IHSAA girls soccer rankings: First month brings new No. 1, plenty of changes to Fab 15
Folks, we have officially made it through the opening month of the 2023 girls high school soccer season. Let's check in on some of the area's best teams, and see how they stack up as we enter the second half of the fall campaign.
1. Hamilton Southeastern (9-0-1)
A dramatic win over Brownsburg and an impressive performance against Noblesville propelled the Royals into last week, and following wins over Avon, Class 2A No. 1 Leo and Lafayette Jeff, they're unbeaten entering Wednesday's Mudsock game vs. Fishers. Those rivalry games can get weird, and though the Tigers are 1-5-1, they lost to No. 5 Zionsville by a goal and Carmel by two before tying Noblesville on Thursday.
Of note: Riley Boyd has continued her hot streak for the Royals, tallying five goals over her past three games.
2. Carmel (7-0-2)
PR: 1
The Greyhounds at No. 2 after opening the year at No. 1 is not an indictment of their start to 2023, which has been quite good. They've out-scored their first nine opponents 29-6, with the ties coming against HSE and Ohio's Notre Dame Academy. The wins include Guerin Catholic and Cathedral.
Newcomer Adalyn Cameron, junior Olivia Cebalo and senior Megan Hamm headline what's been a quite potent Carmel offense, though it was Olivia Joyce who staked them to an early lead vs. NDA before Cebalo tied it with 18 minutes left (Cameron on the assist).
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3. Noblesville (5-1-1)
PR: 2
The defending state champs have established such a high standard of excellence it's a bit strange to see them with a loss and a draw through the first month, but there's certainly no shame in those results considering the quality of competition — and remembering this team is replacing six starters, including the 2022 Player of the Year and their entire backline. Noblesville out-scored North Central and Plainfield by a combined 13-0, sending the Millers into Wednesday's trip to Westfield on a two-game win streak.
4. Zionsville (4-3-2)
PR: 4
The Eagles are 3-0-2 against IHSAA foes (highlights: Brebeuf, Guerin and Westfield), and have played out-of-state teams in four of their past five. They'll jump back into in-state competition Wednesday at Franklin Central before embarking on this super-fun stretch to close out the year: at Cathedral, at Noblesville, Avon, HSE, Carmel and at Brownsburg. That's pretty brutal, but it's set up for Zionsville to carry significant momentum into sectionals.
Junior Bryn Maxwell had two career goals prior to this season. She was already up to six entering the weekend with the game-winners against Guerin and Fishers.
5. Cathedral (5-3-1)
PR: 7
The biggest question surrounding the Irish entering the season was how they'd look defensively after losing their starting keeper, center back and a defensive midfielder. They've allowed multiple goals just twice over their past eight games since giving up three to Noblesville in the opener. They have a tough three-game stretch upcoming (Brebeuf, Zionsville and Westfield), but were in a scoreless stalemate against Carmel with five minutes left on Aug. 26 and beat nationally ranked Sacred Heart (Ky.) on Saturday.
Seniors Catherine Cline, Eliza Langfeldt and Amya Usher have fueled the offense alongside juniors Abby Beasley and Keira Bradford.
6. Westfield (5-0-1)
PR: 13
The Shamrocks' schedule isn't quite as front-loaded as some of their conference mates, but they've still played Guerin and Zionsville — and shut out both of them. In fact, goalkeeper Kate Pallante and Co. have yet to allow a goal this season, with Westfield out-scoring its first six opponents 15-0.
Last Wednesday's scoreless draw vs. Zionsville marked Westfield's entry to the most daunting stretch of its schedule: Noblesville, North Central, Cathedral and HSE between Sept. 6 and 13.
7. Brownsburg (4-2-1)
PR: 8
That young group that caught fire and won a third straight sectional title last year? Yeah, well, they've all been really good in 2023, with seniors Natalie Hay and Hailey Hoskins combining for six goals atop a scoring attack that's received scoring contributions from 11 different players.
