Johnsburg ends historic season with IHSA Class 1A state runner-up finish

NAPERVILLE – Natalie Oeffling looked down at the Class 1A state runner-up trophy as she walked off the field of North Central College’s Bendetti-Wehrli Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

With each step she took toward Johnsburg’s bench, Oeffling closely examined the trophy as its base rested on her stomach.

It was at that moment where Oeffling realized the unthinkable had just happened.

[ Photos: Johnsburg, Columbia meet in Class 1A girls soccer state championship ]

Yes, the Skyhawks’ historic playoff run ended with an 8-0 loss to Columbia for the Class 1A championship. But Oeffling and her teammates had etched their names into the Johnsburg record books with the program’s highest placement at the state finals (previous best was third place in 2017).

“It’s just unbelievable,” Oeffling, a senior, said. “I never would have thought that we could do anything like this. Honestly, I can’t even describe the feeling, to be in the moment to understand what’s truly going on. I’m just so honored to be here with every single one of these girls. They’re my best friends. So it’s so amazing to just be here, get to play on that field for my last minutes of soccer.”

Johnsburg’s (13-7) historic day came after a miraculous run. The Skyhawks qualified for the state finals by overcoming two deficits to beat Willows Academy in the supersectionals. Then the heroics continued Thursday when sophomore Charlie Eastland scored with 29 seconds left in the Class 1A state semifinals to lead the Skyhawks to their first state championship match.

But on Saturday, Johnsburg ran out of gas. Columbia controlled possession and created strong scoring in the first 10 minutes of the match. After putting four shots on goal in the first five minutes of the match, senior Riley Matthews scored off a corner kick to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead with 34:13 left in the first half.

Johnsburg held off the pressure for the next 15 minutes but then it became too hard to stop. Columbia scored five more goals in the first half and added two more in the second to win its second state championship. The Eagles finished with 16 shots on goal.

“We knew this was going to be a really tough competition for us and we were ready for it,” junior Liz Smith said. “But at the end of the day, there’s not much you can do when a team’s just better than you in every area. But it doesn’t take away from how much our postseason run has meant to us as a whole.”

The Skyhawks ended a run that seemed unlikely at the middle of the season. After starting the season 7-2, Johnsburg ended the regular season with a 1-4 stretch, failing to win both the Kishwaukee River Conference regular season and tournament championships.

But Johnsburg started the playoffs in dominant fashion, outscoring its opponents 15-2 in three matches. Then came the two last-minute wins to get to the state championship.

“It’s just unbelievable. I never would have thought that we could do anything like this. Honestly, I can’t even describe the feeling, to be in the moment to understand what’s truly going on. I’m just so honored to be here with every single one of these girls. They’re my best friends. So it’s so amazing to just be here, get to play on that field for my last minutes of soccer.”

—  Natalie Oeffling, Johnsburg senior

The run wasn’t for the faint of heart. Johnsburg coach Rob Eastland looked at his Oura Ring during the playoff run and it told him his cardio age was 10 years older than he actually was.

But he was proud to be a part of such a historic run not only for the program, but for the Johnsburg community.

“We beat everyone in our path, and we did it in a way that was a fairytale and a storybook,” Rob Eastland said. “We’ve had so many highs and we’ve been able to ignite our community. Maybe three weeks ago, no one was talking about it. Then I think what those girls have done in the last three weeks deserves a hell of a lot of praise and a lot of pride in what they’ve done.”

The Skyhawks are hoping this fairytale has a sequel. Johnsburg will graduate seven seniors but bring back large junior and sophomore classes who learned a lot from this season.

After a memorable three weeks, Smith is hoping she’ll be the one looking down at a state championship trophy a year from now.

“Coming out of this winning [state] would be great,” Smith said. “It’s a great learning curve for us this year, and it’s great that we have another opportunity next year and that would for sure be a future goal for us.”