NAPERVILLE – Pleasant Plains senior midfielders Bailey Leach and Grace Sabatka began their high school soccer careers by helping lift the Cardinals to the highest finish in program history.
They ended them by doing the same thing.
Leach, an Illinois State commit, and Sabatka, who is bound for Southeast Missouri State, lost the final game of their careers when Glen Carbon Father McGivney beat previously unbeaten Pleasant Plains 3-0 in the Class 1A state championship game Saturday, June 6, at North Central College.
They are two of the six seniors who also played on the team that finished third in 2023, which was the school’s previous best showing.
“Going to state twice in my high school career is crazy, but especially to end on a runner-up is truly something special,” Leach said. “I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group of girls or coaches. They mean the world to me.”
Leach scored a team-high 51 goals for the Cardinals (26-1-2), while Sabatka added 23 goals.
“It’s just kind of full-circle,” Sabatka said. “Coming here freshman year, obviously we didn’t get first or second, so it is amazing to get higher than we did last time.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done my last four years and the rest of this season, and I hope the girls behind us coming up accomplish more than what we did.”
The Cardinals now have a fourth-, a third- and a second-place trophy. They were denied the ultimate prize thanks to an outstanding effort by Father McGivney (24-2-3), which also was making its first title-game appearance.
The Griffins outshot the Cardinals 13-1. Pleasant Plains goalkeeper Emma Sabataka, the younger sister of Grace Sabatka, made eight saves to keep her team in it. But Kinley Dettmers scored with 22:22 left in the first half, and Natalie Beck converted a penalty kick seven minutes later to give Father McGivney a 2-0 lead. Mira Ahlvers added an insurance goal at the 19:15 mark of the second half.
“I don’t think we played to our full potential,” Grace Sabatka said. “We kind of got a little bit out of our game.
“We got a little bit flustered, so we didn’t play our top-notch game. But I’m proud of what we’ve done this season as a whole, and I’m proud of how far we’ve gotten, and it’s definitely something to celebrate.”
Pleasant Plains coach Greg Bryan said the entire season was a cause for celebration, especially the contributions of the four-year varsity players, who also include Caroline Willenborg, Mahkayla Nossem, Raelyn Brammer and Hailey Sobieski.
“You’re getting a very small fraction of who they are,” Bryan said. “Their character is unbelievable.
“Every day was a moment. When I watched them interact with the other players, the other kids looked at them like they’re professionals. They were in awe.”
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Why state runner-up is cause for celebration for Pleasant Plains soccer
Reporting by Matt Le Cren, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Matt Le Cren, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
