Before Reilly Novak moved to Lake Zurich in seventh grade, she played both soccer and softball in Seattle.
The two sports are played in different seasons in the state of Washington, where she was an up-and-coming pitcher and shortstop.
In Illinois, Novak faced a fateful decision.
“I chose soccer over softball because the seasons conflicted,” she said.
Novak, the 2026 News-Sun Girls Soccer Player of the Year, has certainly thrived in her chosen sport. In her third varsity season, the 5-foot-9 junior forward recorded 22 goals and 10 assists as she led the Bears (16-6-1) to a Class 2A sectional championship game.
Novak, who can shoot with both feet, scored the only goal against North Suburban Conference rival Stevenson on May 12, and the Creighton commit converted a key penalty kick during a shootout against St. Viator in a regional championship game on May 23.
“She attacks the goal,” Lake Zurich coach Mike Castronova said. “She has confidence, great size and touch, and can do anything with the ball.”
Novak, a two-time all-state pick, three-time all-conference selection and the conference’s offensive player of the year this season, also had three assists during the Bears’ 4-1 win against Palatine on April 1.
“One thing that makes Reilly such a talented player is her awareness on the pitch,” Lake Zurich junior forward Teryn Gravistin said. “She reads the game well, finds open spaces, creates chances for herself and her teammates, and is always willing to pressure defenders and compete for every ball.”
Novak set the tone for her high school career when she scored three goals off the bench as a freshman during the Bears’ 2024 season opener.
“The summer before that year, she came to our camp, and I knew she had potential to be a special player,” Castronova said. “She came into that first game with motivation and started every game since then.”
Novak finished her freshman season with 21 goals and 13 assists as Lake Zurich advanced to a Class 3A sectional championship game. The Bears were equally successful last season, but Novak wasn’t satisfied with her performance. She had 11 goals and six assists.
“I feel like I gave up the ball too much, and I knew for my junior year that I had to take more chances and be more selfish,” she said.
Castronova said he asked Novak to become a leader this season, and she did.
“She put the team on her shoulders,” Castronova said. “It was good for her. She’s a really good team player and could’ve had even more goals but passed to her teammates.
“She had a lot of pressure on her, but I told her, ‘Be yourself and know that the chances will come, and when they do, put them in the back of the net.’”
Novak called the Bears’ 1-0 win over top-seeded Libertyville, which won the conference title, in a sectional semifinal one of the highlights of the season.
“We had a strong team bond this season, and I had a bunch of good memories with the team,” she said.
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
