BNC's Big-3: Byron, Oregon, Stillman Valley ready for IHSA girls soccer postseason

Byron won its first Big Northern Conference championship in girls soccer. Stillman Valley powered to 15 wins and got the No. 1 regional seed. And Oregon hits the postseason with the most dangerous one-two punch in the Rockford area.

All three of these teams are charging out of the BNC and into the postseason and could find themselves on a collision course once again.

"This year there has been more competition in the Big Northern (Conference)," Byron head coach Andy Stavnem said, "really from top to bottom, in the last 15 years."

Midseason soccer storylines: Belvidere North's Cortlyn Hefty has 40 goals; Boylan perfect in NIC-10; Big-3 in BNC battle

Byron snags BNC title

Byron (16-4-1, 7-1 BNC) earned the BNC conference title — the Tigers' first in girls soccer — after tying Oregon (16-1, 7-1 BNC) in the standings but beating the Hawks head to head, 2-1 on April 18. Oregon's lone defeat was at the hands of Byron; Byron's lone conference loss was to Stillman Valley; and Stillman Valley (15-4, 6-2 BNC) took losses against Oregon and Dixon.

"The girls were really pumped to get that conference title. That was big," Stavnem said. "It was definitely a team effort. A full-on group effort."

Byron has spread the wealth on offense, and the Tigers have scored in bunches.

Alya Roschi has 20 goals and five assists on the season for Byron, which is top 10 in the Rockford area this season in goals scored. Then you have Delaney Henert, who has 15 goals and 14 assists, and Brynn Green, who has chipped in with 11 goals and 11 assists — all numbers that would lead many other teams. Even Ava Salo's eight goals would be high on plenty of other teams' leaderboards.

Offensive juggernauts

Oregon has one of the best one-two punches in the state in Deb Schmid and Anna Stender. Schmid, an exchange student from Germany, snapped the school record for goals weeks ago and is up to 31 goals to go along with 16 assists. Stender has 25 goals and 12 assists.

"Our offense has really stepped up this year, and I think it was the best one we've ever had, and probably the best offense in the conference," Oregon head coach Seger Larson said. "Deb was just what this team needed, and she requires a lot of attention, which has really opened things up for Anna and Teagan (Champley, who has 10 goals and nine assists), and all of the other girls."

Stillman Valley has a more spread-out offense, led by senior captain Grace Costello with 14 goals. But it's the Cardinals that snagged the lone No. 1 seed for regionals. Postseason kicks off later this week.

Postseason collision courses

And all three of the BNC Big-3 are hosting a Class 1A regional. No. 1-seed Stillman Valley hosts Lutheran at 4 p.m. Friday while No. 2 Byron plays host to South Beloit at 4:30 p.m. Friday, and another No. 2 Oregon hosts Aurora Rosary at noon Saturday.

If they all keep winning, Stillman Valley could face Oregon in the Indian Creek Sectional semifinal on May 18 and that winner could face Byron in the sectional championship on May 21.

The Class 2A postseason kicks off with the area's No. 1 regional seed Boylan (13-3-2, 7-0 NIC-10), which can slam the door on the NIC-10 title by beating Freeport and Belvidere this week. The Titans take on Pecatonica in the Freeport Regional on Tuesday.

Freeport hosts Sterling on the other side of the regional bracket while No. 2 seed Belvidere North and the state's leading goal scorer Cortlyn Hefty will go to battle on the other side of the sectional bracket.

If they kept winning, Boylan would meet North in the Belvidere Sectional final on May 24.

In 3A, Hononegah got the highest seed for a Rockford-area team, and that's seventh in the Huntley Sectional. Hononegah will take on Algonquin Jacobs on May 15 to kickstart the 3A playoffs.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Champion Byron leads the BNC's Big-3 into girls soccer postseason