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Some of the saddest news to begin the season was word spreading that Wheaton North junior Jane Rogers would likely miss the season with a knee injury.
Rogers, the 2024 Suburban Life Girls Soccer Player of the Year, had 30 goals and 21 assists a year ago. Last year the Falcons were held scoreless once. They’ve already been blanked twice this season.
Wheaton North coach Tim McEvilly is hopeful that a mix of proven talent along with some newcomers will be able to collaborate for a scoring-by-committee approach without the irreplaceable Rogers.
Forward Talia Kaempf (23 goals, 14 assists last), midfielder Grace Kuczaj (five goals, four assists) and defender Calah Strong (nine assists, three goals) are back while senior Olivia Smith and freshman Ellie Whittington are a pair of newcomers that will look to contribute to the offense.
“I think those additions, in addition to Talia (Kaempf) and Calah (Strong) and Grace (Kuczaj), still gives us a punch,” McEvilly said. “We just kind of changed the way we’re playing with the formation and what we’re expecting out of the kids so they are still trying to figure it all out.”
Wheaton North (1-3-1) beat Glenbard South 3-0 to open the season, dropped games against Glenbard West, Benet and Metea Valley before tying Rockford Boylan, 1-1, on March 29.
Kuczaj and Strong were among the Falcons named to the Wheaton North Kickoff All-Tournament Team.
Other area notables recognized on the team included Benet’s Ashley Polanco, Chloe Sentman and Ivana Lukas and Glenbard West’s Hana Allen and Julia Benjamin.
After playing five times in 11 days, the Falcons won’t take the field again until they travel to St. Charles North on April 10 to begin play in the DuKane Conference.
St. Francis rolls through first tourney test
After a humbling 7-0 loss against one of the top teams in the state in Naperville Central to open the season, St. Francis has rattled off four straight victories while outscoring opponents, 21-2, to improve to 4-1.
The Spartans have some time off before beginning conference play, hosting Fenwick on April 8.
“I was pretty happy (with the start),” Spartans coach Jim Winslow said. “I think we can be ever better. We’ve tried some different things. It was a different kind of preseason. We did slightly different conditioning. A lot of these schools are going four or five days a week training which I’ve never been a big believer in. Your better kids are already training three or four days a week now so you don’t want to kill them fitness-wise. And we added a bunch more games before spring break than usual.”
Last year the Spartans didn’t play their fifth game until April 6.
Shorter and more intense training has proven to be beneficial, certainly showing in the early results as the Spartans won the Glenbard South tournament.
“I think the kids have enjoyed it more; I’ve enjoyed it more,” Winslow said. “I just think it’s paid off in how we’re playing overall. I kind of feel we’ve gotten on the same page a little quicker. Still a work in progress. The tough part for us is going into the thick of conference, and conference is pretty darn good. It’s also probably the smallest roster I’ve had since being here so that’s a big difference, too.”
Junior midfielder Maicie Schweimer had three goals and an assist to lead the Spartans to an 8-1 victory over Lake Park last Thursday to secure the tournament title.
“It’s not surprising that Maicie has gotten off to a good start,” Winslow said. “She didn’t play freshman year coming off an ACL. So in her head and my head, she’s only a sophomore because she only played one season for us. She had a solid season last year and will probably tell you she should’ve been even better in the sense of being more consistent. Part of that is human maturation and then coming back from an ACL you never know. Every kid is different in how they treat it and come back. She is on a tear right now.”
Caroline Kiesler, Ashley Klein and Molly Marks also are making an impact in the midfield.
“Kiesler started as a freshman and has gotten even better and then Molly Marks who had varsity (time) last year, but improved a ton,” Winslow said. “Those three have been our stalwarts. Ashley Klein missed all of last year. She played some during the fall but missed six months and started playing again in November.”
Benet battles against the best
Benet (2-2-1) hasn’t got the same result in consecutive games yet this season.
The Redwings opened the season with an 8-1 rout of Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, dropped a 3-0 game at Metea Valley two days later, beat Wheaton North 2-0 a couple days after that before settling for a scoreless tie against Glenbard West last Tuesday. Most recently they dropped a 2-0 game to Naperville Central.
“I think the biggest questions of the season were in the back and in goal because of primarily who we lost last year,” Redwings coach Gerard Oconer said. “But I think especially with the Naperville Central game we answered a lot of questions, really solidifying what we’re doing back there. We lost 2-0 that game but it was 0-0 at halftime and 1-0 until that last eight minutes against an offensive juggernaut in Naperville Central.”
The Redwings returned 14 players from a program that won the East Suburban Catholic Conference and was the runner-up in the Naperville Invitational a season ago, but lost some key contributors who graduated, including Kate Grubish and Bailey Abbott who were named Goalkeeper of the Year and Defender of the Year respectively.
Keira Petrucelli, who will play collegiately at John Hopkins University, is injured and won’t play this spring while fellow senior Johnna Caliendo also has been fighting through a mix of injuries that have kept her sidelined.
Thankfully the Redwings welcomed freshmen Ashley Polanco, Keira Stone and Sahana Raja and sophomore Sophia Duncan.
Polanco scored four goals in her debut against Wheaton Academy to spark the offense while Duncan is seizing the opportunity to be a lockdown defender.
Duncan impressed Oconer with how she defended Naperville Central senior Callie Tumility, an Ohio State recruit.
“Callie got loose one time and fouled in the box on another by other defenders,” he said. “Considering the circumstances, she did great. She’s one of those players who goes about her business. She’s really effective, calm and composed and not just defending but also with the ball.”
Junior Ivana Vukas and Polanco have carried the offense thus far, scoring 70% of the team’s 10 goals.
“And (senior) Chloe Sentman has been so crucial for us,” Oconer said. “She’s converted from outside back to defensive midfielder since (sophomore) Megan Bergman decided not to play.”
The Redwings begin conference play on April 5 at home against Nazareth.
The Roadrunners earned victories over Hinsdale South (1-0) and Rosary (9-0) before losing to Providence Catholic (3-1). They’re scheduled to face St. Viator and Aurora Central this week before traveling to Lisle on Saturday.