Top offensive standouts from the Illinois state series

<strong>F Gina Catanzaro, Triad, Sr.</strong> Catanzaro would be the difference-maker for Triad. Her ball control was top-notch and she was so dangerous in space. When trailing Fenwick 1-0, Catanzaro took over. She made a move to create space and took a shot from the right side that went over the keeper to tie the game. In the championship, she came through again while playing on the opposite side of the field. Catanzaro buried a beautiful goal that curled right into the upper-right corner. This helped the Knights repeat as state champions. <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">F [player_tooltip player_id="33353" first="Piper" last="Lucier"], Barrington, Fr.</strong> She only had one assist last week, but she was electric. She might have been the fastest player on the field. Her only point came off a corner kick, where she volleyed the ball to a teammate near the goal for a header. Lucier is only a freshman, but she was the best offensive player in the 0-0 state championship game. I saw her create so many chances with the ball to score. Her speed up the field was extraordinary. I hadn’t seen a player move up the field so quickly as Lucier did. <strong>M Brooke </strong><b>Brown, Barrington, Jr.</b> [player_tooltip player_id="22081" first="Brooke" last="Brown"] controlled the semifinal against Evanston. She contributed to both goals in that game. The cross leading to Lucifer’s assist was followed by a strike off her corner kick that was buried into the back of the net. She had a really good chance to score that game as her knuckleball free-kick hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced out. Against Metea, she did a great job changing direction with the ball. <strong>F [player_tooltip player_id="22221" first="Tyra" last="King"], Metea Valley, Jr.</strong> King was dominant all season. Her contributions in the state series were crucial to winning another title. She burst free on a counterattack in the semifinal to assist Lucy Burk for the opening goal. A short time later, Burk assisted her for a strike to double the advantage. Despite not scoring, King had a really good chance in OT of the championship. Her shot hit the crossbar. <strong>M Jordan Lange, Metea Valley, Jr.</strong> Lange did not register a point, but she was so good with the ball. She showed off some really impressive step-overs that threw off defenders and made excellent runs into the midfield. She was excellent on defense too with a few tackles. I saw Lange do a little bit of everything this weekend. <strong>F Emily Fox, Deerfield, So.</strong> <span style="font-size: 1rem;">The </span>sophomore<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> picked up two goals in the semifinal over Benet. The first came off a corner kick which she </span>buried<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> into the net. </span>This<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> tied the game in the first half. With a few mins to go in that half, she scored another off a beautiful strike from about 20-25 </span>yards away. This gave Deerfield a 2-1 advantage <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">F Anna Casmere, Benet, Jr.</strong> When Fox and Deerfield stormed ahead, Anna Casmere came through. She scored around the 60th minute from the middle of the field to equalize the game. In the 72nd minute, she made a great run on the right side and chipped the ball over the goalie to give Benet a 3-2 advantage. Coming off the bench, she made two of Benet’s biggest plays. <strong>M Holly Deutsch, Deerfield, Sr.</strong> Deutsch was one of the leaders in assists this season. Her playmaking abilities were crucial to Deerfield’s performances this week. She connected with Fox to equalize the game. She then made another pass to Fox to give them a brief lead. Almost all of her crosses and long passes were right on the money.