The domination of the Pleasant Plains girls soccer team continued on Thursday as the Cardinals scored five goals in the first half before beating Johnsburg 5-1 in the Illinois High School Association Class 1A state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville.
The Cardinals put their 26-0-2 record on the line Saturday against Glen Carbon Father McGivney in the 1A title game at 2:30 p.m. The Griffins (23-2-3) beat Elmhurst Timothy Christian 4-0 in the other semifinal Thursday.
Callie Wagner gave Plains a quick 1-0 lead when she finished a pass right-to-left from teammate Bailey Leach and scored from about 12-yards away in the third minute.
It took a while, but the dam broke in the final 10 minutes of the opening half when Leach punched one in during the 31st minute after teammate Caroline Willenborg headed a corner kick by Willa Ozyurt. Leach then added another on a header in the 35th minute off a crossing assist from Aurora Fraase for a 3-0 lead.
The fourth goal came from Willenborg after teammate Grace Sabatka got the ball into the box with 2 minutes, 55 seconds to play. And finally, Sabatka scored just 47 seconds later off an assist from Carly Crawford.
The Skyhawks got their only goal in the 73rd minute by Charlie Eastland.
Leach had four shots on goal and scored on half her attempts.
In Pleasant Plains’ third trip to the state semifinals, this is their first attempt for a championship. The 2009 Cardinals finished fourth after losses to Manteno and Rockford Lutheran. In 2023, the Cardinals lost to Normal University in the semifinal and beat Elmhurst IC Catholic in the third-place game.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Leach, Pleasant Plains to play for gold following blowout win in semis
Reporting by Ryan Mahan, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Ryan Mahan, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
