Mahomet-Seymour ends Apollo Conference play unbeaten with senior night
By Fred Kroner
Playing a match on Wednesday (May 4), for the third day in a row, the Mahomet-Seymour girls’ soccer team wrapped up an unbeaten season against Apollo Conference foes by blitzing Taylorville, 10-0, at Middletown Field.
In the team’s Senior Night farewell, the 10 goals – and all 10 assists – were spread among 10 different seniors.
Finding the back of the net were Brea Benson, Kamryn Frost, Veronica Hoffman, Delaney King, Cayla Koerner, Grace Larson, Grace Lietz, Amelia Osman, Taylor Remus and Bailey Roberts.
Another senior, Lauren Schnepper, was credited with one save while in goal.
M-S tallied five goals in each half.
“Anna Hawley (the team’s 12th senior) also had several dangerous chances throughout the night, putting pressure on the Taylorville back line,” M-S coach Jeremy Davis said.
Koerner posted four assists.
M-S completed its Apollo schedule with a 10-0 record and held a 76-5 edge in goals versus the league opponents.
The Bulldogs rebounded from their first setback to vanquish Mattoon, 5-3, on Tuesday (May 3) at Middletown Field.
Koerner notched two goals and added two assists against the Green Wave. Benson also totaled two goals and chipped in with one assist.
Schnepper netted one goal to go with one assist. King also had an assist.
The teams were tied, 3-3, at halftime.
“It was not the prettiest of the games for M-S,” Davis said. “Several of the girls had some dead legs and poor touches after the hard game and late night Monday.
Benson, primarily a midfielder, has tallied 15 of her 51 career goals this season.
In that Monday (May 2) girls’ soccer showdown between two of the state’s top-five-ranked Class 2A teams, No. 4 Dunlap edged No.5 Mahomet-Seymour, 3-2, in Dunlap.
M-S, which suffered its first loss of the spring, trailed 2-0 at halftime.
“The Bulldogs struggled in the first half with Dunlap controlling much of the play,” Davis said. “However, the teams were close to even on high percentage chances.
“At times, the zonal defense looked a bit like some gerrymandered districts, with players slotting around the field.
“With a formational shift a few weeks back, the Bulldogs were still ironing out some defensive responsibilities that Dunlap took advantage of in the first half to give the Eagles the majority of possession.”
Koerner connected on two second-half chances, and has a team-best 49 goals scored this spring.
Benson and Nadia Biegler had one assist apiece.
“The girls adjusted well in the second half,” Davis said. “Cayla Koerner was a beast up top for the Bulldogs. With some balls played vertically, Cayla consistently caused issues for Dunlap, even outnumbered at times, 2 vs. 1.“I was pretty happy with the game. We haven’t played from behind much and the girls responded well to being down 2-0.
“The second half was anyone’s game. Unfortunately, overcoming a two-goal deficit against another excellent team was just a Bridge Too Far.”
M-S (16-1) returns to action on Tuesday (May 10) at Normal Community. On Thursday (May 12), M-S will play at Morton. Normal and Morton are both No. 1 seeds in their respective regionals.
The Bulldogs’ junior varsity team defeated Mattoon after battling to a 0-0 draw at Dunlap.
