyville game (a 1-0 win on April 11) the defense has really stepped up and has really set the tone for us. It's a great position to be in as a coach."

Considering the Libertyville win was the first of what has now become 8 straight shutouts, it would appear Grabner, who graduated from Alton High School in downstate Illinois and then Illinois State University, has hit the nail on the head.

While the defense has done its part, the Huntley offense has continued to thrive as well. The Red Raiders have scored 55 goals this season, an average of just over 3 per game, and dominate play on the field like no other team in the area. And it's an offensive unit that feeds off each other.

"They're a team," said Grabner, who played one year of soccer and four years of tennis at ISU before becoming a golf course manager prior to settling into his career as a math teacher and Huntley's boys and girls soccer coach.

"They aren't in it for themselves, they're in it for their teammates and they're driving for a goal. I've seen it from the other side and it can be difficult. While this team has individual goals, they have a team goal and they're very unselfish. That's the 'X' factor. They all get along so well and they're truly a team."

That tends to happen when you've played a sport with the same group for a while.

"Most of us have been playing together for a couple of years now. We're all friends and we're all really close," said junior Corinne Wronski, who leads the team in goals with 16, including hat tricks in the last two contests. "We all share the same interests and we all know how to play the game."

Wronski says she sees opponents argue and bicker on the field when things don't go right, something she said Huntley never does.

"We are very good at staying composed," she said. "We don't argue or bicker on the field. We're all supportive of each other."

That's on and off the field, according to Corinne's sophomore sister, Aimee, the team's second leading scorer with 13 goals and its leading assist giver with 12.

"We all love to hang out with each other outside of soccer," she Aimee said. "We all get along so well and we can count on each other on the field. We work as hard as we can and if we're having an off game we fight through it. Our strong point is our hard work."

Another strong point, according to the players, is Grabner's coaching.

"He's a great coach," Aimee Wronski said. "He focuses on everybody and he knows what we need to work on. If one person needs to work on something, he has us all work on it. He always picks us up and never brings our spirit down. He's a really fun coach. We're serious when we have to be but he makes practices a lot of fun."

Wimberly agrees.

"He's done a really good job as our coach," she said. "He tells us what we're doing wrong and works hard with us on technique."

This is also a team that figures to be strong for years to come. There are only four seniors - Kaylee O'Brien, Lauren Opolony, Alyssa Silvestri and Kristina Barreto - on the roster.

With the conference season winding down, the Red Raiders are starting to think about the postseason, one in which they'd much rather finish on the North Central College field playing in the state finals instead of watching. But if they don't make state, don't think for a minute these girls won't be proud of their accomplishments.

"We would love to get that far but if we don't we'll know we've worked as hard as we can," said Corinne Wronski. "It'll be upsetting but it won't be disappointing because we'll know we've worked hard."

Hard work, great chemistry, and a steadying influence on the sidelines. All the pieces certainly do appear to be in place for a magical ending to what has already been a great season on Harmony Road.

jradtke@dailyherald.com