West Aurora’s Katharine Stephens could not wait for senior year to arrive.
She anticipated this year mainly because she would finally have an opportunity to play on the same team as her freshman younger sister, Audrey.
Stephens also knew that the Blackhawks would be extremely talented this spring, and they’ve certainly lived up to that.
“I was really excited for the new season to begin because I’d finally be able to play with my sister and her classmates,” she said. “I knew with the new players and what we had coming back that we would be better than past years. I didn’t expect to be 12-1 and scoring multiple goals though, so it’s really gone well for us.”
The younger Stephens grew up watching her older sister play, which included sitting in the stands the past three years. As a freshman, making varsity wasn’t a sure thing, but Audrey set it as a major goal.
“I remember counting down the years when I was in middle school,” she said. “It’s been so much fun being a part of this team. We’ve got a lot of similar players who know where to play the ball to and where to run. The transition has gone well and we’ve got great team chemistry.”
The Blackhawks edged Jacobs 2-1 in the semifinals of the PepsiCo Showdown’s Girls In the Game Bracket last Saturday to advance to the bracket championship at DePaul next Sunday. It’s the latest accomplishment of what’s been a season when West’s only loss was to Wheaton Academy.
“Katharine has to been an all-sectional player and our go-to player who we’ve looked to lead us and she’s really done a nice job,” West Aurora coach Laura Wagley. “I think she’s become a smarter payer for us this year. She knew they were going to start double-teaming her so she was aware of the and adapted to it and has been able to look to find the wide-open player.”
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Stephens scored 20 goals and had seven assists last season and already has 15 goals and five assists this spring.
She plans to continue here career at Loyola University in Chicago. Her father went to school there as well as a grandmother and a grandfather, who was also a dean.
“Choosing a college was pretty easy for me,” she said. “I had wanted to go to Loyola for several years now because of my family history. I’m really looking forward to doing that and studying chemistry. I can’t wait to play there.”
For now though, she’s enjoying each practice and each game playing alongside her sister. That’s hardly unique at West Aurora, which has two other pairs of sisters in Yanna and Sofia Papoutsis and Olivia and Kiara McPherson.
“I pushed myself in the offseason to get better and joining Team Chicago has really helped me,” Stephens said. “I’ve gotten older and played a lot of games which has made our whole team better. We’re a close group with all the sisters and stuff and that’s made this season a lot more fun.”
C.R. Walker is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.