Girls soccer: Plainfield North’s Tessa Fagerson named Herald-News Player of the Year

PLAINFIELD – Heading into the 2023 girls soccer season, Plainfield North knew it had plenty of talent. The key was going to be how well the talent worked together.

In the middle of it all was Tessa Fagerson. The senior forward, who will continue her career at DePaul next year, scored 34 goals and had five assists to help lead the Tigers to a 23-2-2 record and the first sectional championship in school history. For her efforts, Fagerson was named 2023 Herald-News Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

“We had an idea that we had the potential to be one of the best teams in the state,” Fagerson said. “With a majority of the team being seniors, we knew this was our last chance, so we put it all out on the field. It was kind of bittersweet, knowing it was our last year together, but it made us work that much harder because we weren’t getting another chance.

“It really was a great year. For all of us on the team, it was the first time we had won the conference or a regional, and it was the first time any girls soccer team from Plainfield North won a sectional.”

Fagerson said that what made this year’s team different was the closeness of the players.

“There are three or four of us that play club for Eclipse, and another three or four that play with Galaxy,” Fagerson said. “We had good chemistry from that, and playing together in high school for the last three years really helped a ton, as well. We all worked well together as a team.

“We had the same goals and really had a good team culture.”

North coach Katie Monterosso had nothing but praise for Fagerson.

“Every year I have watched Tessa gain more confidence in herself,” Monterosso said. “This year, she went all out. Her goal has always been to be one of the biggest contributors on our team in any way that she can in order for the team to be successful. Any ball that she could get to, any time she could attack or help us keep possession of the ball, she was sprinting and working to get to.

“She was a constant threat for our team, and defenders had a hard time keeping up with her. Tessa has great technical skills and understanding of the game. Her height helped us be able to find her on crosses and corners, as she was not afraid to get into the mix in the air. She has a phenomenal shot from outside the box. She was named player of the match three different times during the season, and her biggest game was her hat trick in the sectional championship to beat Metea Valley.”

Fagerson also pointed to the Metea Valley game as one she will remember for a long time.

“If I had to pick one game that stood out this year, it would be Metea Valley,” she said. “They beat us to put us out of the postseason last year, so it felt really good to do it to them this year. We had tied them earlier in the season, so we knew that we could play with them when we saw them in the sectional.

“We had gotten better as the year went on, so we felt like we could beat them. Not only did we beat them, but we beat them 4-1. That was a great feeling and it’s one I’ll always remember. Having the whole school behind us and seeing our fans come out and cheer for us was awesome.”

Fagerson also will take memories and lessons learned at Plainfield North with her to DePaul, where she plans to major in sports communication and sports business. She is spending part of the summer being involved with DePaul summer camps, as well.

“The main thing that I will take away from playing at Plainfield North is to always play the game with heart,” she said. “A lot of players just like to think about their individual stats, but I learned that when the whole team is involved, everything just works better.

“You can have a bunch of talented players on the field, but if they aren’t working together, a team that does work together and plays with heart can beat them. I hope to be able to bring that kind of attitude to DePaul.”