Riverside Brookfield High School senior Annabel Krueger already has proven her athletic talents in girls volleyball and gymnastics. For her final year, Krueger started considering a spring sport.
Senior girls soccer standout Hazel Hall had the answer.
“We didn’t have a goalie. We needed one. I love Anna, too, so I wanted to have a friend on the team,” Hall said.
“I obviously had known she played many sports before, so I knew she was athletic. And she’s very smart so she’s a quick learner.”
During morning announcements about girls soccer at the start of the school year, Hall asked Krueger about becoming the new varsity goalie. The 5-foot-9 Krueger agreed and has put in the work to make herself a good one.
The Bulldogs (10-4-1, 3-1 in Metro Suburban Conference) have eight shutouts, including one streak of three in a row. They’re 5-0-1 over their last six games with three shutouts.
“The defense is amazing. I get credit for all of the shutouts but it’s really them. They don’t let the other teams get a lot of shots on me,” Krueger said.
“It’s like a sisterhood. Everyone’s really accepting. Everyone’s really nice to me. They always tell me I’m doing a good job or pick me up. They tell me to shake it off. They’re really supportive so that’s been a big help.”
On Thursday, the Bulldogs moved into a first-place tie in the MSC with a 4-2 victory at Elmwood Park that avenged their 2-1 overtime loss on April 4.
Hall scored twice and junior Ella Caputo and senior Niamh Larson also scored with two assists by Larson and one from senior Maddie Bisiules.
Defensive standouts include senior Cassidy Erb, junior Lucy Drenth, sophomores Abigail Ford and Audrey Raymond and senior defensive midfielder Kate Newberry.
“[Krueger is] doing wonderful, adapting really well, kind of progressing game by game. She makes some incredible saves,” RBHS coach Ivek Halic said. “She’s just an athlete, just that work ethic. She goes with the flow but so determined. It’s something you can’t teach.”
Hall’s second goal in the 70th minute, Thursday, was after a rebound that deflected off her face and rolled into the net. With her mouth bleeding, Hall wanted to go back into the game.
“I have prom tomorrow [was Hall’s reaction],” RBHS assistant coach Kevin Gawne noted.
This past fall, Krueger was a 2023 All-MSC volleyball player. As a gymnast, she was a 2023 individual sectional qualifier as a junior.
She spent the winter offseason preparing for goalie.
“I kind of thought, ‘Yeah, this could be a fun idea,’ but I didn’t know if it’s actually going to happen,” Krueger said. “But then as we trained more and more, it started becoming a reality.”
Halic welcomed Krueger and began working with her, along with assistant coach Carlos Hernandez. She played goalie twice with the RBFC club team. She also received goaltending pointers from friend Ben Bieliauskas, a 2022 RBHS graduate.
“It worked out actually perfectly. She’s done amazing,” Hall said. “You wouldn’t even know she started this season from how she’s been playing. It’s insane that she started this season.”