By Randy Whalen

The Joliet Central girls' soccer team had a successful season by doubling its win total from 2024.

But what was the Steelmen's best game this spring? That was a loss.

"It was definitely a good season with six wins," Joliet Central girls soccer coach Stephanie Phillips said. "We didn't win a (Southwest Prairie) Conference game, but we came close against Romeoville (a 2-1 loss on the road on Thursday, May 1).

"That was the best game we've played since I've been here. I was really proud of the girls and how they battled. Our improvement was a testament to the girls' cohesiveness. They were very bonded, and there were very good vibes."

Joliet Central finished 6-14 with 44 goals scored, and sophomore goalkeeper Cali Judd saved 237 shots. The six victories equal the total from the previous two seasons (3-14 in 2023 and 3-15 in 2024) combined. It's the most wins in Phillips' six seasons as head coach and the most since the Steelmen went 6-13 in 2018. 

But Phillips doesn't do it alone. Jordan Conejo is the assistant varsity coach, Steven Zeko is the JV coach, and Luis Villagomez is the freshman coach. The freshmen were 8-1-2 on the season, while the JV went 11-4-2 with 88 goals scored.

"All our coaches do a really good job of building our core values," Phillips said. "We have built this program to have fun and to support the girls to be the best that they can be."

Some of the Joliet Central team award winners were Most Valuable Defender and High Academic Award, sophomore Gali Delgado, and Most Improved Player, junior Iza Barrera.

Yesenia Gutierrez was named All-Sectional Sportsmanship player. Fellow senior and four-year varsity starter, Juli Calderon, was selected as Most Valuable Varsity Attacker and as an IHSSCA All-Sectional Player.

Plus, senior four-year varsity starter, Victoria Davila, was selected Most Valuable Varsity Player, Shining Steelmen, JT Boosters Athlete of the Season, SPC All Conference Player, IHSSCA All-Sectional Honorable Mention Player, and IHSSCA Academic All-Sectional.

A trio of Steelmen are going on to play in college. They are Calderon and Davila, at Joliet Junior College, as well as Victoria Serna at Concordia University Chicago. They were all honored after Joliet Central's final game of the season.

But to get to that final game, the Steelmen won their Class 3A regional quarterfinal matchup. That was on Friday, May 16, and was a 9-0 home win over No. 17-seeded Richards. 

In the game, Calderon had a hat trick - her second of the season - and added two assists. Davila added a pair of goals. Freshman Arazeli Pina registered a goal and an assist, while Barrera, sophomore Fatima Arriaga, and junior Josefa Sanchez had goals, and junior Camilla Jacobo added an assist as the Steelmen led 6-0 at halftime.

"To get a 9-0 win was special," Phillips said. "It was the seniors' last week of school, and it was our first playoff game. We can say we won a postseason game."

It was the second shutout of the Bulldogs (2-17) this season. Joliet Central also won 7-0 on March 24 in Oak Lawn. The Steelmen also had big shutout wins at home of 7-0 over Crete-Monee (on March 29) and 6-0 over Manteno (on April 14). Plus, a pair of victories over Shepard (5-3 at home on March 22 and 4-1 on May 5 in Palos Heights).

The next playoff game was on Wednesday, May 21, as the Steelmen, who were the No. 14 seed in the Joliet West Sectional and hosted their own regional, faced Lincoln-Way East. The Griffins (18-4-1), who were the No. 1 seed in the sectional and won it the following week with a 3-0 win over Lincoln-Way Central, showed why with a 9-0 victory over Joliet Central. 

Davila had the only shot on goal in the game for the Steelmen, and Judd made 20 saves. Lincoln-Way East (18-4-1) lost 3-0 on Tuesday, June 3, to O'Fallon in the Bloomington Supersectional. 

"I was very impressed with Lincoln-Way East," Phillips said. "They are very technical and have a lot of speed. Our girls played as well as they could, and going against them was a motivating factor."

Seven seniors graduate from this season's squad. They are, Calderon, Jasmine Cervantes, Davila, Jileny Gutierrez, Yesi Gutierrez, Viridiana Guzman, and Serna.

"In the offseason, the girls will have to work to the best of their ability and do something in the fall, like cross country or flag football," Phillips said. "I'm sad to see a great group of seven seniors go. A lot of them have been here all four years.

"I'll miss them, but I'm excited to see what's next for Joliet Central girls soccer."