Tri-Cities All-Area soccer team
By Darryl Mellema
Daily Herald Correspondent
Catherine Allon,
Geneva
Yes, Catherine Allon scored 12 goals this spring, but so many of those goals seemed to come at key points in games that their importance was magnified. Allon also led the Vikings with 9 assists. Her team’s Most Valuable Player this spring was also named all-conference and All-Sectional, marking a strong season for a player who missed much of 2009 through injury. “She’s a great player for us,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “She’s been on the varsity since she was a freshman and this year, she was healthy and a deserving MVP, voted by her teammates.” Like many forwards in the area, Allon also moved into the midfield at times this season, and proved to be just as effective there. “Whether we put her up top or in the midfield, she does a great job for us,” Owens said. “She’s just a terrific kid because she’s very coachable.”
Lauren Frasca,
Rosary
Yes, she’s only a freshman, but Frasca played like an upperclassman throughout the season. And she found ways to stand out as well, especially in the Royals’ penalty kick shootout win over Elgin St. Edward in the Rosary Invitational. Frasca had five shutouts in the season and shared a sixth shutout with Alex Bode and helped anchor her team’s back line in the 2-1 regional championship victory over Kaneland. “She’s done nothing but keep us in games, a lot of games we very easily could have lost,” Rosary coach Kevin Callaghan said. “But she kept us in them. She doesn’t stop playing and doesn’t stop talking. She has that energy. She’s always upbeat, takes criticism well and has been very adaptive.” Frasca, an Olympic Development Program level goalie, also got a chance to play as a field player this season and scored 1 goal for the Royals. “She is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future,” Callaghan said. “She’s always looking forward to the next game.”
Sammy Gage,
St. Charles North
The captain of the all-area team, Gage proved her versatility as well as her talent this season. She led a balanced North Stars attack with 16 goals and 6 assists and was a rock defensively when the situation merited it.
Liz Gielow,
St. Charles East
There are any number of players in Illinois girls soccer who are taller than 5-foot Liz Gielow. But fortunately height doesn’t measure heart or skill or any of the other qualities that make Gielow an absolute handful for opponents to deal with. “She’s technically one of the best players I’ve ever seen,” St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said. “She is incredibly hardworking. The girl is just a fantastic player. She plays like she’s six feet tall.” And the funny thing is, Gielow wins more than her share of balls that come her way in the air too. “She is surprisingly good in the air,” Jennison said. “She has won practically every header that she’s ever gone for. We like the ball to go through her because she can really distribute it.”
Alex Hanna,
Batavia
When Batavia needed a midfield anchor to shore its defense, the Bulldogs moved Hanna from an attacking role to defensive midfield, and the junior sparkled. “It seems to have helped her with Hannah (Schweigert) in front of her,” Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. “Hanna creates opportunities for her to shoot so she’s been able to score more as a defensive mid than as an attacking mid.” Hanna finished the season with 2 goals for the Bulldogs, including the game-winner in the Moline State Line Challenge title match against Iowa school Pleasant Valley. “She shot the ball really well the last few weeks of the season, and that made a difference,” McAlpin said. “She’s the key in the transition from defense to offense for us and she’s a good all-around player for us.”
Emily Heimerdinger,
Kaneland
Finishing a stellar career, Emily Heimerdinger became Kaneland’s first All-State girls soccer player as voted by area coaches in the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association. She was also named the Northern Illinois Big 12’s Most Valuable Player, despite the fact that the Knights finished fourth in the league. But it’s hard to argue with either the seasonal or career accomplishments by Heimerdinger, who scored 33 goals and added 19 assists to take her career totals to 96 goals and more than 60 assists. “You knew she was going to get a goal or two every game we played,” Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. “She was double-teamed, triple-teamed and quadruple-teamed and she still scored goals. She never took a penalty kick until this season.” Despite her success and impressive offensive numbers, Heimerdinger wasn’t unwilling to make a move on behalf of the team at the start of the season. With only three returning starters, Parillo needed Heimerdinger to play in the midfield, and she willingly accepted the role. After a tough start, Kaneland still finished the season 12-9-1 and much of that improvement was due to the overall maturation of the team — and all the seniors, including Heimerdinger, played a role in allowing that to happen. “She carried the team and those seniors carried the team,” Parillo said. “We had five freshmen on the team and Emily showed them how to play, what it means to be a varsity player. She was always the first one to practice and she showed those players in those practice sessions how to play varsity soccer, that this wasn’t rec league and that you were going to have to work just as hard as she did, which was impossible, because no one has ever worked as hard as she did. But she helped show everyone the way.”
Lauren Koehl,
St. Charles North
A number of times in St. Charles North practices this year, Lauren Koehl was told to go get her backpack. That backpack would be filled to give extra weight. Then Koehl would have to navigate cones and other items in the penalty area in order to the ball, shoot and score. That heavy lifting came in handy this year with Koehl being a major force the North Stars. The junior finished with 10 goals and 3 assists this year and was a constant threat in the North Stars attack. “We talked before the season,” St. Charles North coach Ruth Vostal said. “I told her that her success was in not only scoring goals but in creating opportunities for other players. You forget that she is so quick. In a full-out sprint, she is probably the fastest on the team.”
