PEORIA — Taking that next step is fueling the Peoria Notre Dame girls soccer team.
Last spring, the Irish made a run to the Class 2A state finals, falling just short of their season-long aspirations and taking third place. This matched the highest finish in program history, but playing for a state championship is at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
“This is a motivated group,” PND coach Ben Ralph said. “We always have the standard and kind of an expectation of what we want to do and that’s the state tournament every single year. This is no exception, but after the way last year ended, the girls are even more hungry this year.”
The Irish, who are 16-1-1 through Tuesday, lost five seniors to graduation including Journal Star player of the year Mya Wardle. Those holes have forced several players to step into bigger roles during the 2025 campaign.
Hannah Daly, Bayie Lefler, Delaney Driscoll and Shea Larson have provided PND with some much-needed relief. Division-I players/midfielders senior Maddie Stickelmaier (Western Illinois) and junior Abigail Chaddock (Missouri-Kansas City) continue to be factors on both sides of the field.
“Just a lot of (players) just got better,” Ralph said of the biggest change. “This team’s really gotten together and bonded closely throughout the season. That chemistry’s kind of carried over (from 2024).”
Senior Alli Stickelmaier has stepped up in Wardle’s absence, becoming more vocal and an anchor on defense. The Drake signee teams with basketball teammate Emy Wardle to lock down opposing offenses.
That duo along with defenders Addison Bellamy and Ryleigh Bennett as well as goalkeeper Riley Bare have allowed six goals through 18 matches.
“We’re getting there,” Alli Stickelmaier said of her team’s progression. “Postseason is still a couple weeks away, but no matter how good we are now or how much better we’re going to get, we can always strive to be better than that and do better and play better.”
Offensively, PND is scoring at a near-record pace. The Irish have 87 goals with five regular season matches and the postseason still to play. In 28 matches during last year’s Final Four run, Notre Dame tallied 108 goals.
Junior forward Ava LaFollette has 39 goals so far — a baker’s dozen more than her sophomore year — and doesn’t seem to be letting up.
“Ava’s even taken a jump from what she was last year,” Ralph said, “and that’s something that’s really fun to watch. That’s something that’s really kind of hard to teach. She just has a knack for being in the right place.”
And LaFollette’s teammates have plenty of confidence in her abilities.
“She’s a very technical and skilled player,” Alli Stickelmaier said. “… If I had to trust a forward to shoot and make a goal, it definitely would be here. She has a strike, hard shot.”
LaFollette says she put in a lot of offseason work to improve her all-around game. She also credits Mya Wardle’s guidance from last season as a catalyst to be a better leader this season.
Anyone that’s seen LaFollette play has seen her overall growth.
“I think it’s been working so far,” LaFollette said, “and I hope it works throughout the rest of the season. I’m very competitive, so I want to win. … I’m just giving good (motivation) to push us and work harder so we can win.”
But one thing is for sure, PND wants nothing more than another shot at the state finals.
“Coming off that loss from last year,” LaFollette said, “definitely pushed us really hard because no one wants to feel that way again.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Why a trip to state isn’t enough for Peoria Notre Dame soccer. It wants more
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
