by Savannah Weishaar
It was an intense week for Parkland soccer. Both the men and women’s soccer came to a devastating end this this past weekend in the semifinals of the Region 24 playoffs.
Photo source: Kim Dahlgren
The men’s team played Southwestern Illinois College in the first round of playoffs last Wednesday at home. Number 11 Ivai Warella scored the first goal of the game for the cobras off of an assist from #23 Josef Halcomb in the 25th minute. With just four minutes left in the half, #10 Zach Gowlett, more commonly known as Zico, cut off a pass and dribbled into the box to score putting the cobras at a 2-0 lead at halftime. In the 72nd minute of the match Zico put another goal in making the score 3-0. Only a minute after, SWIC put in their first goal of the game against second string keeper Christian Contreras. Contreras played in place of Lorenzo Giaretti, the starting keeper, who was out with an injury. Only a few minutes later, the Cobras responded with another goal of their own from #15 Ezekiel Nartey. SWIC would go on to score one more goal towards the end of the game. However, their late comeback was too little too late and Parkland won 4-2. This win put them in the semifinals against Illinois Central College on Friday.
Meanwhile, the women’s team played their first playoff game versus Kaskaskia last Thursday in Centralia. The Cobras had lost to Kaskaskia earlier in the season 3-2 and were out for revenge. The game had an intense start with four goals being scored in the first five minutes. Kaskaskia had the early lead with the first goal. Number 10 Ali Hosey returned the goal, only for Kaskaskia to score again. Number 25 Gabi Schuster leveled the score in the fifth minute to make the score 2-2. Both teams buckled down for the next 40 minutes to keep the score at 2-2 for halftime. Seven minutes into the second half, Hosey was fouled in the box giving the Cobras a penalty kick. Number 23 Mylena Do Prado easily put the PK in the back of the net giving the Cobras a lead for the first time in the game. 16 minutes later, Hosey secured the game with her second goal of the day. Cobras held out for the remainder of the half winning the game 4-2. This win put them in the semifinals against No. 1 seed Lewis and Clark on Saturday.
The men faced ICC in the semifinals on Friday in Godfrey. Both teams battled fiercely in the first 45 minutes ending the half with a score of 0-0. Cobras came out strong in the second half scoring just two minutes in. Number 7 Naoto Uede put the goal in for an impressive total of 10 goals this season. ICC then retaliated by putting in two goals within three minutes. Trailing by one, #4 Muhamed Belakhoua scored in the 80th minute tying the game up for the Cobras 2-2. The last ten minutes of the game went scoreless and the two teams were forced into overtime. After an exhausting 40 minutes of over time the score was still 2-2. The game went into a penalty kick shootout. After a brutal 120 minutes of soccer, the Cobras fell 7-6 in penalty kicks. This heartbreaking loss eliminated Parkland for the running of Region 24 champions.
The following day the women’s team headed to Edwardsville to play No. 1 seed and nationally ranked 6th Lewis and Clark in the semifinals. Looking for revenge after losing 2-1 to Lewis and Clark earlier in the season, Parkland went into the game confident and excited. The Cobras held strong in the first half against their opponent only allowing two goals in the first 45 minutes. The Cobras held onto hope for the second half as the score was 2-0 at half against Lewis and Clark the first time around. However, Parkland moved to a more offensive tactic allowing Lewis and Clark to score a shocking five goals in the second half. Unable to put a goal in themselves, the Cobras fell to Lewis and Clark with a devastating score of 7-0.
While both teams seasons have come to an end, congratulations is in order for the hard work and dedication given from both teams this fall.
