Lundstrom joins Mahomet-Seymour elite, Warren reaches new career points for program

By Fred Kroner

In their home finale on Tuesday (April 13), Mahomet-Seymour’s boys’ soccer team overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat Mattoon 4-2 and remain unbeaten in Apollo Conference matches.

Nate Lundstrom posted a second-half hat trick. Teammate Eli Warren added a goal and an assist.

Other Bulldog assists were by Sam Henrichs and Logan Woodward.

Mattoon’s halftime lead was by virtue of a penalty kick, which was the team’s only attempt before intermission.

“Once the Bulldogs got a solid lead, the seniors, Tucker Antonacci, Clayton Kessler, and Daniel Renshaw were able to join fellow seniors, Lundstrom, Warren, Woodward, and Aidan Hegarty for a decent chunk of the second half,” M-S coach Jeremy Davis said. “They continued to control play, but unfortunately, there was a defensive breakdown in the final three seconds as Mattoon put in their second goal.”

Lundstrom’s performance enabled him to become the seventh player in school history to surpass the 50-point mark for a career (for combined goals and assists). He has 53 points in his prep career. Also in that club is his brother, Evan Lundstrom.

Warren, meanwhile, who established a new career points total earlier in the season became the first Bulldog to eclipse 80 points for a career. He has 81.

On Wednesday (April 14), M-S suffered a 1-0 loss at Lincoln in a showdown for the top spot in the Apollo Conference.

“The Bulldogs were able to possess the ball and move the ball on the ground pretty effectively, but they had a difficult time cracking the defensive shell of Lincoln,” Davis said. “Lincoln looked to play pretty tight in the box and then spring their speedy forward into a counter attack.

“Mahomet had their fair share of chances but were unable to finish the opportunities. Overall, the team played pretty well and controlled much of the flow of the game.

“They definitely looked a bit tired the last half, as most had played long minutes the night before. Lincoln looked a bit better rested as the game went on as most starters had rested while they thrashed Teutopolis the night before, getting up four in the first 5 minutes.

“Often tired legs are evident when players are leaving their first touches on the ball underneath them rather than redirecting to a better position. Mahomet struggled with that as well as a much lower pass completion rate as the game wore on.”

M-S (10-2-3) returns to action on Thursday (April 15) at Taylorville. The match will be the team’s third in three days.

In the Apollo standings, first-place Lincoln is 10-1-2 and also has 32 points. M-S is next with a 9-1-2 league mark and 29 points. Third-place Mount Zion is in contention with an 8-1-2 record and 26 points.

The Bulldogs still have two league matches to play before the season ends on Saturday and are in position to earn some conference hardware if they win out.