May 18, 2024
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Girls soccer: 5 standout stats from the 2023 season in McHenry County

McHenry County area teams finished season with historic storylines

By Michal Dwojak
Crystal Lake Central’s Kalissa Kaiser falls while battling De La Salle’s Sophia Torres in the IHSA girls Class 2A third-place soccer game at North Central College in Naperville on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

Crystal Lake Central’s Kali Kaiser falls while battling De La Salle’s Sophia Torres in the Class 2A third-place match Saturday at North Central College in Naperville. Central was one of six programs in the McHenry County area to win a regional title, the most since 2018. (John Starks jstarks@dailyherald.com)

The 2023 girls soccer season produced plenty of fun moments, including Crystal Lake Central winning its first state trophy, Richmond-Burton taking its third straight sectional title and Burlington Central, Huntley, McHenry and Johnsburg each earning a regional championship.

The conclusion of the season also offers a chance to look back at some interesting numbers and accomplishments.

Here are five interesting statistics from the 2023 season.

102

R-B’s Reese Frericks has been making history since she joined the program in 2021 and continued to do so in her final year with the Rockets. She ended her decorated career with 102 career goals in three years, having lost a season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frericks led the McHenry County area with 34 goals and scored her 100th career goal against Woodlands Academy in the Class 2A Richmond-Burton Sectional semifinals. Her hot shooting helped the Rockets play in a third straight supersectional match.

Frericks was named the Kishwaukee River Conference Player of the Year for the second straight season and earned Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-State honors.

16

Huntley’s Chloe Pfaff made history in her only season with the Red Raiders. The senior midfielder led the Fox Valley Conference with 16 assists and set the program record for assists in a season. Taryn Jakubowski and Bre Burry shared the old record at 15.

Pfaff earned IHSSCA All-State and All-FVC honors and helped Huntley win its first regional title under Matt Lewandowski, the Red Raiders’ first since 2017.

6

The six regional titles won by McHenry County-area teams this season is the most since 2018, when the area also had six titles. There was no 2020 season because of COVID-19, and Class 1A and 2A didn’t have regional play during the 2021 season.

R-B and Johnsburg won regional titles in Class 1A this season, Crystal Lake Central and Burlington Central each won in Class 2A, while McHenry and Huntley won in Class 3A. In 2018, Johnsburg won in 1A, Crystal Lake South, Prairie Ridge and Burlington Central won in 2A and Jacobs and Cary-Grove each won in 3A.

3

Three McHenry County-area players earned IHSSCA All-State honors this season. Crystal Lake Central’s Olivia Anderson, Huntley’s Pfaff and R-B’s Frericks each earned the honor.

This season’s three All-Staters matches the most the area has had since 2019. Prairie Ridge’s Nikki Anderson, Burlington Central’s Zoey Kollhoff and Cary-Grove’s Jenna Stayart were named All-State that season.

17.5

The average number of wins among the four teams that Crystal Lake Central lost to during the season was 17.5. St. Charles North (17-4-2), Prospect (13-3-3), Metea Valley (19-1-3) and Benet (21-5) were the only four losses for the Tigers (19-4), who matched their 2019 program record for wins in a season.

Benet finished runner-up in the Class 2A postseason, St. Charles North lost in the Class 3A supersectional round, Metea Valley ended its season in the Class 3A sectional finals, and Prospect lost in the Class 3A regional finals.