Meet the SJ-R's Large School Girls Soccer Player of the Year for 2023: Haden Vlcek

Haden Vlcek won’t be a team’s leading scorer or dish out the most assists. But her role on defense and her ability to advance the ball into the attack is top of the line.

Vlcek, who just wrapped up her junior season as a center back, helped lead Chatham Glenwood to its second girls soccer state championship title with a 2-0 win over Lisle Benet in last month’s Class 2A state tournament finale in Naperville.

The two-time Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-Stater is The State Journal-Register's Large School Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

“In my 30 years of coaching, there’s been just a handful of kids — whether on the boys side or the girls side — you come up against and it’s just that: there’s only so many things you can do,” Glenwood coach Jay Lipe said of Vlcek. “She’s just kind of an enigma as far as other teams to defend against when we push her up into the attack on set plays.

“This year, she took more of a role (on free kicks). She’s a very good one-on-one defender, she’s good as a team defender and can direct things, but adding to our attack — for a high school kid to be able to start your attack from the center back position — she was exceptional. When you have other talented players around you, it only makes her stronger because teams just can’t try to take that away.”

Vlcek won’t be around to help the Titans defend the state championship in 2024. She plans to graduate early to enroll at Indiana University in preparation for her freshman season with the Hoosiers’ women’s soccer program.

Growing her game

Vlcek entered her junior season with one all-state honor in her pocket and a verbal commitment to Indiana already. But she wasn’t about to rest on her laurels.

“I felt the pressure with the seniors and a lot of players about to leave,” Vlcek said. “I wanted to go far for them and I had to make sure I did my part.”

She said she knew she needed to be even better in 2023. Her skills grow each offseason she plays for the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club. She was ready to show her improvement in her last stint with the Titans.

“Picking my moments when to go for it because the year before, I was maybe a little too aggressive sometimes,” Vlcek said of her biggest focus for this season. “I think being a better communicator too, being able to not be as mean to people sometimes (she said with a laugh) and just help them and guide them through it.”

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Vlcek scored 10 goals and had four assists. Rylann Law led Glenwood with 42 goals while Rowan Law added 15 tallies. Erin Mansfield led Glenwood (22-4-1) with 12 assists.

Lipe said Vlcek draws the attention of every opponent and it opens up scoring options for everyone else.

“If you can man-mark one player or double-team somebody … that just opens things up for someone else,” Lipe said. “A player as talented as Haden, we’re able to take advantage a lot of times.”

Born into the sport

Vlcek’s dad, who grew up in California, was a goalkeeper at Asuza Pacific University in California before he transferred to the University of Illinois Springfield for his senior season. He never left Sangamon County and put down his roots.

“My dad ... coached my little Y team when I was 3 and that’s how I started,” Vlcek said. “He was a goalie but he definitely shaped the way I play.

“It was always my main sport and what I loved the most and the family aspect (drove her). I was just a part of so many great teams growing up I just wanted to stay with it.”

Lipe said Vlcek has many traits that make a great soccer player.

“There are some natural gifts she was given as an athlete,” Lipe said. “You don’t have too many girls soccer players that are 6-feet tall but even with her height — yes, she could be a dominant player in the air and win a lot of head balls — but she’s very technical, she’s good with her feet (and) she can play left- or right-footed.

“She can dribble, her first touch is good; she’s just a real solid all-around player. You add all that technical ability up with her athletic ability where … sometimes we have corner kicks, we bring her up out of the back and she can head the ball, the goalie can make the save yet she still beats everybody back. She plays a high level of club soccer so she’s got very good decision-making sense. All that stuff combined makes her a very special player.

“On top of that, she’s a huge competitor: she doesn’t like to lose and the bigger the game, the more she steps up. In the state championship game, she probably played her best game I’ve seen her play … and what a time to do it.”

Vlcek said she started to take the sport more seriously in her second season with the Scott Gallagher club. Eventually, she realized how far soccer could take her.

“Growing up, it was just I wanted to play somewhere (in college),” Vlcek said. “As it kept going and I kept growing and getting bigger and doing as well as I was doing, I realized I could probably go (to a school in the) Power Five (conferences).”

Once Indiana came calling, she was instantly drawn to the Hoosiers.

“They were there from the start of the recruiting process … and I just love the campus and it felt like home,” she said. “It felt like a place I could definitely see myself at for four years.”

Glenwood won its first girls soccer state championship in 2013. Vlcek said she’s proud to add a second title to the program’s history.

“Everyone is so excited and it’s nice to be able (to add a state championship banner),” Vlcek said. “Our school has been so good but we’ve only won one other one so it was nice to bring that back for everyone.”

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: SJ-R 2023 Large School Girls Soccer Player of the Year: Haden Vlcek