A trio of Naperville area athletes was recently inducted into the Illinois Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield. On July 25, 2010 Waubonsie Valley grad Vanessa DiBernardo, 2008 Naperville Central grad Casey Krueger (Short), and 2012 Metea Valley alum Zach Wood were named to the 2026 Hall of Fame Class.
A pair of soccer standouts
DiBernardo and Krueger are two of Naperville’s most decorated soccer players. Vanessa DiBernardo won three state championships (2007, 2008, 2010) as an All-State player at Waubonsie, before going on to play at the University of Illinois. She was selected by her hometown Chicago Red Stars with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NWSL Draft. She played for the Stars through the 2022 season before signing with her current team, the Kansas City Current.
DiBernardo recently returned to the pitch for the Current from maternity leave following the birth of her daughter, Charlie.
Casey Krueger starred at Naperville Central as a state champion track star and an All-State soccer player for the Redhawks. After a standout career at Florida State, Krueger was fifth overall by the Boston Breakers in the 2013 NWSL Draft. Krueger then signed with her hometown Red Stars in 2016, where she was a teammate with DiBernardo through the 2022 season. In 2024, Krueger signed with her current team, the Washington Spirit…