In IHSA playoff action this past week, the Lady Leaf soccer team captured the regional title over Alleman, but then had its quest for the state title cut short by Peoria Notre Dame.

Geneseo vs. Peoria Notre Dame

The high hopes Geneseo had for its postseason run came to an abrupt and unexpected end May 26 in the first round of sectional action as Peoria Notre Dame edged out the Lady Leafs, 3-2 to advance.

“I think last night it seemed like we weren’t ready to play,” said head coach Ian Kline. “We didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to warm up and they were not ready to go.”

The Irish got an early jump on the Lady Leafs as they knocked through two goals in the first 2 minutes and 47 seconds.

Casey O’Brien scored the first on the assist from Madi Green :24 into the game, while the second was scored on a Geneseo own goal.

Peoria Notre Dame lofted a shot on goal from the right side that Geneseo goalie Danielle Springer got her hands on, but unfortunately rolled off her fingers and into the net for an own goal.

The Lady Leafs were held scoreless through the first half as the Irish led 2-0 at halftime.
Geneseo finally got on the board in the second half with a goal by Jade Mariman on the assist from Keatyn DeGrave at 51:37 for a 2-1 score.

The Lady Leafs continued to push and make their come back with Kelsey Nystrom tying the game, 2-2, with a goal at 58:49 on the assist from Alli DeSmith.

Peoria Notre Dame answered back with an unassisted goal by Jenny Olson at 67:05 to regain control of the lead and Geneseo was never able to recover.

“We had some good chances and ended up tying it, but then we had a let down and they got another one,” said Kline. “That took the wind out of our sails.”

Geneseo finished the game with eight shots on goal, while Peoria Notre Dame took four. In the net, Springer made one save, while PND had five.

“It was a lot of uncharacteristic play by all the girls all around the board and you can’t have that from key players,” said Kline.

Geneseo vs. Alleman

The Alleman Pioneers were no match for the Geneseo Lady Leafs as they cruised to a 5-0 regional championship win May 22 in Geneseo.

“That game we were ready to play,” said Kline. “And we played our game from beginning to end.”

Jordan Wagner opened the scoring attack for Geneseo early with an unassisted goal 1:37 into the game, which was followed by a Meghan Wethington goal at 4:04 on the assist from Wagner for the 2-0 lead.

Geneseo’s next goal came from Wagner on the assist from Kaitlyn Ebarb at 28:53, while Ebarb capped off the half with a goal of her own, unassisted at 33:32 for the 4-0 advantage at halftime.
Nystrom punched through what would be Geneseo’s final goal of the game on the assist from Wagner at 43:32 to put the Lady Leafs up 5-0.

Geneseo finished the game with 16 shots on goal, while holding Alleman to two. Springer made two saves in the net for the Lady Leafs and the Pioneers’ goalie ended the game with 11 saves.

The Lady Leafs end the season with an overall record of 17-3 and 5-0 in the NCIC for the conference title.

“It was a wonderful season, obviously we started strong and ended strong except for the last game,” said Kline. “The whole season was positive and the girls played good soccer. It was fun to watch. It was a fun season, the girls played very well and had fun playing.

“Maybe what got to them was the length of the season and the motivation wasn’t there, but you have to let them play the game. When the loss hits home you realize you could have done more and didn’t.”