The 2026 high school girls soccer season is behind us. After another exciting regular and postseason showing, it’s time to name the best of the best for our All Area Team and MVP.
Rockford Christian went the furthest in the postseason, Belvidere North went undefeated and won the NIC-10 title, and Byron won the Big Northern Conference crown. Once again, the Rockford area was jam-packed with tons of girls soccer talent.
So let’s take one more look at the girls soccer landscape around the Rockford area as we name our MVP and our All Area Team.
Haylee Gallas, Belvidere North (MVP ― All State)
Gallas had 35 goals and 13 assists, performing in big moments for the NIC-10 champions from North. The Blue Thunder went 15-2-1 overall and 9-0 in the NIC-10, and Gallas was their key weapon all season long. Gallas was one of only three locals on the IHSSCA All State list.
Ava Reese, Rockford Christian (All State)
Reese, a junior, came up big time and time again for Rockford Christian, which went further than any other team in the area. Reese finished with 22 goals on the season and was solidly placed on the IHSSCA All State list.
Berkeley Stenstrom, Guilford (All State)
Stenstrom, another Rockford-area star on the IHSSCA All State list, had 42 goals and 17 assists this season, showing off her powerful skills during her strong senior season. She was 19th in the state in points.
Ava Galluzzo, Boylan
Galluzzo scored 46 goals on the season, the second most behind Kendall Zanoni for the entire Rockford area and 13th in the state of Illinois. And, she’s just a junior.
Delilah Hawley, Guilford
Hawley had 23 goals and 14 assists, giving Guilford some serious depth late in the year.
Boey Herren, Harlem
Herren had 32 assists on the season, which was the 16th most in the state of Illinois. The Herren-Zanoni combo was potent much of the year.
Avery Malcolm, Rockford Christian
Malcolm morphed into one of the top goalies in the area, and her two postseason shutouts were huge for the Royal Lions’ run to the super-sectionals.
Sydney Stovall, Jefferson
Stovall had 18 goals this season. She was key to the J-Hawks finishing over .500 for the season this year.
Stella Stubbe, Lutheran
This Lutheran freshman striker finished 23rd in the state with 39 goals this season, and that was in only 16 games. She was 11th in the state in goals scored per game at 2.4 and she was No. 1 for all Illinois freshmen.
Kendall Zanoni, Harlem
Zanoni, a junior, finished with 47 goals in just 20 games, good enough for ninth in the state. She had 162 shots on goal, averaging more than eight per game.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Who is our Rockford-area girls soccer MVP and All Area Team selections?
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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By Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star | USA TODAY Network
