Butler Blaze Girls Soccer Team Finishes Season Undefeated

Team chemistry can make or break a season, and for the Butler Blaze U12 girls soccer team, that chemistry was on full display as the girls rolled to an unbeaten record in 2011.

Led by fifth-year head coach Fran Havrilla, the Blaze-made up of girls from Butler and Bloomingdale-cruised to six wins this summer, never allowing a team to outscore them on their way to a league championship.

“The majority of the girls have been playing since they were nine, so they’ve been together for a while,” Havrilla said. “They did really well this season and even with five new girls to the team, they all worked really well together.”

But the success of this squad didn’t come easy and even Havrilla wasn’t sure of what the team would be capable of with a few new players in the mix.

“It was a bit of a surprise with the outcome of the season,” she said. “I knew we would be good because we have a lot of girls that are very talented, but we also had some new girls and I wasn’t sure how they would perform. But they all played very well and exceeded my expectations.”

With every girl getting playing time this season, work ethic was on full display as the Blaze’s 2011 summer accomplishment was what Havrilla called a "true team effort."

“We had U11 girls and U12 girls playing together from different schools,” Havrilla said, “But their chemistry was really good together, even though they all came from different spots.”

After their undefeated season, most of the girls will head to different leagues next year.