Girls soccer: South Elgin blanks Glenbard South to win first Upstate Eight championship game

It was all South Elgin Wednesday night in the first ever Upstate Eight Conference final with the Storm overwhelming Glenbard South 7-0.

Junior Avianna (Avi) Hernandez, who leads her club with 20 assists, bagged three goals on the night, with Nevaeh Gyurko adding her 19th of the season, and Christina Slovik netting her 14th to add to the eventual seven-goal tally.

The Storm, no stranger to success in the UEC, won the league title in 2024 with a 7-0-2 overall record, and again in 2023 with the same record.

This year, after its 3-6-1 start, the Storm (14-7-2) went 10-1-1 in its next 12 games, with its only defeat in penalties to Deerfield.

"With the new format in the UEC this year, the girls really wanted to be the first league champion, and they went out and took control of this game to be able to win the title," said South Elgin coach Jerzy Skowron.

The Upstate Eight expanded from 10 teams to 14 this season with the Storm winning the West division. Glenbard South (9-5-6) won the East with a 5-0-1 overall record.

Glenbard South is the No. 5 seed in its own 2A sectional, and will look to seniors Annika Wise (17 goals, 9 assists) and Brooklyn Moore (9 goals, 7 assists) to lead the way when the Raiders open regional play next Tuesday.

The Storm are the No. 7 seed in a top-heavy Glenbard West sectional that features top seed St. Charles East and No. 2 Wheaton Warrenville South.