Coal City girls soccer falls just short in regional final

COAL CITY – The last three times Coal City and Herscher’s girls soccer teams played, the game was tied at the end of regulation and at the end of overtime, resulting in a shootout.

So, it was no surprise Friday that the title game of the Class 1A Coal City Regional between the two teams was a close one.

This time, however, Herscher was able to avoid overtime and a shootout when Stephanie Allison scored with 4:47 to play, breaking a 1-all tie and putting the Tigers ahead, 2-1. They were able to withstand a few furious Coal City attempts to score in the final minutes to to the score and win the regional title.

“This was a very good game,” Coal City coach Michael Kostbade said. “It always is when we play Herscher. These two programs are very evenly matched. Just like the last few we played with them, this one could have gone either way.”

In the first half, it went all Coal City’s way.

The Coalers (6-8) controlled the ball and the game early, as both Ashley Matusiak and Alicia Matusiak got off shots on goal in the first five minutes. Just a little more than seven minutes in, Bridget Kauzlaric got the ball in the middle of the field and delivered a through pass to the right to Alicia Matusiak, who then was able to get off a shot that got past Herscher goalie Abby Kukuck for a 1-0 Coal City lead with 33:42 left in the first half.

Herscher then began to pick up the offensive pressure, but the combination of the Coal City defense and the play of Coaler goalie Kat Druse kept the Tigers off the board in the first half. Ashley Jezik made a nice stop of a Herscher breakaway and Druse made six saves in the first half. With 15 minutes left, Herscher’s Taylor Hartmann got off a shot that looked like it might find an opening at the top of the goal, but Druse jumped and knocked it up and over the goal.

“Without Kat’s play, especially in the first half, this game could have been 4-1 or 5-1. She did a great job.”

Besides Jezik, the Coalers got strong defensive play from Aisha Malovski, Claire Pavlis, Clarissa Barkley Danielle VanCura and Ashley Matusiak to go with solid midfield efforts from Kauzlaric, Alyssa Gernenz, Becky Bajt and Katie McGinn.

“The defense was able to read one another and their movements very well,” Kostbade said. “They supported each other and helped each other out.”

Early in the second half, Hartmann scored during a scramble in front of the net after a Herscher corner kick to tie it at 1 with 30:50 to play.

At the 23:00 mark, Jezik sent a pass through the Herscher defense, and teammate Tori Knudson took control on the right wing. She sent it to Alicia Matusiak in the middle, who had a clear path to the goal. However, just before she was able to deliver the shot, Herscher’s Shannon Ducat hustled in from behind to knock it away.

With 4:47 to play, Allison sent a shot high toward the Coal City net. Druse attempted the same punch-it-over-the-goal move that was successful earlier, but this time she didn’t get it high enough and it went in for the winning goal.

“I told the girls that if they want to feel sad about anything, feel sad about the outcome,” Kostbade said. “They should feel proud of their effort today, of the improvement they showed throughout the season and their ability to play well as a team, because I am proud of that.

“There isn’t much negative to take out of this game. We just came up short on goals. That will happen. Shots don’t always go in, but effort can always be there, and it was for us today.”