Storied season took Moraine Valley women's soccer to two championships and a run in nationals

At the start of the 2015 soccer season the Moraine Valley Community College women’s team talked the talk about winning big and going to nationals—a lofty goal. But by season’s end, they walked the talk.

Not only did the Cyclones win their first Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship after logging a 5-0 record, but went on to take the NJCAA Region IV title and qualified for the national tournament for the first time in Moraine Valley’s history. They were eliminated after two games at nationals in Florida (Nov. 16-17), but finished with an impressive 15-3 overall record, 13 of those being shutouts.

The Cyclones knew they were the team to beat after defeating the consistently tough Waubonsee Community College squad on Sept. 16, a force to be reckoned with every season. Then they took down the Chiefs in the region finals to advance to nationals. “We were dominating them, and it made us the team to beat,” said head Coach Al Palar, who completed his first season leading the women. “We played good soccer. It was going to take something special to beat us. It was expected of us to win. It’s a credit to the girls doing their job. They worked hard at every practice and game.”

There were some key players who were game changers. Freshman Bella Rodriguez (Kelly) was easily the offensive star. Not only was she Skyway Player of the Year and named to the All-Region and All-Conference first teams, but was #2 in the NJCAA Division I for shots (104) and 11th for goals (23). On defense, freshman Dalila Alcala (Eisenhower) and sophomore Alexis Delgado (Reavis) started every game and were consistent. If there were mistakes in midfield, the two were there to fix the problem. They joined Rodriguez on the All-Region and All-Conference first teams. Also named to the All-Region second team and All-Conference first team were freshmen Lauren Regan (Mother McAuley), Diana Lang (Marist) and Karina Lopez (Reavis). All-Conference second team nods went to freshmen Alex Abed (Stagg), Ewelina Kmin (Reavis), Sintia Salas (Curie), Paulina Stafira (Stagg), and sophomores Kristina Cypser (Shepard) and Maggie Hacker (Sandburg).

After such a successful season, the bar has been raised for 2016 with a couple of changes. They want goalkeeper Kaylyn Egyarto (Sandburg) back on the field, because she is originally a field player, and put an experienced keeper between the posts. They also want to recruit top players in the area to help build off of this year.

“I’ll expect the same success next year. This was a really good group. Everyone gelled so well. I got real emotional after that last game at nationals. This whole season was so special, and one I’ll never forget,” said Palar, who also was named Region and Skyway Coach of the Year. “There were no complaints. Everyone came together, everyone understood their role, and they knew what we did was special. Respect and trust can do big things. These last few months have been the best of my life. It was a good group and great to have an assistant coach who’s my best friend. I hope to have many more of these seasons down the road.”