Demi Miller,
Geneva
As Geneva entered the season, there was a serious defensive worry. The Vikings had three freshmen starting, and the fourth spot was somewhat undecided. Into that spot moved Miller, and she became the anchor of that unit until her season was ended by a serious knee injury. “She did a tremendous job in the back for us,” Geneva coach Megan Owens said. “She’s been a great vocal leader and captain for us. We were pretty solid defensively and she was largely responsible for that.” In her career, Miller proved to be very versatile. She was an outside midfielder and sometimes a forward as a sophomore, and moved more toward the defense her junior year. “We needed her leadership in the back,” Owens said. “I knew she would be a vital component of the defense. I didn’t want to have three freshmen and a sophomore in the back. I knew we needed that leadership back there.”
Jessica Saffell,
West Aurora
While still her team’s leading scorer by some margin, Jessica Saffell didn’t have to do everything herself this season, and the result was a .500 record for West Aurora and a diversified attack that caused worry for many opponents. Saffell finished the season with 18 goals and 5 assists, but look at the 10-goal, 8-assist output by Reilly Kulakowski and the 9-goal, 9-assist effort by Sammie O’Brien for a deeper key to both Saffell’s and the Blackhawks’ mutual success. “Jessica was passing the ball more this year,” West Aurora coach Laura Wagley said. “She knew she could use Riley and Sammie up top, and that’s taken a lot of the pressure off her. I think her strength this year was in being a much smarter player and in trusting her teammates when she gave them the ball.”
Hannah Schweigert,
Batavia
On a team that struggled to find the back of the net this season, Schweigert led the Bulldogs in scoring with 5 goals and 2 assists. “We moved her from defense to an attacking midfield position,” Batavia coach Jim McAlpin said. “She’s kind of been the focal point offensively for the entire season. We started her in the back and moved her into that attacking mid position when we struggled to score. She’s done a nice job distributing the ball.” Schweigert played varsity soccer for four years for Batavia. “Her composure and her maturity rubbed off on the other kids. She’s a very positive person who can find something good to say to anybody on every occasion.”
Ellie Sterner,
St. Charles East
There are always players for whom statistics never tell the true story. St. Charles East’s Ellie Sterner is one of those players. The junior was a consummate midfield asset for the Saints this spring, linking, defending, moving all over the pitch and the fact that she only scored 4 goals and added 2 assists does not show the level of contribution she provided. “She’s a two-footed player and I think she could play anywhere on the field,” St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said. “She’s a great player. She’s deceptively quick, with the ability to really change gears. That doesn’t always happen, but when it does happen, it can be devastating.” Sterner started the season in central midfield but moved outside as the season progressed. “It certainly adds to the quality of ball we have seen delivered into the box,” Jennison said. “She’s made it clear she’s happy to go wherever she can help the team. A lot of people see versatility as a problem because they’re not specific in one area. But It’s certainly added to our team to have her on the outside.”
2011 Soccer All-area roster
Player School Pos. Yr.
Catherine Allon Geneva MF Jr.
Lauren Frasca Rosary G Fr.
*Sammy Gage St. Charles North F/MF Sr.
Liz Gielow St. Charles East MF/D Sr.
Alex Hanna Batavia MF Jr.
Emily Heimerdinger Kaneland F/MF Sr.
Lauren Koehl St. Charles North F Sr.
Demi Miller Geneva D Sr.
Jessica Saffell West Aurora F Jr.
Hannah Schweigert Batavia D/MF Sr.
Ellie Sterner St. Charles East MF Jr.
Second team
Player School Pos. Yr.
KK Barr St. Charles North Sr. D
Courtney Bila Rosary Jr. D
Sophie Blank Kaneland Sr. F
Emily Blaser Aurora Central Jr. MF/F
Amy Fabrizius Kaneland Sr. D
Alex Gage St. Charles North So. D
Abby Gray Batavia Sr. F
Morgan Ketterling St. Charles East Sr. M
Amanda Lulek Geneva So. F
Kristin Rodriguez Geneva Sr. D
Lauren Rohrmeier St. Charles East Sr. F
* — Honorary captain
Special mention
Bre Choffin (sr., MF, Batavia); Sam Cowles (sr., F-M, Aurora Central); Samantha Duarte (jr., MF/F, Rosary); Victoria Fortney (sr., GK, Geneva); Taylor Gibson (so., F, Rosary); Caitrin Griffin (so., F, Geneva); Kendall Karr (sr., GK, St. Charles North); Reilly Kulakowski (fr., F, West Aurora); Shannon Lee (sr., M, St. Charles North); Sophie Pohl (fr., F, St. Charles North); Rachel Pottle (jr., D, St. Charles East); Sammie O’Brien (fr., F, West Aurora); Kate Rosignal (sr., D, St. Charles East); Kailey Rote (jr., MF, Geneva); Tara Rush (sr., MF, Batavia); Annie Waldoch (fr., D, Geneva); Sam Wantuch (sr., D, Kaneland).
Past Captains
1998: Becky Myers, St. Charles
1999: Becky Myers, St. Charles
2000: Anne Poulin, St. Charles
2001: Lexi Stormo, St. Charles East
2002: Katy Lindenmuth, Geneva
2003: Jen Lee, St. Charles North
2004: Lauren Switzer, St. Charles North
2005: Jackie Santacaterina, Geneva
2006: Janel Schmitt, Geneva
2007: Mo Smunt, St. Charles East
2008: Caitlin Winkelman, St. Charles North
2009: Emily Hinchman, Geneva
2010: Leah DeMoss, St. Charles North
The winners
Conference champions
Geneva
Regional champions
Rosary, St. Charles North
The future
Teams to watch in 2012
Geneva, St. Charles East, Rosary
All-area selections and capsules by Darryl Mellema