Five players to watch in girls soccer in the Herald-News area in 2026

Shaw Local

Here are five players from the Herald-News area to keep an eye on this girls soccer season.

Emma Vugteveen, Joliet West, so.

Joliet West's Emma Vugteveen. (Hart Pisani)

Vugteveen hit the ground running and was one of the top scorers in the area last season, scoring 28 goals and adding 12 assists. The Tigers will be replacing several players who graduated, which, on the one hand, will make things more difficult for Vugteveen. On the other hand, there are only more goal-scoring opportunities to go around. Keep an eye on the sophomore and Joliet West this season.

Ilyana Barriball, Plainfield North, jr.

Ilyana Barriball of Plainfield North. (Courtesy of Kathleen Monterosso)

It continues to be the underclassmen who impress in the area. Barriball scored 33 goals last season to lead the Tigers. She’ll have teammates to keep an eye on as well, with Delaney Harwood, a Minnesota State commit, and Katelyn Haiser, who had 34 goals as a sophomore before taking last year off. Haiser may cut into the goal total for Barriball, but that should only benefit Plainfield North on the pitch.

Maggie Wolniakowski, Providence Catholic, sr.

Maggie Wolniakowski of Procidence Catholic (Courtesy of Karli Eggert)

Providence may have been the best team in the area last season, and Wolniakowski is a big reason why. While the Celtics had prolific goal scorers, Wolniakowski led all of them with 23, while adding 17 assists. The conference player of the year has some help with Alyssa Thulin, Lydia Arrigoni and others, but keep an eye on the senior as she aims to push Providence past the supersectional round.

Callie Hefner, Minooka, sr.

Callie Hefner of Minooka. (Courtesy of Chris Brolley)

Hefner is a Marquette commit, and she’s more than earned that offer from the Golden Eagles. Last year, she scored 21 goals to go with 12 assists as Minooka finished second in the Southwest Prairie Conference. She was the team MVP and an All-Conference player, as well as a first-team selection for the Herald-News All-Area team. She’s back for one last run to see how far the Indians can go.

Ava Lambert, Plainfield Central, jr.

Three Lamberts play for Plainfield Central, all three are juniors who were All-Conference selections, two of them DePaul commits, including Ava. Ava made the first team Herald-News All-Area team last season, and she more than earned her way on the list. The future Blue Demon scored 32 goals and added 10 assists as a sophomore and should be positioned to put up similar numbers this season.