Brownsburg will have had a week off when it travels to Avon on Wednesday.
8. Park Tudor (4-2-1)
PR: 11
The powerhouse Panthers have already beaten 3A Fishers, 2A No. 3 Bishop Chatard and No. 4 Fort Wayne Canterbury; both losses were 1-0 decisions against 3A foes (Brownsburg and Franklin Central). This is a schedule-based way of explaining Park Tudor is really good, and has maintained its status as the team to beat in Class A (keep an eye out for 8-0 Providence).
Tuesday's match vs. Heritage Christian matches the first- and third-ranked teams in Class A.
9. Bishop Chatard (4-3)
PR: 10
The Trojans were a bit of a mystery coming in after losing their top two scorers from a year ago. While the offense hasn't been super robust in terms of goals scored, they're still finding ways to win with goalkeeper Olivia Hill and the backline allowing multiple goals just once through the first month. Fun fact: Chatard has gone to penalties twice already this season. It beat Brebeuf, 2-2 (7-6 PKs), on Aug. 22, then lost to Guerin Catholic, (1-1, 5-4 PKs) on Saturday. Hill did not play against Guerin due to illness.
The next big test for Chatard comes Sept. 14 vs. undefeated West Lafayette.
10. Guerin Catholic (4-3)
PR: 12
The Golden Eagles acquitted themselves quite nicely against a bear of an August schedule, losing to both Zionsville and Carmel by a goal before knocking off Brebeuf, 3-1, behind goals from Alex Soucie, Annie Debone and Mia Gatz. They kicked off September with a 1-1 (5-4 PKs) win over rival Chatard on Saturday to improve to 3-0 in Circle City Conference play.
11. Brebeuf Jesuit (4-3-1)
PR: 6
The Braves started the season 1-2-1 with games against Zionsville, Brownsburg, Chatard and Guerin, but they strung together a nice three-game win streak before playing 3A No. 8 Penn to a 1-0 decision at the Lady Eagle Invite on Saturday (Brebeuf still won its division based on goal differential). Senior Josie Studley had a goal and three assists through her first five games.
12. Avon (5-2-1)
PR: NR
The Orioles join the top-15 ahead of Wednesday's visit from rival Brownsburg. They lost to Noblesville by two on Aug. 23, then played HSE to a 2-1 decision last week, with senior Chaning Crawford accounting for Avon's lone goal (her second of the season). Junior Amelia Markelin has six assists; freshman Ella Hastings is having a heck of a debut campaign, netting a team-high nine goals and two assists.
13. Mt. Vernon (5-2)
PR: NR
The back-half of the Marauders' schedule doesn't look quite as daunting at the moment with Center Grove going 1-3 through the first month (shut out twice), but it still includes Fishers on Sept. 11 and HSE on Sept. 27, and they've throttled basically everyone else so far, out-scoring the opposition 31-8. Mt. Vernon's losses came to Bishop Chatard and Homestead.
Junior Kylie Brandes has eight goals and five assists, freshman Esther Isger has five goals, senior Mattie Isger has five assists and four goals and senior Aya Renforth has three goals and four assists.
14. Heritage Christian (3-4)
PR: NR
Don't judge the Class A Eagles on their record — at least not entirely. Their losses have been against 3A Roncalli (1-0 final), 2A Chatard (2-1), 2A Brebeuf (3-0) and Fort Wayne Canterbury (3-2). They still have a positive goal differential at 19-11, with matches against Park Tudor and Guerin Catholic upcoming.
15. Monrovia (6-0)
PR: NR
Why not? The Bulldogs were ranked in the coaches' top-10 entering last week, and encountered little resistance through the first month of the season with a 46-4 goal differential. Junior Emery Newlin has 15 goals and a couple assists; senior Avery Newlin and sophomore Nellie Standeford both have four goals and two assists. Goalkeepers Joslin Harvey and Makenna Reese have combined for 19 saves.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls soccer rankings: HSE, Carmel still undefeated
