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No. 1 Sycamore Spartans
Record: 13-3-1 overall, 8-1 Interstate 8
Remaining schedule: Wednesday at Morris, Thursday vs. Winnebago, Saturday at DeKalb, May 12 at Streamwood, May 15 vs. Dixon
First postseason game: May 20 vs. No. 6 Harvard in Class 2A Sycamore Regional, 4:30 p.m.
After that: The winner gets Woodstock North or Burlington Central at 4:30 p.m. on May 23 for the regional title. The Spartans could potentially play Kaneland in the Class 2A Belvidere Sectional final.
Worth noting: Kortni Kruizenga and Izzy Segreti lead the team with 13 goals each, while Segreti has 12 assists to lead the team. Brooke Cutlip, a senior transfer from Ohio, has 11 shutouts this year. A win over Morris guarantees the Spartans a share of the Interstate 8 Conference title.
No. 2 Kaneland Knights
Record: 14-5-1, 8-1 Interstate 8
Remaining schedule: May 7 vs. La Salle Peru, May 8 vs. IC Central Prep, May 10 vs. Batavia
First postseason game: May 20 vs. No. 8 IMSA or No. 9 Hinckley-Big Rock in the Class 2A Kaneland Regional.
After that: The winner gets either Woodstock or Plano. Should the Knights make the sectional round, potentially they’ll face No. 1 Boylan in a semifinal and possibly Sycamore for the title.
Worth noting: The Knights lost three games in two days at a high-level tournament in Iowa. That snapped a six-game winning streak and a nine-game unbeaten streak. They can clinch at least a tie with Sycamore for the I-8 title with a win over La-Salle Peru on Wednesday. Erin Doucette is powering the offense with a team best 28 goals. She also has 12 assists, tied with Kyra Lily and behind only Hannah Boyer’s 13. Freshman Taylor Mills has 19 goals this season. Natalie Myers has 12 shutouts on the year.
No. 1 Genoa-Kingston Cogs
Record: 17-2 overall, 7-0 BNC
Remaining schedule: Thursday at Hinckley-Big Rock
First postseason game: May 16 vs. No. 7 Rockford Lutheran in the Class 1A Rockford Christian Regional.
After that: The winner will face Winnebago or Rockford Christian for the title, with the winner facing potentially Aurora Central Catholic or Rock Island Alleman in the Class 1A Alleman Sectional.
Worth noting: The Cogs played at Winnebago (7-10, 3-3) on Tuesday with the chance to claim an outright BNC title. Heading into Tuesday they’ve won 15 straight. That streak alone matches the school record for wins in a season, mark the team already has broken. Goalie Madelynn Swanson has set the school record with eight shutouts in a year and Samantha Wendt has 11 assists, breaking her two-year-old school record. Freshman Ayva Hernandez also has 10 assists and Wendt has a team-best 18 goals.
No. 17 DeKalb Barbs
Record: 3-12 overall, 0-2 DuPage Valley
Remaining schedule: Saturday vs. Sycamore, May 13 at Metea Valley, May 15 at Waubonsie Valley
First postseason game: They’ll face Lake Park in a Class 3A St. Charles East Regional play-in game.
After that: The winner faces No. 1 St. Charles East.
Worth noting: The Barbs were scheduled to play at Neuqua Valley on Tuesday. They had won two straight heading into that match. Carla Murrieta has been an effective goal scorer for the Barbs this year.
No. 6 Indian Creek Timberwolves
Record: 3-6 overall
Remaining schedule: Friday vs. DePue
First postseason game: May 16 vs. Aurora Central Catholic in a Class 1A Indian Creek Regional semifinal.
After that: The winner will likely face Alleman for a regional title.
Worth noting: The Timberwolves didn’t field a program in 2024 after a historic 2023 season in which they won 17 games, five more than any other season in school history. That team was loaded with seniors, although Izzy Turner was on the team that year and has returned, providing a big scoring threat up top. The 2023 team won the third regional in program history and reached a sectional championship game.
No. 8 Hinckley-Big Rock Royals
Record: 2-9
Remaining schedule: Thursday vs. Hinckley-Big Rock
First postseason game: May 17 vs. IMSA in a Class 2A Kaneland Regional play-in game
After that: The winner will face No. 1 Kaneland in the semifinal round.
Worth noting: The Royals co-op with Somonauk, Newark and Leland to have enough numbers to field a team. But that pushes them up into 2A, and with a young team loaded with freshmen and sophomores, that ups the difficulty level even more.