Mahomet-Seymour Girls’ Soccer Holds Strong in Goalless Draw Against Conference Rival Mattoon

By Fred Kroner

In a showdown between the top girls’ soccer teams in the Apollo Conference on Thursday (April 11), Mahomet-Seymour battled to a 0-0 draw at Mattoon.

Bulldog goalkeeper Margaret Moore ended with six saves.

“Both teams struggled to get going offensively,” M-S coach Jeremy Davis said. “Mattoon often looked to attack in the transition, throwing numbers into the box, while Mahomet looked to do the same.

“The young (Bulldog) squad played a little bit too much like the pterodactyl from the Land before Time … a bit too anxious.

“The girls rushed some play and didn’t maintain their composure on the ball by looking to possess.”

M-S is 1-0-1 in Apollo Matches. Mattoon is 7-3-1 overall.

The Bulldog junior varsity squad salvaged a 1-1 tie when Zoey Wallace scored with six seconds left in the match. After being pulled down in the box, Wallace hit a game-tying penalty kick.

On Saturday (April 13), both Jaycee Fancher and Ella Walk netted two goals as M-S recorded a 4-2 win at Herscher.

M-S led, 3-1, at intermission.

“In another positive, the ‘Dogs avoided the maleficence of the soccer gods and left the game avoiding any additional injuries,” Davis said. “They welcomed back Paislee Welge, who had sat a few weeks.”

Erika Johnson, Izzy Lietz, Camryn Nelson and Walk all registered one assist. Moore collected a season-high eight saves.

Herscher, which had played in back-to-back state quarterfinal matches the last two years, is 10-4 overall.

“Mahomet played well in moving the ball on the turf,” Davis added. “The girls still rushed some possessions, but were much improved in their ball-winning and pass completion.

“The attacking group had an improved day as well. The stat line ended up being filled by freshmen and sophomores as they did a better job working collaboratively as opposed to independently.

“Ella Walk had a great day linking the defense to the attack. She was able to get the final touch for two goals, while Jaycee Fancher was able to finish chances as well to score twice. The two wingers were able to play nice diagonal balls to unbalance the Tiger defense.”

The Bulldogs’ defense – in addition to Moore – excelled.

“Welge, Hannah Creel and Ava Watkins did well in neutralizing one of the best players we’ve seen this season,” Davis added.

The Bulldogs (4-2-2) will return to action on Monday (April 15) at home against Rochester.

The unbeaten M-S junior varsity squad (5-0-1) also won at Herscher.