Facebook App
One thing I love about the girls soccer season is right now - the weather. With the boys, it goes from good to bad. But with the girls, it goes from bad to good.
I'm just hoping the clear skies today brings some common sense to the parent from Payton, who basically said I don't support the Public League because we didn't cover the Public League tournament title game.
Here's a little history lesson - one of the main reasons why we used to cover that game all the time was because it gave the Public League an automatic berth to the IHSA tournament finals. But in the big picture now, it means no more than the Naperville Invite title game or Pepsi Showdown girls event at Toyota Park. And last Thursday, probably the biggest game was the battle between Fremd and Hersey for the MSL Cup.
For all the times I've stood up for the Public League when suburban coaches have asked why I'm covering it so much, why I allow them in the Pepsi Showdown, why I made them the lead story in the preseason girls preview in 2008 (a first for the Sun-Times and took a beating from editors on it) and why I go to bat for its lack of facilities when Public League coaches and parents call me and say they need help - it just annoys me there are clueless parents like this one out there running wild on the streets.
And now for some real news....
*I continue to receive emails from coaches and parents asking why I don't posts results here. Maybe in the fall I might. But right now, there is this thing called the newspaper and even an online version with the round up. Here's the link to today's round up: http://yourseason.suntimes.com/girls_soccer/1580070,051809-girls-soccer-roundup.article
*Did you know Glenbrook South forward Jannelle Flaws has 37 goals this season, bringing her career total to 101?
*Plainfield North is riding a 16-game winning streak, including a win over Naperville Central. It is currently 17-1 - its lone loss coming to Glenbard West - and is led by junior midfielder Stephanie Barr's 11 goals and 18 assists.
*Mark it down now - I'm expecting big things from this player next year - junior Katie Nasenbenny (right)...aka Lil' Benny. Lyons has struggled at times the past two years, but the talent is there for the Lions to be one of the top teams in the area in 2010. Lil' Benny will be one of the area's premier players.
*Preseason Player of the Year Leah Fortune - what else can you say about one of the greatest people to ever play high school soccer in Illinois? Well, how about this: "This girl is unbelievable," Wheaton Academy coach Scott Marksberry said. "Since her return from Brazil, we have gone 10-0-1. She has scored 22 goals this season, including two second-half goals (and one assist) against York, the game-winner over Wheaton South, two goals against Wheaton North and hat trick in a 3-0 victory over (then 19-2) St. Francis. She is flat out the most productive, most dangerous and hardest working player I have seen this year. Her season at Wheaton Academy appears to be every bit as important to her as playing in a World Cup for Brazil."
*She's only a sophomore, but Loyola's Carly Stevens hasn't played like one in goal. She owns a .50 goals-against average and recorded 15 shutouts. "What separates Carly from most goalies with comparable stats is the amount of shots she gets per game," Loyola coach Craig Snower said. "In our 14 games against quality opponents, she took more shots and handled more balls than the opposing goalkeeper (11 times estimate). In several of those games (St. Ignatius, Homewood-Flossmoor, Maine South, Lakes Forest), she was in the double-digit save range."
- Joe Trost
Cell Phone Alerts
Joe - What happened to the promised series of breakdowns of the 3A sectionals? Too many other interesting topics to get to everything? Or a recognition that the other sectionals hold no real drama? Congrats to Plainfield North on a great season, especially for a team that has only been in existence for 3 years! Having beaten Naperville Central (as well as Oswego East, Romeoville and Aurora West), can we assume they will roll through the Bolingbrook sectional? I agree that LT will rise again and predict they will win their regional this year (unless Morton or Reavis get hot!). I also agree that 37 goals is an amazing record no matter who they were scored against (5 goals vs. St. Viator, hat trick vs. Hononegah, etc.) What games will you be attending tonight, Joe??
Flaws also had 3 vs Maine south,2 vs H. F.and 6 other teams ,also scored vs N.T.,Barrington,V.H.,D.G.N. Looks like St. Viator shut out Prospect today so maybe Viator is not so bad.
If the CPS leauge parents want their programs to be taken seriously they have some work to do.
My son's club team has a player from a city school, this city team practices 2-3 times a week. How are they going to develop at that rate? How much talent is being wasted there?
Then there is the playing fields. These teams and players need space and time to bring their programs along. This will cost money. In a county with the highest tax rate in the country and an unbalanced budget they are going to have to get rid of the waste and bribery to fix these problems. These kids need and deserve some atrificial fields that will hold up through bad weather and the high volume of play.
These parents need to stand up to the "Powers That Be" and demand a full accounting and equal investment in their kids. Not an easy task and not one that will be done in a single generation of city soccer players.
Speaking of quality of fields, who decides which schools get to host regionals? The field at Plainfield North was so bad they did not even play some of their home games there. The Downers South field is always in terrible shape and the Hinsdale Central field is not even full size. It also seems like the same schools host every year but that may just be a misperception. Go St. Viator!!
Michael,
Schools submit requests to the IHSA to host playoff rounds. The IHSA then makes a decision based on the requests received.