One of the reasons Fenwick junior Lauren Stibich said she played high school soccer, rather than just club, was that she believed it would be a way to develop her leadership ability within the sport.
She’s been wearing a captain’s armband for the first time in her third varsity season. However, the year didn’t start as she had expected.
Stibich said she suffered a hamstring injury after getting tripped during tryouts, forcing her to the sideline. Instead of training and playing with her teammates, she became a de facto assistant coach. It wasn’t always easy staying out of the action as she missed more than the first month of the season.
“Knowing that I needed to take time to rest was important, I wanted to rush it and get back because I love (soccer),” Stibich said. “It was tough at the beginning because I was a captain and wanted to fulfill my role, and by not participating I felt like I wasn’t doing everything I could. But being at practice and coaching and setting up drills, I felt like I was still filling my role.”
Though the injury was a hurdle early in 2017, it came not long after one of the highlights of Stibich’s soccer career. In January, she verbally committed to play at Illinois after visiting the school. It was her top choice: She grew up going to Illinois football and basketball games, and both of her parents are Illini alumni.
“I love that I’m going to be close to home,” Stibich said. “Both my brothers didn’t go there, so me going there, I think my parents are pretty happy.”
For Fenwick, losing a Big Ten-caliber player for one-third of the season after graduating three all-conference players was tough. Head coach Rob Watson said generating offense has been a struggle at times.
But Stibich is healthy now, and the Friars improved to 7-4-1 (3-1-1 Girls Catholic Athletic Red) after a 3-0 win over Trinity on Saturday. With Stibich playing alongside fellow junior forward Morgan Hosty — who has emerged as a second major goal-scoring threat — the Friars hope they can keep finding the back of the net. After scoring just five goals in a five-game stretch from the end of March to early April (going 2-3 in that period), they’ve scored at least three goals in four of their last five games.
The Friars’ attack showed its potential against Providence on April 18, when Stibich and Hosty each had two goals. Two days later, in a 3-3 tie with St. Ignatius, Hosty added two more goals and Stibich had a goal and an assist. If they can keep up that offensive production, Fenwick has put together the blueprint for a successful second half of the season.
“(Stibich) can score and set up 25, 30 points a season,” Watson said after the Trinity game. “Everyone knows her by now. Most of the games she’s finding a man-mark or at least a lot of attention. So I think that freed it up for Morgan.”
Jakub Rudnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
