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THE BUGLE JUNE 12, 2014
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NICHOLE LOPATIN When Niles West scoring leader Vicki Tirovolas suffered a seasonending torn ACL, coach Brett Clish was looking for someone to pick up the slack.
The sophomore forward filled the void and then some, setting single-season school records for most goals (19) and most points (46). “She was the catalyst when Vicki went out with her torn ACL,” Clish said. “Nichole really turned it on this year as a sophomore and scored all those goals for us.”
GIANNA MARCONI Marconi, a Colorado State
Sports r e c r u i t , finished the season with 21 goals and 18 assists, l e a d i n g Downers North to the regional championship game. “She was a senior captain that led the team both on and off the field,” Downers North coach Bob Calder said. “Gianna understood that she would need to score for the team this year, and successfully did just that. She will be dearly missed next year by our team; Colorado State is getting an outstanding individual.”
MICHELLE MOREFIELD Benet’s team leader, Morefield
finished the season with 11 goals and 17 assists. “Michelle is a four-year varsity soccer player who is the heart and soul of our team, leading us in both goals and assists this season,” Gros said. “She demonstrates exceptional leadership on and off of the field as one of our captains and is the type of player that makes everybody around her better. As our center midfielder, Michelle sets up the timing of our offense with her passing, decision, making, and ability to hold possession of the ball. She has the skill and the vision to set up numerous scoring opportunities for her teammates. In addition, she strikes the ball extremely well, allowing her to shoot
from distance and consistently provide accurate and driven services from corner kicks and free kicks.”
EMILY O’GRADY M a i n e South coach J.J. Crawford jokingly calls O ’ G ra dy “ s p i d e r w o m a n ” because he says, “She just makes saves that most keepers, male or female, can’t make, but she can and that’s just a testament to her.” Another testament to O’Grady’s outstanding play her senior year—she notched seven shutouts and 154 saves—is that she was named all-state by the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association this season. The senior will be playing collegiately at Iowa State.
BROOKE POLONUS Polonus helped lead Plainfield North to a sixth straight SPC title, finishing with five goals and four assists as a defender. “Brooke is the anchor of our defense,” Crowe said. “She has played almost every minute this season, and is the leader in the back. She is outstanding at winning balls in the air, and disrupts the opposing team’s attack. Brooke is also very good at keeping forwards from turning and facing the goal. She has been a big part of our 11 shutouts this season. She has also scored five goals this year off of restarts.”
KELSEY PRUETT The senior forward from Plainfield South tallied 14 goals and six assists. She is headed to SIUEdwardsville next year. “Kelsey has been the top offensive player for PSHS the last few seasons,” Plainfield South coach Dave Brown said. “She is a tenacious player with great quickness, vision and ability. Kelsey is a four-year SPC All-Conference performer, two>> see ALL-AREA | page 16