St. Charles East Girls Soccer Sends Four Seniors to Division I Programs

ST. CHARLES — When the final whistle blew on St. Charles East's season last month in the IHSA Class 3A sectional semifinal, four seniors walked off the pitch at Geneva's Burgess Field knowing their next competitive matches would be played at the college level. Midfielder Ava Dunham (Wisconsin), defender Rachel Tran (Loyola Chicago), goalkeeper Sienna Maldonado (Northern Illinois), and forward Jess Kearney (IUPUI) have all signed National Letters of Intent, marking the largest Division I recruiting class in the program's 28-year history.

Head coach Tanya Kowalski, who took over the Saints program in 2023, called the group the foundation of everything she has tried to build. "These four changed the culture here before I even had time to install a formation," Kowalski said Tuesday at the team's end-of-season banquet at the Arcada Theatre. "They demanded more of each other every single day, and the younger kids watched that and raised their own standards. That's how you go from a .500 program to a sectional team in three years."