Why not?
Johnsburg forward Liz Smith had that thought as she prepared to fire a shot from distance during the team’s IHSA Class 1A sectional girls soccer championship against Willows Academy on Saturday. Carrying the ball to the middle of the pitch, the senior opted to test opposing keeper Katie Rudolph, launching a shot from roughly 25 yards away.
The ball went into the upper right corner, giving Johnsburg a one-goal lead in the seventh minute. It was the first of two goals for Smith, who connected on another long-range blast in the 17th minute to lead the still-unbeaten Skyhawks over Willows 2-1 at Cristo Rey St. Martin. Johnsburg (17-0) will play for a supersectional title Monday.
“I hardly ever take those shots, but I saw the opportunity and I had no one to pass to in that moment,” Smith said. “I’m like, why not? Let’s test the keeper early and rip one. I saw the shot and I took it.”
Saturday marked the second time in two seasons that Johnsburg and Willows (17-2-2) met deep in the playoffs. The two teams went into penalty kicks for a supersectional title last spring, with the Skyhawks emerging victorious before ending their season at the state finals.
Both No. 1 seeds this time around, Johnsburg and Willows traded blows early in the game. Trailing after Smith’s strike in the seventh minute, Willows found an equalizer after earning a free kick outside the Johnsburg box in the 15th minute. Bernadette Presberg delivered the kick and Mary Seuffert finished in traffic.
Undeterred after allowing just their fifth goal this year, the Skyhawks answered almost immediately. Fielding Brooke Butler’s pass up the far sideline, Smith streaked past one defender and angled a right-footed shot from outside the upper corner of the box. Hitting the upper half of the net, Smith’s goal in the 17th minute put Johnsburg back up.
“I think I blank out in some of those times and I’m just like, ‘eyes forward, go at the player,’” Smith said. “When you see the gap and you beat the player, you just have to take the shot against a team like Willows. They’re so talented and you need to take those chances.”
The Eagles almost countered once again, as Presberg delivered a shot over the crossbar and Seuffert placed a hard shot on goal in the 18th minute. Willows threatened in the 48th minute, sending a corner kick in that Johnsburg initially struggled to clear away. But senior keeper Lila Konrad emerged with a big save to keep the Skyhawks ahead.
“We all really want 80 more minutes,” said Konrad, who recorded 13 saves in the victory. “That’s really all it came down to. Everyone has an instinct and if I see it and I can’t decide, I just have to go with that first gut feeling. That first gut feeling is always the right choice.”
Still holding a 2-1 lead, Johnsburg continued to steer Willows away despite a handful of dangerous chances. Shortly after Presberg hit a shot off the right post in the 57th minute, the junior midfielder sent another shot on goal that Konrad saved in the 65th. Konrad stepped up for a save in the 70th, when a free kick led to a Willows corner.
“We knew it was going to be a really tough game,” Johnsburg senior center back London Baidinger said. “We knew we couldn’t switch it off at any time on defense. ... We were tired, so there were definitely a lot of close calls, but there was a lot of communication. We stayed tight, stayed on our player and communicated. That’s the biggest thing.”
Saves in the 73rd and 75th minutes preserved Johnsburg’s lead. With just minutes remaining, the Skyhawks successfully pushed the ball up the field, preventing Willows from finding any more promising chances down the stretch. Johnsburg, which won its second straight sectional title, gets Rockford Christian at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Marian Central.
“There’s really no better feeling,” Konrad said. “I’m never going to get a feeling like this from playing a sport or playing with these girls ever again. There’s no better feeling than the family we’ve created and being able to play this game with each other along the way.”