Seniors Audrey Raymond and Abby Ford already sense the bond of this season’s Riverside Brookfield High School girls soccer team.
They’re not only returning starters as central defenders in the Bulldogs’ back line, but they’re also team captains with seniors Michelle Panduro and Sofia Sanchez.
“We have been keeping a positive attitude and supporting one another building our chemistry,” Raymond said. “As a captain, I’m going to continue supporting my teammates and keep a positive attitude.”
The Bulldogs expect better results building off of their finish in 2025.
They return eight starters – Ford, Panduro, Raymond and Sanchez, seniors Marianna Giron and Aylin Romero and Maya Tennicott and junior Jocelyn Jaimes.
Other team members are seniors Valeria Martinez, Riise Hall and Mia Rodriguez, juniors Ruby Barajas, Ruby Boyle, Kaylee Guzman and Jaelyn Manjarrez, sophomores Elsie Clark, Camila Martinez, Charlotte Pinnick and Megan Tumpach and freshman Lea Becker.
In 2025, the Bulldogs were 6-14-1 and 2-4 for their debut in the Upstate Eight Conference East Division. They lost to Morton for the third time last season 3-0 in the Class 3A regional semifinals.
After enduring a nine-match losing streak, they finished the season 3-3-1, started by an electrifying 2-1 home conference victory over Fenton on penalty kicks.
The Bulldogs started 2-2 at the Windy City Classic, beating Hancock 4-0 March 19 and Leyden 3-0 March 21 while losing 1-0 to Plainfield South in the March 18 season opener and Lemont March 24 in the consolation semifinals.
“We have a great group of girls and are looking forward to see what they can accomplish,” RBHS coach Ivek Halic said.
Midfielder Panduro (4 goals, 3 assists in 2025) earned honorable mention all-sectional last season. Also at midfield are Romero and Sanchez, who each have two goals this season, and Jaimes, who has three assists along with Boyle.
Returning as well on defense are Giron and goalie Tennicott, one of the stars in the Fenton victory who is healthy after being injured during the girls basketball season.
“Our team is all very close together and I think the chemistry helps us both on and off the field be better,” Ford said. “I want this season to be successful but also fun and I think we achieve both those goals as a team.”
LTHS girls soccer
Senior Zibby Michaelson already sees a winning spirit in her return this season to the Lyons Township girls soccer team lineup.
“Not playing last year was hard but I’m really excited knowing our team is going to be so good and it makes our senior season so much better,” Michaelson said.
They’ve started the season 2-0-1 in beating Oswego East 2-0 March 18 and Jones 8-0 March 19 and tying Wheaton Warrenville South 1-1 March 25.
Last season, the Lions finished 10-10-1 after starting 2-6-1 by winning five of their last seven games. That included a rally to beat Fenwick 3-1 for their 12th straight regional title before losing to rival Hinsdale Central 2-1 in the 3A sectional semifinals.
Seniors Anna Bigenwald, Carolina Capizzi, Allie Hennessy, Avery Lusk, Audrey McCarty and juniors Claire Mortonson, Grace Chevalier and Aofie Griffin return from last season’s postseason starting lineups. Also back are seniors Quinn Conway, Maura Schneider and Charlie Wichman, juniors Izzy Dullick and Lila Tower and sophomores Lauren Salvino and Emma Thimm.
Newcomers include senior Carli Proctor, juniors Mia Anderson, Fiona Fay and Sadie O’Hare, and freshmen Lena Giustini and Abby McKenna.
All-sectional midfielder Capizzi (DePaul), goalie Bigenwald (Loyola), forward Michaelson (Mercer) and defender Proctor (Florida Southern) are set to play college soccer. Capizzi (8 goals, 9 assists) and Bigenwald (133 saves) earned 2025 all-conference honors.
“The team is hungry, great chemistry like last year, but many of them learned how hard we have to work to win games against the level of competition we have in our conference and overall schedule,” LTHS coach Bill Lanspeary said.
“(Our keys are) playing sound defensively and continuing to work together. We think we’re going to get a lot of positive contributions from everyone on the team. We’ll need all of those to be successful.”
Capizzi was the Lions’ No. 2 scorer last season (9 goals, 8 assists) behind graduated all-stater Caroline Mortonson.
Capizzi missed her sophomore varsity season because of injury. Last season, Capizzi was injured for part of May but returned for sectionals.
“Our improvement from the first game, we’ve all getting used to playing with each other and as the games go on, we get a lot better,” Capizzi said. “I think we have a chance of being solid.”
Michaelson scored a team-best 13 goals in 2024. She served as a manager last year to focus on club soccer and her recruitment.
Defensively, the Lions again should be solid with Bigenwald and a defensive line that’s been using Claire Mortonson and Giustini in the middle and Chevalier, Hennessy, Proctor and Lusk on the outsides.
“Our center backs have been doing really well, keeping the ball and passing well. They’re very composed,” Bigenwald said.
Last season, Salvino had five goals, including two against Fenwick, and Lusk had three assists. The Lions scored 53 goals and lost six one-goal games.
“Scoring more goals would definitely be a success,” Lusk said. “Last year we kind of kicked the ball up but this year we’ve definitely been moving and getting open for each other.”