Byron won the Big Northern Conference championship for the first time in women's soccer. Stillman Valley won 15 games and earned the No. 1 seed in the region. And Oregon State enters the postseason with the most dangerous one-two punch in the Rockford area.
All three teams are in the postseason from the BNC and could clash again.
“This year was the most competitive in the Big Northern (Conference) in the last 15 years from top to bottom,” Byron head coach Andy Stavenem said.
Midseason soccer stories:Belvidere North's Courtlin Hefty scored 40 goals. Boylan is perfect at NIC-10. BNC battle big 3
Byron wins BNC title
Byron (16-4-1, 7-1 BNC) was tied with Oregon (16-1, 7-1 BNC) in the standings, but defeated the Hawks in a head-to-head match, making it the Tigers' first BNC in women's soccer. won the conference title. , April 18, 2-1. Oregon's only loss came at the hands of Byron. Byron's only conference loss was against Stillman Valley. Stillman Valley (15-4, 6-2 BNC) suffered losses to Oregon and Dixon.
“The girls were really excited to win the conference title. That was huge,” Stavnem said. “It was definitely a team effort. It was a whole group effort.”
Byron spread the wealth on offense and the Tigers racked up points.
Aliyah Rossi has 20 goals and five assists this season as a Byron, ranking among the top 10 scorers in the Rockford area this season. Then there's Delaney Hennert, who had 15 goals and he contributed 14 assists, and Bryn Greene, who contributed 11 goals and he had 11 assists. These are all numbers that lead many other teams. Even Abba Salo's eight goals would put him higher on the leaderboard of many other teams.
aggressive giant
Oregon has the best one-two punch in the state in Deb Schmidt and Anna Stender. Schmidt, an exchange student from Germany, broke his school record a few weeks ago and is now on his way to 31 goals and 16 assists. Stender had 25 goals and 12 assists.
“Our offense has really stepped up this year. I think it's the best offense we've ever had and probably the best offense in the conference,” Oregon head coach Seeger Larsson said. “Deb was exactly the player this team needed. She needs a lot of attention. That really made things better for Anna and Tegan (Champley, 10 goals, nine assists) and all the other girls. It was opened”
Stillman Valley has a more expansive attack, led by senior captain Grace Costello, who scored 14 goals. However, the Cardinals were the only No. 1 seed in the regional tournament. The postseason begins later this week.
postseason collision course
And all three of the BNC Big-3 host Class 1A regional tournaments. Top-seeded Stillman Valley will play Lutheran University Friday at 4 p.m., second-seeded Byron will play South Beloit Friday at 4:30 p.m., and fellow second-seeded Oregon State will play Saturday at noon. Fight against Aurora Rosalie.
If it keeps winning, Stillman Valley could face Oregon in the Indian Creek sectional semifinals on May 18th, with the winner facing Byron for the sectional championship on May 21st.
The Class 2A postseason begins with region No. 1 seed Boylan (13-3-2, 7-0 NIC-10) opening its door to the NIC-10 title by defeating Freeport and Belvidere this week. I can. The Titans will play Pecatonica on Tuesday at the Freeport Regional.
Freeport will host Sterling on the other side of the regional bracket, while second-seeded Belvidere North and state leading scorer Courtlin Hefty will compete on the other side of the regional bracket.
If they keep winning, Boylan will face North in the Belvidere regional final on May 24th.
In 3A, Hononega earned the highest seed among teams in the Rockford area and placed seventh at the Huntley Sectional. Onega begins the 3A playoffs on May 15 against Algonquin Jacobs.
Jay Taft is a sports reporter for the Rockford Register-Star. Email jtaft@rrstar.com and follow us on X (formerly Twitter). @JayTaft.Sign up for Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here At rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports for the Register-Star since the turn of the century, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports..