Despite dire circumstances, Johnsburg didn’t quit.

Playing without injured senior forward and leading scorer Liz Smith, the unbeaten Skyhawks faced a steep first-half deficit during their Class 1A state girls soccer semifinal against Pleasant Plains co-op. After a competitive first 30 minutes, Johnsburg conceded four goals over a short stretch of time as the Cardinals grew their lead.

But the Skyhawks, receiving heartfelt words from coach Rob Eastland at halftime, responded with a stronger effort in the second half. Down more than they had been at any point in their season, the Skyhawks scored late in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit. Johnsburg’s undefeated stretch ended with a 5-1 loss.

“When I brought them in at halftime, it was the challenge of I don’t accept that,” Eastland said. “I don’t mind being beat. I don’t mind losing, but we don’t quit. I’ve been here before and I’ve been down 3-0 at halftime and come back to tie 4-4 and win in PKs. My teams don’t quit. Regardless of the score, I was proud of the second half.”

Johnsburg (18-1) will return to North Central College at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning and face Timothy Christian for third place.

In what was a matchup of undefeated public-school programs, Pleasant Plains co-op (26-0-2) surged ahead only minutes in. Bailey Leach rolled a short pass inside the box that Callie Wagner converted in the third minute.

Moving players around the formation to account for the absence of Smith, who leads Johnsburg with 33 goals, the Skyhawks had chances to counter. Freshman Dorothy Ruth, who entered the starting lineup for Thursday’s semifinal, posted a shot that went just wide left in the seventh minute. Charlie Eastland fired one a pinch high in the 10th.

“We knew they were going to be a solid team and they attacked very well,” said Charlie Eastland, who briefly exited with a bloody nose after a head-to-head collision in the 29th minute. “We knew they had very strong attackers, so we prepared a few formations to try and help with that.”

Eastland placed a shot on goal in the 20th minute, but Pleasant Plains keeper Emma Sabatka, who finished with four saves, was there for the stop. From that moment, the match turned firmly in the hands of the Cardinals, whose scoring spree was sparked when Caroline Willenborg headed in a corner kick from Raelyn Brammer in the 31st minute.

Leach then finished a short cross in the box by Aurora Fraase to make the score 3-0 in the 36th minute. Using her head for a second time, Willenborg bumped in a Grace Sabatka assist during the 38th minute. One minute later, Sabatka blasted a right-footed shot from range that zoomed past Johnsburg keeper Lila Konrad to put the co-op up 5-0.

“I think the better team won through,” Rob Eastland said. “I thought it was really equal for about 20 minutes. We had to completely change tactics losing Liz. Liz is irreplacable, but players like Dorothy came in and gave us everything they had. I think they can be proud of that.”

Inspired to put a competitive second half forward, Johnsburg fought in the middle third, winning more possessions and providing stronger coverage on the back end. The Skyhawks earned their first corner of the night in the 72nd minute, which Lauren McQuiston booted in and Charlie Eastland, capitalizing on a deflected save, kicked in for a goal.

“I really wanted to give it my all,” the senior forward McQuiston said. “Even though there was only a little bit of time left, we knew we had accomplished something in this game, so I think that made us proud.”

Friday’s third-place match will be a rematch from last year’s semifinal round, where the Skyhawks knocked off Timothy Christian 2-1 on a game-winning goal from Charlie Eastland. Pleasant Plains, meanwhile, advances to face Father McGivney, which defeated the Trojans 4-0 in the semifinal round Thursday, for the state championship Saturday.