Girls soccer notes: A look into how each Kane County Chronicle team stands heading into postseason play

The postseason is right around the corner. Here’s how the Kane County Chronicle coverage area teams stand heading into the regional semifinals.

(2) St. Charles North (12-2-5) vs. (16) Willowbrook (2-10-3) or (18) Dekalb (2-16-2)

After making it all the way to the supersectional round last season, the North Stars, seeded No. 2 in the Class 3A South Elgin Sectional, look primed for another deep run into the playoffs, even with a difficult regional and sectional.

North fell short of its quest of winning its third straight DuKane Conference title by one game, but it has been anything but a down year for coach Brian Harks’ team. The North Stars started the season with 10 straight games without a loss, and are entering postseason play with another six-game unbeaten streak, with five of those being wins.

The North Stars are mostly led by their seniors on the offensive side of the ball. Laney Stark is the main catalyst of the offense for the season, with the Wisconsin-Green Bay commit finding the back of the net 14 times on the season, while also assisting on 10 more, both team highs. Kayla Floyd and Juliana Park are also essential to the team’s success, with both netting 10 goals on the season.

The goals were more than enough for sophomore goalie Lauren Korioth. The sophomore ended the season with 43 saves in net as the team’s main goalie, while also maintaining a goal allowed average of less than one (18 goals in 19 games).

Harks said that while the regional and sectional will be tough in their quest to return to the supersectional, he hopes that the North Stars can stay focused on playing their best, while also having fun along the way.

“Our girls have challenged themselves all season long,” Harks said via e-mail. “We have learned from successes and failures, and now we are excited to get out and play in the postseason.”

(3) St. Charles East (14-4-6) vs. (15) Larkin (2-17-1)

The Saints’ season can only be described in one way: a rollercoaster. After going through a 12-game unbeaten streak, which saw them going 10-0-2, the Saints enter the playoffs having only won two of their last eight games, going 2-3-3 during the stretch.

Leading the way offensively is a duo of both young and old talent. Freshman Sophia Wollenberg has bursted onto the scene in her first high school season, scoring 14 goals on the season while also leading the team in assists with 15, which Saints’ coach Vince Dinuzzo said is the best mark in the state for the freshman class. On the other side, senior Alli Saviano has been the leader among the young attackers. The Southeastern Missouri commit also scored 14 goals on the year while adding 11 assists in her final high school season.

But the main story on the Saints has been their ability to keep the ball out of the net. The Saints only allowed 13 goals all season, and only let two balls into the net during conference play, which was the lowest mark across all DuKane teams. This was thanks in part by a strong backline, led by senior Mackenzie Loomis, along with some stellar play by junior goalie Sidney Lazenby. Lazenby finished the season allowing only nine goals in 18 games, while recording 12.5 shutouts during the season, which Dinuzzo said led all juniors in Illinois.

DiNuzzo said that each game will provide a different challenge for his relatively young program and that the Saints need to capitalize on early opportunities, while continuing to keep the ball out of the net to make it far in the tournament.

“Most of our starting 11 will be starting their first playoff games and we need to make sure the moment is not too big for us,” DiNuzzo said. “Maximizing our effort and focus will be important for us to reach our goals.”

(5) Geneva (11-7-2) vs. (11) Glenbard East (8-5-6)

After winning a regional championship last year, the Vikings are hoping that their 10 seniors can provide the postseason experience needed in order to repeat and go further into the playoffs.

Geneva finished its season playing the top three seeds of the sectional, with the Vikings losing to Wheaton North on Tuesday (1-0) and St. Charles North on Thursday (2-1), while picking up a draw against St. Charles East on May 2 (0-0).

But Geneva has found its groove in the latter half of the season, with the team going on a seven-match unbeaten streak heading into its match against Wheaton North. Audrey Stredde has provided ample offense for the Vikings from the wing position, with seniors Caroline Madden and Evyn Schokora also proving to be part of the team’s top offensive players on the season.

On defense, two college-bound players in Lilly Coats (Marquette) and Leyna Yonehara (Illinois Institute of Technology) have provided ample support to the back line after helping limit conference opponents to six goals on the season, while also proving to be scoring threats from far outside the box.

