Girls soccer: Timothy drops 1A state semifinal on last second goal

Johnsburg’s Charlie Eastland unleashed a bolt from the blue, then she got the father of all bearhugs.

The sophomore midfielder scored a sensational goal with 29 seconds remaining in regulation, giving the Skyhawks a thrilling 2-1 victory over Timothy Christian in a Class 1A state semifinal Thursday night at North Central College.

Johnsburg (13-6) advances to the state championship game for the first time in school history. The Skyhawks will play Columbia (24-2-3) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday for the crown.

Eastland made a proud papa out of her father, Johnsburg coach Rob Eastland, who lifted his daughter off her feet and held her for over 30 seconds.

“It’s something I’ve dreamed of,” Charlie Eastland said as she held back tears. “So to be able to do it with him is unreal, and to have him by my side is a dream come true.”

Charlie Eastland’s goal was her 21st of the season and averted the overtime everyone thought was imminent.

“So did I,” she said. “But then I was like, ‘Uh-uh, it’s not happening.’ ”

What did happen was a great individual effort that succeeded by the slimmest of margins. Charlie Eastland got to a loose ball about 25 yards from the Timothy Christian goal, made a great spin move to put the ball on her left foot and then sent a 20-yard shot inside the right post to break a 1-1 tie.

Timothy Christian goalkeeper Emily White made a great diving effort to her left to try to stop it, but the ball was just out of reach.

Brilliant effort, right?

“Well, it could have gone in the top corner, but I’ll give credit there,” Rob Eastland quipped. “She doesn’t give up.

“She’s always trying to create that space, and I think that was the last bit of energy she squeezed out of that left foot. I’m glad we practiced on her left foot when she was young for a long time. Her dad never had one.”

The cutback to her left is a favorite move of Charlie Eastland, who is naturally right-footed.

“That’s one of my go-tos,” she said. “I scored two of those in the sectional final, so I love doing that, and it’s something I’ve done forever.

“I practice a lot with my dad. My dad has trained me to be both (right- and left-footed).”

Charlie Eastland has an excellent soccer pedigree. Her father, a native of England, played at Judson College, and her mother, Cori, played at Jacobs and later at Elmhurst College.

“Thankfully she’s more like her mother than her father, because Mom stepped up on big occasions too when she played,” Rob Eastland said. “It was great.”

It didn’t feel so great to Timothy Christian coach Nate Drye.

“It was kind of a miracle shot from no angle and just kind of materialized out of nowhere,” Drye said. “I thought we had done a really good job defending the whole game.

“Sometimes you strike it, and it just goes where it goes. She just hit it, and it went in. There was nothing (White) could do.”

The Skyhawks scored first when Kayla Hiller knocked home a corner kick from Lauren McQuiston at the 28:18 mark of the first half. The Trojans tied it with 15:00 left before halftime when freshman Lucy Wilgenburg scored off a lead pass from Avery Croff.

Neither team had any decent chances after that until the younger Eastland capsized Timothy’s quest for its first state title.

“It was instant relief, to be honest,” Charlie Eastland said. “And to do it with these girls around me is unbelievable.”

Even Rob Eastland, who had guided the Skyhawks to two previous semifinals, can’t quite believe it.

“We’ve knocked on the door a few times,” he said. “This group of girls, they’re just writing their own fairy tale.

“They won’t quit, they won’t give in, and they keep believing in themselves. We’ve already made school history.”