Girls soccer notes: York, senior-laden and multi-talented, off to 5-0 start

York’s got a lot of good things going on.

The Dukes have a veteran presence with 12 seniors. They have a talented bunch of multi-sport athletes, including seven basketball players. Freshman Cate Carter, sophomore Maggie Quinn and seniors Mia Barton, Stella Kohl, Hannah Meyers, Mia Pretzie and Michaela Quinn recently went from shooting the ball to kicking and heading it.

They have girls who are champions who also bring a unique family vibe to the team. Sisters Maggie and Michaela Quinn are highly regarded distance runners. They helped the girls cross country team win a state title last fall. Michaela Quinn also helped the Dukes win the title in 2021.

And York has welcomed two really, really good players for their final high school seasons – senior forward Sophia Musial (DePaul) and senior midfielder Kohl (Loyola).

The Dukes are coming off an impressive 15-4-2 season in 2023 in which they won a regional title.

Now they head into April with a 5-0 record and not having surrendered a goal this season. No one has scored on the Dukes since May 23, 2023.

“We’re just building off of the good foundation we had and we have a lot of returners including two captains [Michaela Quinn and fellow senior Ava Hansmann] who are four-year starters,” York coach Stevan Dobric said. “We have 12 seniors on the varsity and Stella and Sophia hadn’t played [at York] before but are nice additions, seniors who have fit in well and are friends with the girls already. They bring a lot offensively and they work.”

Many of York’s players are accustomed to working with one another on the basketball court, something Dobric has watched carry over to the soccer pitch.

“Having a good, big group of girls playing varsity basketball kind of just makes for a smooth transition for the girls,” he said. “They are together a lot and have good chemistry. We do a lot of preseason workouts for the girls to get to know each other in open gyms and just continuing to build that camaraderie for the program, which has been helpful.”

The Dukes blanked Downers Grove South 3-0 on March 21 and are off until they travel to Downers Grove North on April 2.

“We’re pretty comparable to other schools in the conference,” Dobric said. “In the past we’ve done some tournaments [during spring break], but I don’t like fighting the battle over break so we give them a couple days off and then we’ll practice on Thursday to prep for Tuesday.”

Meyers leads the Dukes with seven goals. She also has four assists. Michaela Quinn has six goals and six assists, Musial has five goals and six assists. Sophomore midfielder Tatum Mailander has two goals and four assists.

Lyons roaring

In its 4-0 start to the season, Lyons hasn’t allowed a goal.

Offensively, nine Lyons players have scored.

“So far, the chemistry on and off the field has been great,” Lyons coach Bill Lanspeary said. “We’re getting a lot of contributions offensively and our back line has been fantastic.”

Junior Caroline Mortonson leads the team with five goals. Sophomore Zibby Michaelson has four goals. Seniors Josie Pochocki and Peyton Israel and junior Estelle Giustini each have scored twice. Junior Claire Parkill and seniors Caroline McKenna, Leahla Frazier and Izzy Lebar also have scored. Mortonson, Pochocki and Israel each have three assists.

Lyons is enjoying an extended spring break. After beating Geneva 3-0 March 19, the Lions don’t return to action until Saturday when they travel to Frankfort to take on Lincoln-Way East.

“We’ve typically been giving the kids and their families the Friday (March 22) when spring break starts off through the next Thursday (March 28) when we’ll come back and practice to get ready for Saturday,” Lanspeary said. “It’s a nice little break for the kids and their families and then we’ll get right back into it. These kids play soccer year round so having four or five days off is not necessarily a bad thing.”

Bohmer’s back to stop the attack

Boys and girls basketball teams open their seasons with tournaments around Thanksgiving and it’s not uncommon for some boys teams to be undermanned. That’s because some of their top athletes are still pursuing a state title in football or they’re recovering from football before starting basketball.

The same thing happens in the spring when girls multi-sport athletes transition from basketball’s hardwood court to turf and natural surfaces outdoors and the unpredictability of Mother Nature.

One such athlete is Wheaton North senior goalkeeper Zoey Bohmer, who didn’t play in the Falcons’ first three games. She returned March 19 when the Falcons beat Benet 2-1.

Bohmer, who posted 12 shutouts last spring and has committed to play at Loyola next season, is a key reason why the Falcons have big expectations this season. With her as the last line of defense and sophomore Jane Rogers giving opposing defenses all they can handle with her prolific play, the Falcons are looking to soar.

Rogers scored twice and had an assist and Talia Kaempf earned a hat trick in the Falcons’ 5-1 win over Rockford Boylan on March 23. The win improved their record to 4-1.

Last season the Falcons were 2-2-1 through their first five games, including a 2-1 loss to Rockford Boylan.

Rogers, Kaempf and senior midfielder Addison Falco were named to the all-tournament team at this year’s Wheaton North Kickoff Tournament.

Benet senior midfielder Rani Fikri and sophomore midfielder Annie Fitzgerald also were named to the all-tournament team. The Redwings tied for third with Glenbard West.

Glenbard West senior defenders Ellie Beaudoin and Audrey Sawyer also received all-tournament accolades.

Diedrich continues to soar and score

Asked about key newcomers joining the team this spring, Hinsdale South coach Jennifer Belmonte said freshman Brynn Diedrich would be fast and able to score goals immediately.

Through four games, Diedrich, who helped the girls basketball team advance to state for the first time since “Saturday Night Fever” hit theaters in 1977, has caught goal-scoring fever with eight goals already along with four assists. The Hornets are 2-2.