By Todd Rohde ~ SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
What a postseason run it has been so far for the Johnsburg girls’ soccer team, as they have rose to the occasion and taken their game to the next level.
In doing so, the Lady Skyhawks have been rewarded for their efforts along the way by continuing to advance their way through the playoffs.
The Skyhawks first defeated Richmond-Burton by giving the Rockets their only loss of the season in winning the regional. Then Johnsburg followed it up with a pair of victories to capture a sectional title and earn an appearance within the supersectionals for the first time in the school’s history.
The Skyhawks improved to 13-6 overall with a 6-1 win over Stillman Valley in the IHSA Class 1A Genoa-Kingston Sectional championship game May 17th. With the victory Johnsburg advanced onto the Hinckley-Big Rock Super-Sectional May 21st, where they will play Immaculate Conception of Elmhurst with the winner moving onto State.
Johnsburg got off to a great start to steal the momentum and put the tempo in their favor. They did so by connecting on a pair of goals by Olivia Jansen and Delaney Pruitt within the first 10 minutes of the game to give the Hawks a quick 2-0 advantage.
The Skyhawks would eventually take a 3-0 lead into the break, thanks to a goal by Kortnee Hass. This would be just the start of good things to come, as Johnsburg would keep up the intensity in the second half.
Pruitt split the poles for her second goal less than five minutes into second half to up the score to 4-0. Then after the Cardinals scored their first and only goal of the game, Johnsburg responded by putting the game away with insurance goals from Jansen and Allie Layton.
Pruitt and Jansen both finished with a pair of goals in the game, while Marge Nusser contributed a pair of assists. Kelsey Stefka did a nice job making some saves on goal after coming in for starter Kadie Calmeyer was forced to leave the game due to receiving a yellow card.
Earlier in the week, the Skyhawks advanced onto the finals by doubling up Rockford Lutheran. Johnsburg bettered the Crusaders by a 4-2 margin in the IHSA Class 1A Genoa-Kingston Sectional semifinal game May 14th.
Hass got the Skyhawks on the board first, as she found the back of the net just three minutes into the game. Despite scoring early, that would be the only goal of the first half as the Skyhawks would lead 1-0 at the break.
The Crusaders were able to steal the momentum away in the second half, as they scored a pair of around the 60th minute to overtake a 2-1 advantage. With the pressure on to respond, the Skyhawks did by knotting the score when Layton took a pass from Pruitt and knocked it through with less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation.
Hass would score the Skyhawks final goal with five minutes left on the clock to put the game away and start the celebration. Johnsburg is playing with a great deal of confidence right now and are peaking at the right time.