Herscher rides Gianni Jaime’s hat trick to 3-2 win over BBCHS

HERSCHER – After taking their first two losses of the season in tournament play in Urbana on Saturday, the Herscher girls soccer team got back in the win column at home Tuesday against Bradley-Bourbonnais.

Not long after Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Harper Tollefson had given the Boilermakers a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, Herscher’s Gianna Jaime scored three goals in a span of just more than 13 minutes to push the Tigers ahead. Tollefson scored again 30 seconds before halftime to cut Herscher’s lead to 3-2, but the score would stay there the rest of the match.

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Herscher's Gianni Jaime celebrates scoring a goal with teammate Laney Mohler during the Tigers' 3-2 victory over Bradley-Bourbonnais on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Herscher improved to 9-2-2 with the win while the Boilermakers fell to 7-5 after winning three of their previous four games entering Tuesday.

“We’ve been battling a few injuries here and there, so we pulled it together very nicely I think playing a good [Bradley-Bourbonnais] team,” Herscher coach Chris Longtin said. “We had a couple of losses over the weekend, so it was nice to be able to snap back and get back on track here.”

Jaime’s first goal came with 16:07 to go in the first half, about four minutes after the Boilermakers took a 1-0 lead. She scored again with 6:32 to go and got her final goal with 2:43 left in the first half.

She said it felt good to rack up some goals after the team had been held to one goal in their two losses Saturday.

“It was a little hard when we fell short this weekend, although we faced some really good teams. We just got unlucky with our chances,” Jaime said. “It felt really good to get three on them quickly and then hold them for the rest of the game.”

As for the injuries Longtin mentioned, one of the areas it’s been seen is in net. Starting goalkeeper Danica Woods has missed the past few games, although she is expected back Friday, so it was freshman Bella Eich who stepped in.

She made 10 saves Tuesday as the Tigers held the Boilermakers off the scoreboard in the second half to preserve the win.

“We’ve got a really nice JV goalie, and she’s been stepping in the last few days,” Longtin said. “I think they rallied around her. They’re happy she’s back there, and we’re happy she’s playing for us and working hard. It’s nice to see our team pull it together and work as a unit to keep us up in this one.

“There was about 10 or 15 minutes where [Bradley-Bourbonnais] was pushing hard, and I think we had run out of a little gas, so I’m glad we were able to step it up.”

Despite that late push by the Boilermakers, they were unable to capitalize on their scoring chances. Although they came up short, coach Kristen Powell said the way the team played through the second half was promising.

“Our second half was fantastic,” she said. “Our girls were holding a high line, they were playing the ball through the middle, we were finding feet up top. We really were just missing finding the back of the net, that was it. Our second was brilliant, and that’s the way we play soccer. That’s what we’re looking to continue the rest of the season.”

Powell also said she felt the team started slow offensively until Tollefson scored around the 20-minute mark of the first half. Going forward, getting off to faster starts will be the focus.

“Once we hit that sweet spot about 20 minutes in, it was game on,” Powell said. “That Herscher team is talented, and we knew that this game was going to be competitive and be a great game. We just were a little delayed in competing back.”