Previewing the Illinois State Sectionals

The playoffs are here for girls soccer. The 1A playoffs have already begun and the sectional semifinals will begin Tuesday. 2A and 3A regional action will also start Tuesday. The four regional winners will face off in the sectionals next week. Here’s a preview of some notable sectionals to watch.   Private Schools are all Favorites in 1A In 1A, It’s almost always the private schools who are the favorites to win. That’s surely the case again this season. Defending 1A champs Alton Marquette are heavy favorites in the Roxana Sectional. Marquette is led by freshman sensation Marissa Morris (31 goals), and senior Regan Moody (20 assists). Quincy Notre Dame has only one in-state loss this season, and are also favorites to win their own sectional. Notre Dame and Althoff would set up for a potentially tremendous 1A super-sectional. Meanwhile, IC Catholic, Timothy Christian, Rockford Christian, and U-High will be sectional favorites up north. Look out for DePaul Prep, Montini Catholic, and others to potentially surprise people too.   Notable 2A Sectional Predictions (Host Underlined): Fenwick: Payton, Westinghouse, Fenwick, and Elmwood Park are the ones to watch. As hosts, Fenwick can make a splash, led by the Henige sisters up top. Payton finished 3rd in the Public League and are the top seed. THE PICK: Fenwick over Payton. Kankakee: De La Salle are the favorites here. Led by sophomore Mia Ortega with 21 goals and 7 assists this season. The Meteors have found a tremendous amount of success the past few seasons and are due for a sectional crown. THE PICK: De La Salle over Marist. Triad: Triad and Waterloo seem to be on a collision course to meet in the sectional final. But anything can happen. Triad’s only loss this season came on the road at Waterloo, who’s led by a 32-goal scorer in Payton Richter. But this time, Triad would be at home. THE PICK: Triad over Waterloo. Wheaton Academy: Benet is the team I like most. A very experienced group led by Mariana Pinto, Katie Lewellyan, [player_tooltip player_id="22193" first="Reese" last="MacDonald"], and keeper [player_tooltip player_id="41725" first="Shannon" last="Clark"] are poised for a deep 2A run. THE PICK: Benet over Nazareth. Wauconda: This will be the most intriguing sectional. Deerfield is the top seed, but is coming off two tough losses. Deerfield also lost to St. Viator, the #2 seed, earlier this season. Carmel, the #3 seed, recently beat St. Viator 5-3. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="44755" first="Anna" last="Hartman"] is one to watch for the Corsairs with 12 goals and 20 assists this season. Vernon Hills and Lake Forest are also capable of making playoff runs in this sectional. THE PICK: Carmel over Deerfield.   3A Sectional Predictions (Host Underlined): Round Lake: Barrington is the heavy favorite here. The team is led by a dynamic freshman winger in [player_tooltip player_id="33353" first="Piper" last="Lucier"], Cornell commit [player_tooltip player_id="22081" first="Brooke" last="Brown"], forward Riley Raynor, and defender [player_tooltip player_id="42378" first="Kate" last="Lubinsky"]. Lake Zurich is the #2 seed. The team is led by a 6’0" forward in Kaylie Piggot. Dundee-Crown can also make some noise, led by 26-goal scorer [player_tooltip player_id="22075" first="Berkley" last="Mensik"]. THE PICK: Barrington over Dundee-Crown. St. Charles East: The two teams from St. Charles are the top seeds in this sectional. Led by an all-around midfielder in Michigan St. commit [player_tooltip player_id="22127" first="Isabella" last="Najera"], St. Charles North has defeated every team seeded 2-5 in this sectional. St. Charles East played in two tough losses against the North Stars this season, and are rightfully the #2 seed. Batavia, Wheaton North, Wheaton-Warrenville South, Geneva, and a few others are capable of surprising people too. But the third time will be charm for St. Charles East. THE PICK: St. Charles East over St. Charles North. Warren: The top four schools in this sectional are loaded with high-end talent. Glenbrook North, the top seed, with only one bad game on their resume. Warren, the #4 seed and sectional hosts, tied to the #2 and #3 seeds Libertyville and Stevenson this year. All four programs have high-profile players that are capable of leading their teams downstate. Having done this before, I really like Libertyville’s chances. This might be the most difficult sectional to pick. THE PICK: Libertyville over Warren. New Trier: I can’t recall the last time when New Trier wasn’t the heaviest contender. This year, it’s Evanston’s turn to be the top seed. Sophomore Jocelyn Leigh might be the best breakout star this season for the Wildkits. In addition to Leigh, Evanston has 14 seniors on their roster who all have plenty of experience. This is easily the deepest sectional. A sleeper team to watch is Lane Tech, the CPS powers just won their ninth straight city championship and are on a nine-game winning streak. I really like their chances of making a run. But I think Evanston will be too much to handle. THE PICK: Evanston over Lane Tech. Glenbard West: Lyons should have no problem advancing out of this region. Lion GK Izzy Lee, an Illinois commit, is arguably the states top goalkeeper. Air Force commit Eleanor Musgrove and Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="22089" first="Caroline" last="Mortonson"] will lead their attack. Their only loss this season came in a 1-0 thriller to Naperville North. Glenbard West, fresh off a boys basketball state title, will certainly have their work cut out for them as a #2 seed. Downers Grove North, the #3 seed, will surely give them a battle. THE PICK: Lyons over Downers Grove North. Sandburg: The south suburban area might as well be overlooked. Sandburg, the defending champions in this sectional, are the hosts. But Lincoln-Way Central are the top seed with only one loss. They got crushed by LWC last month. THE PICK: Lincoln-Way Central over Sandburg Naperville Central: The seedings in this sectional are why I think state playoff pairings come out way too early. Metea Valley, the #4 seed, has won every game in-state this season, including wins over the top two seeds in Naperville Central and North. The junior duo of Jordan Lange and [player_tooltip player_id="22221" first="Tyra" last="King"] has been unstoppable all season. Plainfield North has been one of the hottest programs recently, and are the #5 seed. A potential Plainfield North-Metea valley regional final will be the one to watch on Friday night. Oswego East can also make a run as the #3 seed. The Wolfpack are led by three double-digit scorers in sophomores Anya Gulbrandsen, Rile Gumm, and junior Erika Smiley. Their only losses came to Lyons and Naperville Central. Northwestern Commit [player_tooltip player_id="22050" first="Megan" last="Norkett"] is arguably the top Midfield prospect in Illinois for her class 2023. Her and GK Abby O’Connor will be the names to watch for Naperville Central. This is the final tournament for coach Ed Watson after 30 years as the Redhawks coach. Naperville North has been here before, a strong defense led by Lucy Iverson, Abby Haskell, and Norah Barry will create problems for opposing attackers. Olivia Anderson will look to do the same up top for opposing defenders. Anything is possible in this sectional. But the best team right now is Metea Valley. THE PICK: Metea Valley over Naperville North. Normal: The defending 3A champs O’Fallon are the team to beat. [player_tooltip player_id="32977" first="Avery" last="Christopher"] is surely the favorite to win Player of the Year in Illinois, with 36 goals and 10 assists to her name. Sophomore Becca Koenig is a terrific two-way star who has 17 goals and 12 assists. Moline, led by senior F [player_tooltip player_id="30375" first="Caroline" last="Hazen"], will look to create problems for O’Fallon. Normal Community, the sectional hosts, can also make a run. THE PICK: O’Fallon over Moline.