THREE THINGS WE KNOW

1

Conant (9-4-4) has been one of the surprise second-half teams of the season, fighting with No. 11 Barrington for supremacy in the MidSuburban West. The key has been the return of emerging sophomore forward Leah Celarek. The Cougars are 8-22 since her recovery from a sprained MCL. She has eight goals, including the gamewinner against St. Viator last week in the Naperville Invitational. “It was a Grade 2 sprain, and the injury definitely impacted what I could do out there,” Celarek said. “It has been great to be back, and I have my movement and confidence back.”

2

After suffering consecutive upsets in preliminary play at the Naperville Invitational, No. 9 Waubonsie Valley (12-3-1) rebounded to capture the consolation division. The Warriors have won four consecutive games and are the favorites in this weekend’s Lemont Cup. They have four senior Division I commits: Rachele Armand, Jenna Romano, Karla DiJohn and Kendall Wilde. Kristen Dodson is one of the state’s top juniors and freshman Paige Filipek is a star of the future. The Warriors have tied top-ranked Naperville North and beat No. 6 Naperville Central and No. 7 Neuqua Valley.

3

Five days after topranked Naperville North defeated No. 6 Naperville Central 3-0 for the championship of the Naperville Invitational, the teams meet Thursday in a match likely to decide the DuPage Valley Conference winner. Both teams enter 5-0 in league play