Not surprising for one of the most heralded classes of girls soccer in a long time, but six Rockford area stars (five of them juniors) were just placed on the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-State team, the most ever for this region .
More: Girls soccer: Illinois coaches select 99 players for 2023 all-state team
When you add Richmond-Burton’s Reese Frericks, this region had seven players named to the IHSSCA All State team this year, also an all-time high.
“That just tells you a little something about that (junior) class of girls,” said Freeport head coach Nick Namio, who is also the Rockford region’s girls soccer representative for the IHSSCA. “We’ve never had this many, and they were all very deserving.”
Here is a breakdown of all six of the local all-staters from this past girls soccer season:
Boylan senior Maggie Schmidt
Boylan fell 4-3 to Crystal Lake Central in overtime of last Friday’s Class 2A Burlington Central Sectional final, ending a brilliant career for Maggie Schmidt. Schmidt, who had 25 goals and 15 assists as a senior, will play for Loyola of Chicago starting next year, along with former Boylan teammate Izze Fritz, who tore her ACL in late April and missed the back stretch of the season.
Dynamic duo: Rockford Boylan soccer teammates to play for the same NCAA Division I team
Freeport junior Autumn Diduch
Diduch scored 40 goals and had 13 assists for Freeport (14-3) despite the Pretzels losing in the regional finals with a 2-1 loss to Belvidere North.
Belvidere North junior Cortlyn Hefty
Hefty’s Blue Thunder lost in the sectional semis, but she still set a school and NIC-10 record with 47 goals on the season and was tied for second in the entire state this year.
Hononegah junior Molly Hughes
Hononegah was just 7-8 and bowed out in the first round of the playoffs, but Hughes was strong throughout, scoring 11 goals and six assists.
Guilford junior Reese Zediker
While Guilford was held under .500 this season (8-9-2), Zediker was a highlight as she turned into one of the top defenders in the area. She also finished with seven goals and eight assists.
Freeport junior CiCi Powe
She was named to the 10-person all-state goalie list after holding opponents to just six goals with 12 shutouts in 17 games this season with 69 saves.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 6 Rockford-area girls soccer players named to 2023 all-state team