Illinois girls soccer first-round playoff standouts

Here are a few standouts from the 2A and 3A regionals, and 1A sectionals. <strong>F [player_tooltip player_id="33353" first="Piper" last="Lucier"], Barrington, Fr.</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="33353" first="Piper" last="Lucier"] leads a terrific class of young superstars in Illinois girls soccer. She’s made a huge impact for the Fillies this season as soon as she arrived. She saw limited action in the regional semifinal against Rockford Auburn, as the Fillies cruised to a 10-0 win. In the regional final, she produced a goal and two assists as Barrington took down McHenry 3-0. <strong>F Selma Larbi, Neuqua Valley, Fr.</strong> Neuqua Valley entered the the playoffs as the No. 9 seed in their loaded 3A sectional. But that didn’t stop freshman Selma Larbi and the Wildcats from taking two huge upset wins. On Tuesday, Neuqua Valley Cruised past the No. 8 seed Plainfield East 8-0. Larbi got a goal that game. But Friday’s upset win over No. 1 Naperville Central was a coming-out party for her. In the opening seconds, she scored a terrific left-footed shot that went off the post into the top left corner. She responded a short time later with a ball lobbed over the keeper’s head for a 2-0 lead. An assist for the team’s third goal secured a terrific 3-1 upset win over one of the states top programs and a regional title. <strong>F Grace Williams, St. Charles East, Jr.</strong> This is a player who’s produced at a high level all season. She made some spectacular plays in the opening round with two goals and two assists to defeat West Chicago 8-0. In the regional final, she also came away with a goal and an assist to beat Wheaton North 4-0. Williams has made a tremendous impact for the saints since she transferred from Neuqua Valley last summer. <strong>F [player_tooltip player_id="22153" first="Lily" last="Spotak"], Fremd, Sr.</strong> Fremd has gone under-the-radar all season. After a state runner-up finish for the boys team in the fall, it was going to take a few upsets for the girls to make a run. A 10-1 rout over Waukeagan was the right start. Spotak scored four goals and dished out two assists in a terrific all-around effort. In the regional final, the Vikings had to face five Division I commits with Warren. The game was neck-and-neck heading into a penalty shootout. Spotak buried one of the goals in the shootout. A stop by their keeper secured a 5-4 upset win in the shootout. <strong>M Ellie Egeland, Stevenson, So.</strong> Egeland made some terrific plays for her teammates in this weeks opening round action. The Patriots opened the playoffs with a 3-0 win over Buffalo Grove. Egeland, who primarily plays on the left, made a nice assist off a through ball to an open teammate in the box. Her second assist came off a well-placed corner. On Friday, she made a terrific throw-in assist to [player_tooltip player_id="22103" first="Ella" last="Hong"] to beat Hersey 3-0. She’s shown that she can be one of the most productive playmakers in her class. <strong>M [player_tooltip player_id="22095" first="Dakota" last="Lyons"], Libertyville, Sr.</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="22095" first="Dakota" last="Lyons"] surprisingly leads the Wildcats in scoring this season, after a 3-goal performance to take down Palatine 8-0. It wasn’t the same scoring for either team in the regional championship against Prospect. In fact, it was 0-0 heading into a penalty shootout. The shootout went eight rounds as Lyons buried one of the PKs to keep her team alive in the playoffs. <strong>F Molly Pistorius, Maine South, Sr.</strong> She’s had a sensational season with the Redhawks and continued that during the opening week of the playoffs. Against Taft, she scored five goals. Despite not scoring in the regional final against Lane, she created lots of scoring chances for herself and her teammates. Her five goals in the opening round put her goal-scoring total at 42 this season. That’s one of the best in program history. <strong>M Holly Deutsch, Deerfield, Sr.</strong> It seems like Deerfield has gotten on the right track after a couple tough weeks. Holly Deutsch was the player who stood out most from their opening round of games. Against CICS Northtown, she picked up two assists as the Warriors picked up a big win. In the regional final. She scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Grayslake Central. <strong>GK Anna Brewer, Alton Marquette, So.</strong> She had an outstanding week for the Lady Crusaders in the 1A sectional playoffs. Brewer made three crucial saves in the sectional semifinal against Freeburg, as Marquette held on for a 2-1 victory. But her performance against Columbia was something else. With their backs against the wall in a PK shootout, she came through with some huge stops to save their season. Brewer made a total of six games that game.