Here is this season's top-20 list of goal scorers in the Rockford-area girls soccer world

The Rockford area is a hotbed for girls soccer stars, and this year has been one for the ages.

Two from this area cracked into the top-five list of all-time goal scorers this season, although one is already done.

More Rockford-area soccer: Boylan looks to finish girls soccer season strong after head coach slips away to give birth

And while Freeport's Autumn Diduch tore her ACL and will not be able to attempt to finish her prep career strong, there are plenty who will have that chance, including last year's second-leading scorer in the state, and Illinois' No. 1 scorer this season: Belvidere North's Cortlyn Hefty.

Diduch finished her high school career with 117 goals, the fifth most goals scored all-time in the Rockford area. Hefty has 52 goals and counting this season, and 156 in her career by the end of this week, and that's No. 1 all time. She just passed Rockford Christian's Hillary Noakes (139 goals from 2015-18), Stillman Valley's Abby Timm (137 goals from 2012-14) and Rockford Christian's Bryn Kittle (124 goals from 2009-12) for No. 1 all-time in the Rockford area this year.

Here are all of the leading goal scorers in the Rockford area as we head down the backstretch of the regular season:

1) Cortlyn Hefty, Belvidere North, 52 goals

Hefty, who will start her college career playing for Cleveland State next season, is on quite a roll this year. And she has the Blue Thunder on a tear, with the team's only loss coming in a 3-2 setback to conference-leading Boylan back on April 11. Hefty has scored in bunches, and that's for four years now.

"This is a big season for me," she said earlier in the season. "I want to have a big one."

2) Deborah Schmid, Oregon, 27 goals

Schmid, an exchange student from Germany, was just what this team needed, and she's been a powerful weapon this year as Oregon soared to a 15-1 start to the season headed into this week. Schmid also has 13 assists.

3) Anna Stender, Oregon, 21 goals

Clearly this team is on fire, and these are two of the area's premier goal scorers on the same team. Stender also has nine assists.

More Rockford-area soccer: Soccer storylines: Belvidere North's Cortlyn Hefty has 40 goals, Boylan perfect in NIC-10

4) Alya Roschi, Byron, 20 goals

Roschi has been the primary scorer for a Byron team that has posted just under four goals per game and was 15-3-1 headed into the weekend. She also has five assists.

5) Paige Stovall, Harlem, 17 goals

Stovall has had a great senior season, adding 10 assists to the mix as well.

6) Grace Costello, Stillman Valley, 15 goals

Through the team's first 12 games, Costello put up the 15 goals and three assists, and the senior appears poised to continue sparking Stillman Valley. The Cardinals were 15-4 at the end of this week.

t-7) Berkeley Stenstrom, Guilford, 14 goals

This sophomore has been tearing it up this season, with 14 goals through the team's first 14 games, and eight assists as well.

t-7) Sydney Stovall, Jefferson, 14 goals

Stovall has had a huge sophomore season with those 14 goals and six assists.

t-7) Ava Reese, Rockford Christian, 14 goals

This freshman has racked up 12 assists to go along with those 14 goals, and she will be one to watch for years to come.

More Rockford-area girls soccer: State's top goal scorer Cortlyn Hefty, Belvidere North stay in NIC-10 girls soccer hunt

t-10) Delaney Henert, Byron, 13 goals

Henert also has 14 assists and she's one of the key cogs that has Byron on a roll this year.

t-10) Helen Bageanis, Rockford Christian Life, 13 goals

She had 13 goals, and that was in just nine games, so Bageanis can score, and in bunches.

t-10) Kaitlin Park, Rockford Christian, 13 goals

Park also has seven assists and she has been a key piece to Rockford Chrstian's puzzle.

13) Julissa Ortiz, Belvidere, 12 goals

This Belvidere senior has kept the Bucs in many games this year, even though they have only won three.

14) Brynn Green, Byron, 11 goals

Another Byron star, and this one also has 11 assists. This Byron trio has been unstoppable at times this season.

T-15) Ava Galluzzo, Boylan, 10 goals

Galluzzo is just a freshman, and yet she is powering one of the best and top scoring teams in the entire area, and maybe, state.

t-15) Autumn Diduch, Freeport, 10 goals

Diduch had 40 goals last year and 37 the year before, but she was hobbled by a torn ACL in her left knee all season long, and she wasn't the same player. She finally got it checked, and got the bad news that she will miss the rest of the season earlier this month, but it slowed her down all season.

"I'm bummed I won't be there for the fun backstretch to this thing," Autumn Diduch said. "But there are a lot of good players around here, and it's still going to be fun to watch."

t-15) Cadence Diduch, Freeport, 10 goals

One of those fun players is Autumn's twin sister, Cadence, who has really picked up the scoring slack since her sister went down. And this team still has a ton of firepower.

t-15) Natalie Namo, Freeport, 10 goals

Namo, who has come back from a pair of torn ACL injuries herself, has also had to pick up the slack since the loss of Autumn Diduch. She also has eight assists this year.

t-15) Teagan Champley, Oregon, 10 goals

Champley gives Oregon three strikers with 10 or more goals, and this team will be one to be reckoned with this postseason because of it.

t-20) Haylee Gallas, Belvidere North, 9 goals

Gallas would be a top scorer for most teams; most teams that did not have Hefty on it, anyway. She also has 13 assists, which makes sense for a good player with great footwork, who also happens to be on the same team as Hefty. (Oh, did I mention that already?)

t-20) Ella Ackerman, Winnebago, 9 goals

Ackerman, just a sophomore, has shown a little bit of what's to come, and she can score at crunchtime, too.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Find out who is in the top 20 for goal scorers in the Rockford area