ND

Five area players earn all-state soccer accolades

Hill Miller battle

Notre Dame-West Burlington/Danville’s Julianna Hill (center) battles Burlington’s Kingsley Miller for possession during a match this season at Bracewell Stadium.


Julianna Hill mug

Julianna Hill


The high school soccer season officially came to a close Thursday when the Iowa High School Soccer Coaches Association released it all-state teams for boys and girls.

Five area players were honored -- one on the first team, two on the second teams and two honorable mentions.

Leading the way is Notre Dame-West Burlington/Danville senior Julianna Hill, who was named to the Class 2A girls first team. In 20 matches, she scored 38 goals (eighth in the state) and had 18 assists (ninth in the state), 94 points (fifth in the state) and 104 shots on goal (sixth in the state). For the season, 36.5 percent of her shots were on net.

Fort Madison senior Xander Wellman was named to the Class 3A boys second team. In 19 matches, Wellman scored 30 goals and had 16 assists for 76 points. He had 130 shots, 67 of which were on goal for a 44.8 shots on goal percentage. He converted his only penalty kick.

Wellman was among the Class 3A leaders in five categories. He was second in goals scored, points scored, shots attempted and shots on goal. He finished sixth in assists.

Also earning second team accolades was Notre Dame-West Burlington senior Hunter Lillie. The St. Ambrose University recruit was named to the Class 2A boys second team after scoring 16 goals and assisting on three others for 35 points in 18 matches. He had 54 shots on goal and helped the Nikes to a substate final.

Burlington senior Braden Schoene earned Class 3A honorable mention. He scored 13 goals and assisted on six others for 32 points and had 31 shots on goal for the 11-6 Grayhounds.

Mediapolis junior goalkeeper Drew Miller was a Class 1A honorable mention. In 17 matches, he had 79 saves and allowed just seven goals in 1,026 minutes. He saved 91.9 percent of the shots he faced, second in Class 1A for goalkeepers who had at least 45 saves.

Burlington's Hunter Pender joined Hill in garnering Class 2A first team all-district honors. In 15 matches, Pender had 16 goals and four assists for 36 points on 53 shots on goal.