PLEASANT PLAINS — The first 10 minutes of the Class 2A Pleasant Plains girls soccer sectional semifinal Tuesday, May 27 saw Springfield High with total possession of the ball. Just after Mahomet-Seymour got the ball deep for the first time, the Senators turned around and broke through with an Ainsley Lambert goal. That wouldn’t be all of Springfield High’s scoring, and the Bulldogs even helped out with an own goal in the first half as the Senators beat Mahomet-Seymour 4-0 in the first semifinal. “It just appeared out of nowhere,” Lambert said of the ball that found her foot. “We were making different runs trying to hit the back of the net. It was a close one. I thought (the shot) was going wide, but it managed to hit the post and go in, so I was happy about that.”
No. 1 seed Springfield High (23-1-1) will face No. 3 Pleasant Plains (24-2) in Friday’s sectional championship in Pleasant Plains at 6 p.m. The winner will advance to the Troy Triad Supersectional against either No. 1 Triad or No. 1 Waterloo. Pleasant Plains scored four first-half goals to beat Champaign Central 5-1 in Tuesday’s other semifinal. Springfield High beat Plains 1-0 in their lone meeting this season on April 25.
Mahomet's approach didn't work
In the 2004 comedy movie Dodgeball, Jason Bateman’s character responded to a team forfeiting with,
“It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for them.” The Bulldogs seemed to take just as much of a perplexing approach, rarely putting pressure on the Senators’ defense and sitting back guarding the net. It did not pay off for the Bulldogs, who were not getting the ball clear of the Senators’ attack for most of the game. Even playing the ball back to the Bulldogs’ goalkeeper resulted in an own goal in the 33rd minute to give Springfield High a 2-0 lead. Even in the second half trailing by a pair of goals, Mahomet-Seymour didn’t seem to change anything up. SHS coach Pat Phillips remained vocal throughout the game, encouraging his team to move the ball into the right places and keep possession. “I don’t stop coaching, especially when I know what my kids are capable of,” Phillips said. “When they’re clicking, I get to sit down and enjoy it. “I think we were a little frustrated tonight and forcing some things. We’re a team that’s built on speed and this was more of a marathon.” Even tightly marking the Senators’ goal-scoring leader, Kamryn Hoffman, didn’t work for the Bulldogs. Her goal in the 57th minute from in front of the net put SHS up 3-0. Addi Maddox polished off the victory with a goal in the 75th. Hoffman had 45 goals in the regular season. “I just found the second ball,” Hoffman said. “I think Phoebe (Barnes) went to shoot it and it just happened to fall to me. I had to finish my opportunity; I didn’t get many tonight because of the way (Mahomet-Seymour guarded her), which was fine. Everyone else did a great job scoring and finding opportunities. “It was just different for us to play this way: we had to slow down and as (SHS coach Pat Phillips) said, we’re not really a team that slows down. They were a lot more compact. They kind of put everyone in the (18-yard) box, so we had to slow things down and move it around the box until we saw something that could come. We just have to adjust to every game.” The Senators are looking for their first sectional title since 2019. “We’re still pretty young, we’re learning, but I have no doubt that we’ll come out Friday and we’ll be ready,” Phillips said.
Plains’ big first half
Raelyn Brammer scored the first two goals for
Pleasant Plains and the Cardinals took a 4-0 halftime lead. Brammer’s first was on an assist from Callie Wagner and the second was on a rebound. Bailey Leach and Caroline Willenborg closed out the half with goals of their own. Leach had another score in the second half. The Cardinals are looking for their first Class 2A sectional title. The Cardinals, who finished third in the 2023 Class 1A state tournament, moved to 2A last season after it started a co-op with New Berlin.
Class 1A
NO. 1 WILLIAMSVILLE 7, NO. 2 MONTICELLO 0: Brooklyn Termine and Kendyl Mirabile each recorded a hat trick against the host Sages for the program's first repeat sectional title since 2007-08. Termine and Mirabile each had two goals in the first half for a 4-0 halftime lead. Calynn Frye also scored. The Bullets advance to the Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central Supersectional against Wednesday's winner between No. 2 Byron and No. 2 Rock Island Alleman on Saturday, May 31 at 10 a.m. Williamsville (23-5) dispatched Alleman 1-0 in last year's supersectional in Chillicothe.
NO. 2 QUINCY NOTRE DAME 1, NO. 1 SACRED HEART-GRIFFIN 0: Sierra Thomas summoned the early goal in the first half and the Raiders will meet top-seeded Columbia in the North Mac Supersectional on Saturday, May 31 at 11 a.m. QND previously won the 1A state title in 2022.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, , Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR. Staff writer Bill Welt also contributed to this story.
