Grace Williams had an incredible first season with St. Charles East – Shaw Local

Grace Williams is already aiming to raise the bar for her senior year.

St. Charles East star central midfielder Williams burst onto the scene this spring in her first season for the Saints after being transferred from Neuqua Valley. She scored 25 goals and 11 assists and earned All Section and DuKane Conference accolades.

For these accomplishments, Williams is the 2022 Kane County Chronicle Women’s Soccer Player of the Year.

“I was really proud of myself my whole junior year,” Williams said. “I didn’t expect 25 goals at all. I was just hoping to play. I’m just very excited for next year to come back and score more. All I want to do next year is to mark.

Williams, who follows former Saints star Hannah Miller in winning the Chronicle Women’s Soccer Player of the Year award, has scored six more goals than Miller in 2021.

St. Charles North junior Bella Najera, who was named DuKane Conference Player of the Year after a stellar season with 19 goals and six assists and helped the North Stars advance to the Division Finals, received high consideration for the Player of the Year award.

Williams, who was a centerpiece for sectional champion Saints, received team accolades for Golden Boot (most goals scored), Newcomer of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.

“There have been so many times this season where I have missed so many [finishes] and I just want to finish all of that next year and double what I have,” Williams said.

Another step for Williams to take as she heads into her senior season for coach Vince DiNuzzo is “self-confidence.”

“Someone who is a leader,” DiNuzzo said. “As an incoming senior, she’s going to be someone that everyone looks up to, so being able to be someone responsible, dependable and striving – and I have no doubt she has that state of spirit – continues to improve.

“I think she and I agreed at her post-season meeting: 25 [goals] is great in his freshman year, but there were a ton of goals left on the table. … It’s crazy to think because in some of these games, like against Belleville East [in April], she scored four goals in 25 minutes and I didn’t let her play a second after that. So there are a lot of opportunities for her to grow.

The Saints (20-5-2, 5-1-1) struggled against St. Charles North in the regular season, losing both games. Williams fired up the Saints in the section final against the North Stars with a goal to level the game at 1-1 and later was key with a third insurance goal in the 3-1 win.

St. Charles East, for the second consecutive season, then lost to Barrington in a bid to reach the state finals.

“Everything we did this year was a team effort,” Williams said. “I was the one who scored a lot of goals this year, but everyone played a part in it. Everyone on the pitch, off the pitch, our bench was crazy no matter what. I just think that the energy of our team is what carried us.

“Honestly… especially against North in the section final, the energy, especially after scoring the first, our energy was right there. I really think the energy of our team is what sums up the whole season.

DiNuzzo said Williams sets a “high standard for herself.”

“She’s very, very self-aware, so she understands when she needs to play better,” DiNuzzo said. “She does everything in her power to do so whenever she gets the chance.

“Her ability to be a good teammate to the people around her [also is a plus]. She completes many people around her and she is happy to have help. She is happy to share the ball. She is happy to celebrate the success of others. I don’t think she gets enough credit for that because obviously she scored 25 goals in her first year. He’s someone the girls all like.