Geneva coach Megan Owens said that the team has been playing quite well against the tough competition that they’ve faced as of late, and hopes to build on its regular season success in the postseason.

“We have been inconsistent at times this season, yet we have grown a lot as a team over the course of the season,” Owens said via e-mail. “We have the potential to make a deep run if we show up, play hard, stay focused, execute the game plan and play for each other.”

(7) Batavia (7-9-2) vs. (10) West Chicago (11-6-2)

The Bulldogs’ 2024 season has seen a plethora of injuries and a tough regular season schedule. But with the postseason coming ever closer, coach Mark Gianfrancesco feels confident about his team’s chances of getting through the regionals stage.

The Bulldogs have already faced the Wildcats on April 13, with Batavia pulling out a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from junior Natalie Warner and senior Addison Lowe. Batavia went on to only win one of its final seven games of the season, while West Chicago took seven of its last nine matches.

The Bulldogs’ offense has the potential to make some noise throughout the postseason. Senior Abby Edwards has been the leader on the offense so far this year, with supporting members like Warner, Lowe and sophomore Emma Wecker also providing fire power on the frontline.

The main thing to watch for Batavia is how healthy the team will be when the postseason gets rolling. Gianfrancesco said that with the adversity that the team faced, plus the challenging schedule, it should help the Bulldogs, at full strength or not, pull its way through the playoffs.

“We are looking to build through the postseason by utilizing our experiences throughout the regular season to hopefully have success,” Gianfrancesco said. “These two pieces should help us navigate a tough regional with West Chicago and St. Charles North.”

(1) Burlington Central (10-8-2) vs. (9) Hinckley - Big Rock (2-9-1)

After an 0-5-1 start to the season, the Rockets managed to pull their young squad together to take the top seed in the Belvidere Sectional thanks to winning 10 of their final 14 games on their way to a third-place finish in the Fox Valley Conference.

Part of that big turnaround came from the Rockets finding the net with consistency. After only scoring four goals in its first six games, Central found the net 51 times down the stretch. Leading the offensive explosion was sophomore Mekenzie Rogers, who lead the Rockets with 25 goals and seven assists on the season.

The other key part of the Rockets’ resurgence has to do with the play in net from sophomore McKenzie Lorkowski. The goalkeeper only allowed 11 goals in the 14-game span and finished the season with eight shutouts.

Central coach Jessica Arneson said that while the team is still young, she feels that the team has stepped up recently, and can see them going even further into the playoffs.

“We have really jelled and found our groove the last few games and I can see this team winning a regional,” Arneson said via e-mail. “They have a lot more in them than that, so I have high expectations.”

(2) Kaneland (12-7) vs. (6) Illinois Math and Science Academy (3-7-1) or (7) Harvard (8-11-2)

After just missing out on a perfect Interstate 8 record, the Knights are looking to repeat as regional champions once again after a strong regular season.

Leading the charge for Kaneland is the offensive triple threat of senior Jade Schrader and the sophomore duo of Erin Doucette and Kyra Lilly. Schrader led the team with 17 goals and 11 assists, while Lilly (11 goals, seven assists) and Doucette (10 goals, 3 assists), providing the Knights with ample ways to find the back of the net.

Kaneland’s only hinderance heading into the regional semifinals is the health of their players. Junior goalkeeper Natalie Myers is the only Knight to have played in all 19 games this season, with Schrader and Lilly being the only other players to appear in double-digit games with 13. Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said while the injury bug may be a problem, his team still feels confident that they can make it to the sectional round of the playoffs.

“Anything after that is a wonderful addition to a great season and for a group of girls who have worked very hard this season and they deserve as much success as possible,” Parillo said.

(7) Rosary (0-12) vs. (2) Oregon (16-1)

The Royals have faced their fair share of tough opponents during the regular season, and their opponent in the Class 1A regional semifinal will be no different.

Rosary finished the season only scoring two goals on the season, with the Royals scoring in both games of a doubleheader back on April 13 against Genoa-Kingston and Pecatonica. Defensively, the Royals struggles continued, with them allowing 86 goals in their 12 games. And with the Hawks coming into the matchup scoring 93 goals on their way to a second-place finish in the Big Northern Conference, the Royals will need all the help they can get to try and pull off the upset.