One word stood out when Crystal Lake South forward Gracey LePage was asked to describe her mentality on the soccer field.

“Relentless,” LePage said. “I have a hunger for the goal. I love to score goals and I’ll do anything to get the ball in the back of the net.”

LePage’s competitive spirit was a driving force behind her record-setting freshman season, when she led the Fox Valley Conference in both goals (38) and assists (15) en route to All-Area first-team honors and Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association (IHSSCA) All-State recognition.

Named Crystal Lake South’s MVP as a freshman, LePage’s 38 goals ranked seventh for a season in Class 2A and 14th for a season in the state of Illinois.

Undeterred by a knee injury that required her to miss her sophomore season, LePage has committed to Michigan State after high school. LePage, who announced her commitment on social media Aug. 10, is one of multiple standout athletes in her family.

Her mother Marisa was a record-setting basketball player at Northern Michigan, where she resides in the Hall of Fame, and her older sister Laken, a senior at South, aspires to play collegiate basketball.

“As soon as I got on campus, they checked all of the boxes,” said Gracey LePage, whose father Matt coaches basketball at South and played collegiately at Northern Michigan, where her older brother Cooper is a two-sport athlete.

“I knew it would be the place that would allow me to reach my future goals. It’s going to be exciting because it’s going to push me to become a better version of myself.”

A three-sport athlete who has competed in both basketball and track, LePage intends to play forward for the Michigan State soccer program. LePage, whose academic interests include nutrition and exercise science, said the recruiting relationship with Michigan State formed when she received her first recruiting call June 15.

Specifically, LePage highlighted her relationship with head coach Jeff Hosler as a key element of her recruitment.

“The program is already amazing and they’re still climbing to get to where they want to be,” LePage said. “I want to be a part of that, and I want to be one of the girls who takes them to a national championship. ... Coach Hosler is a very intense and competitive person, and so am I. The connection we have is super intense and driven. We both want to accomplish the same things in the future.”

LePage, who plays club soccer for Rockford Raptors FC in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), is a three-time invitee to the U.S. Soccer National Talent ID Camp, which showcases the top players from across the country. A member of the 2009 Rockford Raptors ECNL team, LePage is a two-time ECNL All-Midwest Conference first teamer as well as a 2025 ECNL All-American and Midwest Conference Player of the Year.

“Gracey is a kid who is special in so many ways,“ Rockford Raptors coach and ECNL club director Mike Rizzo said. ”She’s an elite athlete. What sets Gracey apart is her mentality and competitiveness at her age that many or most players don’t have. She’s far and away the most competitive kid I’ve ever coached."

LePage established program records at South during her freshman season, setting a new mark for goals in a season (38) and becoming the first freshman in the program to earn All-State recognition. The Gators went 11-10 during her freshman season, a seven-win improvement from a 4-14-1 campaign in 2023, when South went winless in the FVC.

“Gracey LePage is the type of player every coach dreams of having,” Gators head coach Caitlyn Dayton said. “She’s hardworking, fiercely competitive and the kind of athlete who makes everyone around her better. Gracey is relentless in pursuit of her goals and doesn’t let anything, even a major setback, stand in her way.”

LePage is roughly seven months removed from suffering a torn ACL in her left knee while competing in a showcase event during the winter. Although the injury could’ve been a major setback, LePage has attacked her rehab with the same fervor she shows on the pitch.

“It was really hard and I didn’t know where I would end up because a lot of colleges didn’t have the chance to watch me,” LePage said. “I was really sad and I thought it was going to be the end of my career, but I have a lot of supporters, family members, coaches and teammates who’ve surrounded me and made me believe I have a chance to come back.”

LePage, who recently returned to practice with her club team, intends to be back on the field for the start of her junior season with the Gators in the spring. LePage, whose role models include Angel City FC’s Alyssa Thompson and her mother, said her goals for her last two years include staying healthy and picking up where she left off as a freshman.

“Coach Dayton believed in me and the kind of player I was,” LePage said. “Since I wasn’t able to play as a sophomore, I want to be who I was when I was a freshman. Because I was sitting on the sidelines with my coaches, I’ve learned a lot about the game from a coach’s perspective and I’ve grown a lot. I want to be a smarter player on the ball and not be so reckless. I think that’s one of the reasons why I got injured.”

LePage started playing soccer when she was 6 years old. Although basketball was her main sport for a period of time, LePage’s interest in pursuing soccer grew as she became more involved with her club program as a teenager.

“I love to run and the freedom of the wide field gives me the freedom to be flexible and creative,” LePage said. “The connections I build with my teammates and everything from winning to losing ... it’s all part of the game and I love it so much.”