Lake Forest’s Catherine Traut is beginning to realize her high school days are coming to an end.
But she’d prefer the end come later rather than sooner.
“The last day of school for seniors was on Wednesday, so it’s kind of weird and sad at the same time,” Traut said. “But luckily there’s still soccer, and it would be amazing to keep my high school career going as long as possible.”
If Traut and her teammates are to make school history this spring, they’ll first need to get past St. Viator on Friday in a Class 2A sectional final. The Scouts (16-4-2), a favorite in Class 2A, are in search of the program’s first state title.
“The pressure is on us, but I think we’re ready because of our schedule and having played in the Pepsi Showdown,” said Traut, whose team lost to Loyola in the title match. “We played a lot of hard teams, and it helped us get the nerves out and showed us that we can play with the best teams in the state.”
The 5-foot-7 forward, who plays club for F.C. United, is a big reason why Lake Forest has been a consistent force during the last three months. The Denver-bound senior, who will play club soccer in the fall, leads the team with 19 goals and 10 assists. Seven of those goals have come during the last eight games.
“She probably would have more, but I rarely have her in when we’re leading by three or more,” Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager said. “Catherine just brings an unbelievable amount of desire and competitive spirit.
“She will attack the ball in situations that most would shy away from. Her maturity when it comes to finishing is light years ahead of most, as she just places it past the keeper instead of trying to blast it through the keeper. She is the most reluctant and gracious leading scorer I have had. She would rather set somebody up than score.”
After losing 90 percent of his team’s scoring from 2011, Stuckslager knew he would rely heavily on his three-year varsity player.
“Her maturity this year has been quite impressive,” Stuckslager said. “She is always smiling, rarely down and her fun-loving attitude is infectious.
“She also is able to combine this with a 4.88 grade-point on a 5-point scale..”
Catherine Traut file
High school: Lake Forest.
Class: Senior.
Position: Forward.
College: Denver (will play club soccer).
Numbers: 19 goals, 10 assists.
