.
From time to time we like to mention noteworthy accomplishments by our team members & alumni. We would like to recognize a number of girls for some recent accomplishments:

First off, I want to share with you a good news story that was underpublicized here in Avon Lake, but definitely should be told. The story concerns Annette Ilg who was a 2006 graduate of Avon Lake HS where she was a three sport star excelling in soccer, basketball and track. In soccer, she was one of the finest players to ever don a Shoregal uniform and ranks in the top 3 all time in goals, assists, & points. In basketball, she was a Varsity starter and played on a SWC conference championship team her senior year. In track, she qualified for the state meet her senior year in the 400 meter dash after running it for the first time just a few weeks before the state meet. She was primarily a 100 meter, 200 meter, & relay runner. On top of her athletic accomplishments, she was also valedictorian of her class.

She wanted to play soccer in college, but received little interest from any schools. She finally settled on UC San Diego, a Division II school to play basketball. She played four years of Varsity basketball there and was named to the all conference team her senior year, while earning a degree in biochemistry. The soccer coach was aware of her ability in soccer and persuaded her to join the team this past fall. She was now going to get that opportunity to fulfill her dream of playing college soccer, which seemingly had passed her by. So, Annette enrolled in graduate level classes in Chemistry & Biochemistry and went out for the team. 
 

Now UC - San Diego is a national power in Div. II soccer with 7 national championships to their credit, so playing on their team is no small accomplishment. She made the most of her opportunity and had a dream season as she led the team in scoring with 11 goals and chipped in with 5 assists for a team leading 27 points. She led her team to the National Championship game by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over undefeated and No. 1 ranked The College of Saint Rose. However, a story book finish was not in the cards as UCSD lost to current powerhouse Grand Valley State in the championship game by a score of 4-0. UCSD finished the season with a fine record of 19-3-3.

Just an amazing run for a girl who had not played competitive soccer in 4 years. I believe she is the first soccer player from Avon Lake either boy or girl to play in a national championship game. This is an inspirational story whose message is to never give up on your dreams no matter how unlikely it seems that they will be fulfilled. Also, make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. An additional fact to make the story even better is that Annette torn her ACL during her Junior season of basketball and needed to rehab her way back for an outstanding senior year in all three of her sports and then onto college. Yet another chapter in the impressive tradition of Shoregal soccer!!

















Next up is Tani Lopez ('10) who is a member of the Cleveland Alliance Soccer Association (CASA) team, which won the State Cup in the U-19 division over the Internationals by a score of 4-0 during May. Tani picked up an assist on one of the goals in the championship game. Next up for her team is the Midwest Regional championships which will be held in June in Wisconsin. This past season Tani was a freshman on the Varsity at Ashland Univ. where she scored 2 goals and had 2 assists. Of course, she is the daughter of our Head Coach Kiko Lopez.



During the first weekend in June at the State Track & Field championships, Morgan Srail ('11) placed in a tie for 6th in the pole vault with a leap of 11'0" which earned her All-Ohio honors. This completed a remarkable run for Morgan during her Senior year in which she was a member of our SWC championship soccer team in the Fall and led the team in assists with 5. In the Winter, she was a diver on the Swimming & Diving team at ALHS and was the SWC champion and also placed second at the State diving championships in Division I earning All-Ohio honors. So, in summary, she was All-Ohio in two different sports and a member of a conference championship team in a third sport along with winning many other meets and competitions along the way. We have had other girls in the past who have been members of championship teams in other sports, but we have probably never had a girl who excelled on such an individual level. It is also worth noting that she was one of the team captains in each one of her three sports. She will be attending Ohio Univ. in the Fall on a Diving scholarship




We would like recognize two players who will be going to the Regional ODP camp this summer. Those players are sophomore Emily O'Connor and incoming freshman Sarah Nasr. The Olympic Development Program (ODP) was established in 1977 as a nationwide process dedicated to the identification and training of players for state, regional, and national teams. The United States is divided into 4 regions and youth soccer in this area is part of the Ohio North Association which is a part of Region II. This region is comprised of 14 states in the Midwest and encompasses 850,000 soccer players.

Emily O'Connor is a member of the 1995 age group State team for Ohio which consists of 18 players and Sarah Nasr is a member of the 1997 age group State team which consists of 35 players. These State team members are then invited each summer to a Regional ODP camp in DeKalb, Ill. where they train and compete for a spot on the Regional team. So, you can see that it is quite an honor to make the State team and be invited to the Regional camp as only a small pct. of all the girls playing are selected for these teams.