Johnsburg comes back twice to reach IHSA state finals for first time since 2017

RIVER FOREST – Charlie Eastland slowly walked toward the north goal of Dominican University’s West Campus Field on Saturday afternoon before she stopped at the penalty spot.

Her Johnsburg teammates Liz Smith and Devyn Michel watched as they each stood roughly 40 yards behind with bated breath.

[ Photos: Johnsburg defeats Willows Academy at Class 1A Dominican University Supersectional ]

Her goalkeeper Lila Konrad stood off to the side of the goal and did all she could at that point: pray.

Her coach and father Rob Eastland knelt on one knee on the sidelines while endless thoughts swirled around in his mind.

After a quick look toward the ball and the net, Charlie started her run toward the ball, smacked it into the right side and the party began.

Players instantly sprinted toward each other onto the field. Coaches leaped off the ground in excitement. But as the ball touched the back of the net, everyone instantly let out a scream in disbelief that pierced through the college campus.

Johnsburg had overcome two deficits to beat Willows Academy 3-2 in penalty kicks to win the Class 1A Dominican University Supersectional. The Skyhawks were heading back to the state finals for the first time since 2017.

“We went out there, we just went at them and we were resilient,” Charlie, a sophomore, said. “It was honestly amazing. I cannot wait. I’m just so proud of our team.”

It was a moment that seemed impossible, twice, for Johnsburg (11-6-1). Despite controlling possession and creating numerous strong scoring chances, the Skyhawks trailed for all but 7 minutes and 42 seconds, in Saturday’s match that went 100 minutes.

But with their season on the line, the Skyhawks always found a way to respond.

The first response came late in the match when junior Lauren McQuiston sent a deep through pass to Smith in the Eagles’ box. Smith fought through traffic in the box and shot the ball to her left as she went to the right.

The ball finally snuck into the goal with 2:25 left in the match to tie it 1-1.

“I just had to stay composed,” Smith said. “I was like, ‘I need this. We need this for the team. We’re running out of time.’ … I hear everybody saying shoot it, shoot it. I’m like, alright, I’m going to shoot it. I know I got this, and I shot it.”

The second response came in overtime with just under two minutes left. Willows senior Julia Lechner had knocked in a goal off a corner kick with 7:48 left in the first half of overtime. Much like regulation, Johnsburg created good scoring chances but couldn’t knock one in.

The Skyhawks drew one last look on a free kick just to the corner of the penalty box, right where Michel likes it. Michel had sailed a ball earlier in the match off a free kick in the same spot. But this time she snuck it in perfectly near the top of the goal to tie the match at 2-2 with 1:33 left in overtime.

“I knew I missed my first one, I was very mad about that,” Michel said. “But I take a lot from that exact angle. I practice those a lot. I stepped up and I saw where the wall was and I just literally had no thoughts. I just hoped it went in.”

Then came the final response.

Johnsburg ran out to a 2-0 lead in penalty kicks after Smith and senior Natalie Oeffling made their first two shots and Konrad stopped Willows’ first two. The Eagles made their next three shots while Johnsburg split two to set up Charlie Eastland’s moment.

She had missed a penalty kick earlier in the first half. But she followed her parents’ advice, forgot about the past and sank in the match-winner to make history.

“I knew I really wanted it and I knew I was going to give it my all,” she said. “At that moment, it was all down to me, but I wanted it so bad. I knew I had it in me and having the coaching staff right behind my back, I knew I had to do it for my team.”

The win pulled off an improbable finish for a Johnsburg team that’s experienced everything this season. The Skyhawks ran out to a 7-2 start before finishing the regular season 1-4. But the Skyhawks credited the highs and lows to Saturday’s historic win.

“We went out there, we just went at them and we were resilient. It was honestly amazing. I cannot wait. I’m just so proud of our team.”

—  Charlie Eastland, Johnsburg sophomore

Johnsburg will return to the state finals for the third time in program history when it plays Timothy Christian in the Class 1A semifinals at North Central College in Naperville at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

Much like Saturday, the Skyhawks will try to write another storybook ending and win their first state championship.

“Very seldom do you get a full team effort like that at the big stage too,” Rob said. “So I’m just immensely proud of all of them, the fact that they went out and just never gave up. We do sports and you always hope for a fairy tale. The girls just absolutely lived one.”