Anne Poulin has changed the direction of the girls high school soccer season.
Back in mid-April, she and her St. Charles teammates, overwhelming preseason favorites for a fifth consecutive state title, were sitting with a lackluster 3-2-1 record. The Saints had allowed seven goals in their first six games, and coach Joe Moreau decided his defense needed an overhaul.
Enter Poulin.
Moreau moved the All-State midfielder to defense, and since then the Saints have been unbeatable and virtually impenetrable. St. Charles has allowed only three goals in going 21-0-1 en route to yet another appearance in the state quarterfinals.
So it should come as no surprise that Poulin, as well as teammate Patrice Feulner, have been named to the Tribune’s 2000 All-State Girls Soccer Team.
“They’re four-year players for us, great leaders, the heart and soul of our team,” said Moreau, whose Saints begin their quest for a fifth consecutive state title Friday against Lyons Township.
Poulin and Feulner, who will continue to be teammates in college at Arizona State, complemented one another well this season. In being named to the Tribune All-State team a third straight time, Poulin frustrated offenses all over the Chicago area with her speed and power on defense, all the while scoring eight goals. The Saints have outscored their opponents 80-3 since she took over at sweeper. Feulner is the only St. Charles player in double figures with 22 goals and 22 assists. That latter figure has her tied with Becky Myers for St. Charles’ season assist record.
Feulner will have a chance to break that tie in Friday’s quarterfinals when the Saints (24-2-2) face Lyons Township in a meeting of the teams ranked No. 1 (St. Charles) and No. 2 at the end of the regular season. The Lions are 24-1-2, their only loss a 4-0 beating delivered by the Saints in the title game of the Naperville Invitational. In other games Friday at Naperville Central, Public League champ Young faces Barrington, Lincoln-Way meets Libertyville and Quincy Notre Dame plays Champaign Centennial.
Four other Tribune All-Staters will take the field Friday. Lyons’ Kristie Simon has scored 42 goals, and Quincy Notre Dame’s Beth Liesen leads the state with 57. Barrington’s Kim Grodek and Lincoln-Way’s Kim Jedlo are both repeat first-team selections.
St. Viator’s Loryn King is the only sophomore on the All-Sate squad. Evanston’s Annette Kent, Glenbard South’s Tanya Peterson, Downers Grove South’s Jen Wilkinson and Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Shaunna Daugherty are the other choices.
It should not surprise anyone that two St. Charles players have been named to this team. That happened in the last four seasons, all of which culminated in a Saintly celebration after the title game.
“Everyone’s always out to get you because you’re St. Charles,” Feulner said. “There’s so much tradition behind it, and there’s always that pressure.”
One could say St. Charles has responded well to the pressure since the school began piling up state titles under Tim Dailey and Moreau in the ’90s. Dailey coached the Saints to championships in 1990, 1992 and 1994. Moreau’s run began in 1996, and St. Charles ended the decade with seven first-place trophies. The Saints’ record on state-finals weekend is 24-2, and they currently are on a 12-game winning streak. Here’s just how dominant St. Charles has been in winning the last three state titles: It has outscored its opponents 37-1 (counting quarterfinals, semifinals and finals).
Arizona State coach Terri Patraw is, to say the least, excited about getting two players from one of the best high school programs in the nation. (She also has signed Prairie Ridge’s Amy LePeilbet, a second-team All-State selection.)”Anne’s a gifted athlete and just an overall great player,” said Patraw. “Where she’ll help us the most is the midfield, with [Pac-10 player of the year] Stacey Tullock.” The coach says Poulin’s height (5 feet 10 inches), air game and physical play will be a perfect complement for Tullock.
As for Feulner, Patraw said: “I love strong and fast players. I’m 5-2 and wasn’t so strong or fast. Patrice, though, is a perfect college player with her speed and size (she too is 5-10). The college game has become so fast and athletic.”
“It’s really coincidental,” Poulin said of the pair’s college choice. “We always thought it would be cool if we ended up at the same place. We were both looking at Arizona State and Michigan. It’s not hard to fall in love with the whole atmosphere out there.”
Moving to the sweeper position was a step back in time for Poulin. That’s where she played as a freshman, when she scored the winning goal in overtime to beat Glenbard West in the supersectionals.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” Poulin said of the move from the midfield. “Back there I can see the whole field. It’s more like a thinking position.”
As if there isn’t enough to think about on state-finals weekend, the Saints will be competing for the last time as simply “St. Charles.” The school will become St. Charles East when St. Charles North opens for the 2000-01 school year.
“I don’t think it’s hit anyone yet,” Feulner said.
“But I think the seniors always want to go out on top.”
That’s where Feulner and Poulin already stand.
