WEEK 5 2023 RUNDOWN- ECLIPSE SELECT ALUMNI

Our alumni had yet another outstanding week of play across the college soccer landscape! Major storylines of the week include incredible performances from sophomore Xcaret Pineda (Bolingbrook, IL.) and junior Abby Kalou (Buffalo Grove, IL.) Pineda not only netted a spectacular goal in the Cowgirls’ 4-1 win at Iowa State, but was also accredited with assisting both goals in their 2-0 victory vs. Abilene Christian. Kalou added another goal and 2 assists to her stat sheet in Lesley’s 5-0 home win against UMaine Farmington on Saturday — increasing her season record to 3 goals and 5 assists. 


GOALSCORERS

Freshman forward Bella Najera (St. Charles, IL.) is on a roll with the Spartans after notching a beautiful goal early in their 1-1 tie vs. Ohio State, marking a career-high of 4 goals in the last 5 games. A big first career goal from Emily Fix (Gurnee, IL.) 26 minutes into play equalized the game for the Golden Eagles, ending in a 1-1 tie against St. Thomas. A PK goal late in the second half from Senior midfielder Isa Cook (Elmhurst, IL.) marked her first of the season and the game-winner – pushing the Golden Eagles to a 2-1 victory last week over Western Michigan.  Arianna Lombardi (Bourbonnais, IL.) and the Pioneers are starting the season off strong – with Lombardi coming off the past week with a goal and 3 assists across their matches against Coe (6-0) and Webster (2-1).  Freshman defender Sadie Sterbenz (Clarendon Hills, IL.) scored her first with the Blue Raiders late in the second half of the game, reigniting the momentum to come back and tie Tennessee Tech 2-2 in the last 18 minutes. Allison Rapaduski (Algonquin, IL.) set the momentum for the Fighting Hawks early, scoring her 4th of the season within the first 10 minutes of play in their 3-0 victory over UAPB.  Sophomore defender Grace Grundhofer (New Lenox, IL.) tallied her first career goal as a Spartan late in the first half of their game against Concordia, ending in a 3-3 draw. A beautiful first goal of the season from Junior forward Maya Rebic (Elmhurst, IL.) late in the first half was enough to push past Luther College, ending in a 1-0 victory for the Warhawks.


PLAYMAKERS

Brennan Rzewuski (Lombard, IL.) and the Drake Bulldogs put on quite the performance Wednesday after Omaha took the early lead, with Brennan logging his first assist of the season late in the first half to come back and tie it up for a final score of 2-2. Kiara Pralle (Bourbonnais, IL.) tallied her second assist of the season under 2 minutes into their match against Bellarmine – ending in a 2-0 victory for the Bison. Freshman Amanda Dietz (Lake Villa, IL.) found her first collegiate assist just 2 minutes into the Pioneers’ match against Coe, resulting in a 6-0 win. Kate Flynn (Woodridge, IL.) found her second assist of the season for the WashU Bears late in the second half of play to close out their 4-0 victory over Rhodes on Sunday. An assist early in the first half from Zivana Labovic (Schererville, IN.) got the Spartans on the board, and marked her second of the season thus far – ending in a 1-1 tie vs Ohio State. A beautiful through ball early in the first half from Hannah Bebar (Naperville, IL.) jump started the momentum for the Crimson in their match against Samford, resulting in a 5-0 home victory. A first assist of the season from Fernanda Soto (Romeoville, IL.) set up the equalizer for the Pack against High Point late in the second half of play, ending in a 2-2 tie.


KEEPERS CORNER

Ashton Kudlo (Schererville, IN.) set some new season-high stats in the Jaguars game vs Cleveland State on Sunday – facing 19 shots and making 7 saves in their 2-2 draw at home. Emma Gaspari (Naperville, IL.) logged back to back shutouts for the Cannoneers in their games against Keystone (9-0) and York (12-0) – coming up with 6 saves across both games.

Over 100 Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumni, both male and female, are rostered across every level of college soccer at Division I, II, III, and NAIA. There are 34 alumni designated as freshmen entering their first year of college. The remaining includes 31 sophomores, 36 juniors, 19 seniors, and one graduate student with an additional year of eligibility.