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Prep Sports | Illinois Valley

Mendota, Princeton girls soccer hosting regionals; Ottawa to Orion; La Salle-Peru, Streator sent to Sycamore

IHSA postseason opens May 15

Mendota’s Sophia Orozco and Sterling’s Kylie Todd works in front of the goal Wednesday, April 8, 2026.

Mendota’s Sophia Orozco and Sterling’s Kylie Todd battle for possession during a game earlier this season. The Trojans are the No. 2 seed in sub-sectional A of the Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional and are hosting a regional. (Alex T. Paschal)

By Kevin Chlum and J.T. Pedelty

Girls soccer teams around the state opened this week knowing their postseason paths.

Mendota and Princeton will start the playoffs at home.

The Trojans are once again hosting a regional after winning a regional championship at home last spring. Mendota earned the No. 2 seed in sub-sectional A of the Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional.

The Trojans open the regional against No. 7-seeded Hinckley-Big Rock/Somonauk/Leland (2-6-2) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. The other semifinal follows the same day between No. 3 Aurora Central Catholic (6-4-3) and No. 6 Serena/Newark/Earlville (3-5-2), a first-year program playing its first postseason contest.

The title match in Mendota is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday.

Princeton (15-5) landed the No. 3 seed in sub-sectional A of the Class 1A Alleman Sectional. Geneseo, the other regional host, earned the No. 2 seed, which sent No. 1 Alleman to Princeton Regional. DePue/Hall is the No. 7 seed among the seven teams.

The Tigresses play No. 5 Macomb in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 18. The winner plays Alleman (8-6) in the title game at 5 p.m. Friday. The Pioneers received a bye to the championship.

Alleman defeated Princeton 3-1 on April 16.

The Little Giants (2-7-1) were sent to the Geneseo Regional and will face the host Maple Leafs at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19.

Sandwich (0-13) drew the bottom seed in the 1A Genoa-Kingston Regional and opens against the top-seeded host Cogs (12-2-1) on Monday, May 18. The regional also includes Plano and Rosary.

L-P's Vicky Tejada (2) and Ottawa's Georgia Kirkpatrick (7) battle for the ball Monday, April 13, 2026, on King Field at Ottawa High School.

L-P's Vicky Tejada (2) and Ottawa's Georgia Kirkpatrick (7) battle for the ball at Ottawa High School. (Scott Anderson)

In Class 2A, La Salle-Peru (8-10-1) was voted the No. 4 seed in sub-sectional A of the Orion Sectional, while Ottawa (11-3) is the No. 2 seed. The Pirates will open Wednesday, May 20, in the 2A Orion Regional against Interstate 8 Conference rival Morris (4-10-1). The other regional semifinal features No. 3 Orion and No. 6 Rochelle.

The Cavaliers will face No. 5 Rock Island (4-10) at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, in a semifinal of the 2A Sycamore Regional. The host Spartans (9-8) are the No. 1 seed. L-P lost 6-1 to Sycamore on April 8 and 7-0 on April 28 in Interstate 8 Conference play.

Streator (2-15-3) also heads to the 2A Sycamore Regional, drawing the No. 9 seed which sends the Bulldogs to a play-in game Friday, May 15, at No. 8 seed Sterling. The winner heads to the regional proper to face the top-seeded hosts.

Class 2A championship matches will also be held Friday, May 22.

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J.T. Pedelty

J.T. Pedelty

J.T. is a graduate of Streator High School, Illinois Valley Community College and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale who is some 27 years into an award-winning sports journalism career and serves as a regional sports editor for Shaw Local Media and Friday Night Drive.