Prairie Ridge grad Chelsea Gale and her LaCrosse teammates are crushing it on and off the field – Shaw Local

Playing for the ninth-ranked NCAA Division III women’s soccer team in the country has given Chelsea Gale many memorable moments.

There was a school-record 21 wins last season for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, two deep runs in an NCAA tournament and just seven losses in its last 64 games. But some of his best memories came off the field for Gale, a junior midfielder who graduated from Prairie Ridge.

“I like to attribute a lot of our success to how we conduct ourselves off the field,” she said. “It means a lot of success on the field.”

Gale said the entire team, through various activities and events, has formed many connections and friendships.

“That’s sometimes hard to find on a team,” she said. The result is that La Crosse (14-1-1 overall, 6-0 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) is ranked No. 9 by the United Soccer Coaches this week and clinched its second straight WIAC title last weekend.

The Eagles bonded through problem-solving exercises, obstacle courses, team hikes on local cliffs and visits from motivational speakers, including Gale’s mother, Christine, a criminal law attorney. family who discusses “any subject that touches, impacts and changes the lives of women”. on her own podcast, called “Girl Out of Order.”

“We have mandatory meeting places,” Chelsea Gale said. “Obligatory never sounds like fun, but it’s a lot of fun. We organize ice cream evenings. There will be several of us who will study together. We’ll go for coffee on game day.

“That closeness off the field really helps us create strong relationships that manifest on the field.”

Gale, who started 35 times over the past two seasons, played center in high school but was moved to outside midfield at La Crosse, which reached the third round of last season’s NCAA tournament and the Elite Eight in 2021. “With the outside middle, you can run a lot and I love to run,” said Gale, who has four assists this season. “You also get a lot of 1v1s, which is also something I enjoy. I’m really proud of everything I stand for.

The Eagles have outscored their opponents 42-6 this season and rank 11th nationally in goals against average (.375 per game).

“We have a lot of very talented individual players, even on our second and third line,” Gale said. “When we replace, the (talent) level doesn’t go down.”

La Crosse’s 51-7-6 record over the last three seasons has the team thinking big this fall.

“This year we decided our biggest goal was to win the national championship, which we never decided before because it’s a very important and intimidating thing to say,” Gale said. “I feel like we’ve had enough success … that we can start to believe we can win it.

“This has been building for a long time.”

Loras football wears the crown: Loras College captured the American Rivers Conference D-III women’s soccer regular-season title Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over Central College.

For the third straight season, the Duhawks (15-1, 8-0) remained undefeated in conference play. The team opens the postseason league tournament on Wednesday. Loras, which has outscored opponents 54-4 this season, has a contingent of three players from the McHenry County area.

McHenry’s Emerson Gassman, a freshman forward, contributed a goal and four assists. Senior defender Rylee Quillen (Dundee-Crown) had two assists and freshman midfielder Bella D’Amico (Woodstock North) appeared in one game.

Loras is ranked No. 23 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week.

COD in roll: The College of DuPage football team, ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division III, improved to 8-1 this past weekend. With redshirt freshman Ramon Fuentes (Crystal Lake Central) at guard, the Chaparrals rank first nationally in rushing yards per carry (5.4) and second in rushing touchdowns (18) and total rushing yards (1,758).

Freshman Mason Wojtas (Huntley) is the team’s primary punter and averages 37.2 yards per punt. He has had five punts this season inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Lewis football takes off: The Lewis University D-II women’s soccer team is 7-0-3 and hasn’t lost a game in seven weeks.

Senior defender Jordyn Bigos (14 games played) of Crystal Lake South, freshman midfielder Carlie Burns (six games) of Cary-Grove and freshman forward Francesca Pastorelli (two games) of Hampshire are among the team contributors.

Lewis (8-4-4 overall, 7-1-3 Great Lakes Valley Conference) has the second-best record in the 14-team conference.

• Barry Bottino writes about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Email him at [email protected] and follow @BarryOnCampus on Twitter.