To date, it's been the most successful season in Morton College women's soccer history. 

The Panthers (12-5-2) established a single-season record for wins and enter the Region 4 playoffs with seven straight victories, six coming by shutout.

Morton College also landed its first Skyway Conference Player of the Year in program history with sophomore forward Sjenna Van De Weerd, who had 8 goals and 6 assists for 22 points in league play. In league play alone, Van De Weerd surpassed her 2024 overall totals of 5 goals and 4 assists.

In addition, Zoe Hocke shared the Skyway's Goalie of the Year honors. The freshman netminder notched three shutouts in league contests.

Joining Van De Weerd and Hocke on the Skyway's First Team are sophomore defenders Ariana Valdovinos and Penelope Armillei. Midfielders Lea Jager, a sophomore, and Frederikke Dam Jergensen, a freshman, picked up Skyway Second Team honors.

Sophomore forwards Ruby Hogan and Jasminder Sangha were all-Skyway Honorable Mention.

The Panthers finished third in the Skyway with a 3-1-2 mark behind co-champions Elgin and Waubonsee, which were 4-0-2.

Morton College now looks to reach new heights. The Panthers seek their first trip to the Region 4 finals as their road ended in the Region 4 semifinals in 2018, 2019 and 2023. 

The Panthers earned a No. 5 seed in the playoffs and open with a home match against No. 12 Triton at 2 p.m. Thursday, October 30th. Match site is the Antonio Carbajal Soccer Complex at 32nd Street and Central Avenue in Cicero.

October 30th opening-round
No. 9 Waubonsee at No. 8 Moraine Valley
No. 12 Triton at No. 5 Morton College
No. 11 Lake County at No. 6 Milwaukee Area Tech
No. 10 Elgin at No. 7 Madison

November 2nd quarterfinals
Waubonsee-Moraine Valley winner at No. 1 South Suburban
Triton-Morton College winner at No. 4 DuPage
Lake County-Milwaukee Area Tech winner at No. 3 Rock Valley
Elgin-Madison winner at No. 2 Black Hawk

November 5th semifinals
Host by highest seed

November 8th finals
3 p.m. at Madison College

Panther notes
Sjenna's special season
Sjenna Van De Weerd didn't put up a point over four matches in the month of August. But the sophomore forward and Skyway POY kicked into another gear as she's second in the NJCAA Division II with 18 assists and 60 points. Her 60 points also is tops in Region 4.

The ink just dried on the Panther record book as Isabella da Costa put up a program single-season best 57 points last year. Van De Weerd, who has registered a point in her last 13 consecutive contests, also has scored 21 goals, five away from da Costa's 26.

Strong No. 2
Last year, there was a 30-point gap between da Costa and the Panthers' second-leading scorer in Lea Jager.

Jasminder Sangha provides Morton College with a solid second option as the sophomore has registered 18 goals and 5 assists for 47 points. 

Again, the Panthers have had six players with 10 or more points with Lea Jager (9-9-27), Frederikke Dam Jergensen (7-4-18), Ruby Hogan (3-9-15) and Bruna Amar (4-6-14).

Model of consistency
Lea Jager's produced back-to-back 27-point seasons in her Morton College career. She had 11 goals and 5 assists for 27 points in 2024.

By the numbers

• Morton College's 68 goals this season is a program record, surpassing the 63 times last year's squad found the back of the net. The Panthers' 2018 and 2019 editions both scored 60 goals.
• Head coach Dwayne Cruz is two wins away from 50 for his career at Morton College.
• On a national level, Morton College ranks in the NJCAA's top 20 in four different offensive categories – goals scored (68 – 12th), total points (192 – 13th), assists (56 – 14th) and goals per game (3.58 – 19th).
• Morton College's last four Region 4 playoff games have been decided by 1-0 counts.