By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
ROGERSVILLE, MO – For nearly 73 minutes during Saturday’s Class 2 soccer quarterfinal, Southern Boone thought it had figured out the puzzle that is Maddie Lou Shuburte.
Not only were the visiting Eagles up 1-0 after a second-half goal by senior Ava Leininger in the 66th minute of play, the District 6 champions had all but neutralized Logan-Rogersville’s goal-scoring phenom.
All, but.
Held to only one breakaway opportunity in the second half, Shuburte erupted over the final seven minutes of play with a game-winning brace to give the Wildcats a 2-1 victory and second-consecutive final four berth.
After the match, Shuburte – now with 127 career goals through her first two seasons – talked about playing through adversity and frustration.
“I saw they had a girl dropping back for me,” Shuburte said. “They were shadowing me all game. I feel like that momentum when they scored on our team – you can’t do that. We’re not going to lose this game. We’ve worked so hard all season, we’ve had so many injuries and we’ve had so many people doubt us. We can’t let this happen.”
During the scoreless first half, Shuburte had a trio of prime opportunities in front of the Southern Boone net; however, all three were turned back by junior goalkeeper Harper Hanrahan.
Shuburte credited Wildcats assistant coach Chris Ballard for keeping her focused and within the proper mindset during the match.
“Coach Ballard has been on me,” Shuburte said. “‘Just because you shoot it and miss, let’s focus on the next goal, because that one’s already over with, and you can’t dwell on the past. You have to keep going for those even if you shoot it and miss, the ball could come right back and you could just place it in the goal, so just keep on going.’”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
After spending a majority of the afternoon playing on Logan-Rogersville’s end of the pitch, Southern Boone finally capitalized on a scrum directly in front of goalkeeper Ellie Wray.
Wray, a freshman, was sensational in net on the afternoon, turning back repeated scoring opportunities up until the late Eagles’ goal.
Logan-Rogersville head coach Brett Wubbena praised his first-year keeper for rising to the occasion when her teammates needed her most – particularly after saving what would have been a certain second goal on a miraculous, sliding foot save at the last moment.
“Just in watching some of the game tape, we knew that they shot a lot,” Wubbena said of the Eagles’ attack. “(Wray), she’s a freshman this year. She had never played soccer, and the goal that she saved down here was incredible. To go down and save it with your foot is something that, I mean, that’s not an easy thing to do.”
Serving as the last line of defense with a final four berth on the line can be a daunting assignment for any player, let alone a freshman with limited soccer experience.
For Wray, it’s all about keeping her cool and focusing on the immediate task at hand.
“I just have to keep myself calm,” Wray said. “I mean, there’s really no mindset. It was insane, because I thought I’d lost the game for us, but I was overjoyed with how it went.”
For Logan-Rogersville, it went exactly how you’d script a storybook ending, with its best player rising up to pull off the unthinkable and save the day.
Down a goal with just over ten minutes remaining, the Wildcats did exactly that.
Shuburte’s equalizer occurred after a left-side breakaway leaked into the middle of the field. The sophomore forward found the back of the net on a blast from just inside the 18 mark.
“Sometimes it takes that to just wake you up,” Wubbena said. “Sometimes, whenever a team is stopping us doing this thing or that, we know that if we keep at some of the things we’re good at, we’ll find a way. Seven minutes left, we found a way, tie it up, and then we just kept going and kept going. Sometimes a goal changes that momentum.”
Tied at 1-1, Logan-Rogersville continued applying pressure and moving players forward.
With just under 90 seconds remaining, the Wildcats struck again.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE MATCH
On an assist from Sidney Holland, Shuburte faked out Hanrahan in front of the net and pocketed the game-winner.
“(Shuburte) is great to have up front, because anything is possible – she could get three in a minute,” Wubbena said. “It’s frustrating whenever you’re trying to do this and that, and they just keep putting two or three people on you. But, she’s got some speed, she’s got great footwork and she’s got a hard shot – anything is possible.”
Wubbena also praised defenders Madelyn MacPherson and Allie Richter for holding down a vaunted Eagles’ attack for 80 minutes.
“They’ve been solid all year,” Wubbena said. “Our two wide backs – they were fantastic today, because (Southern Boone’s) wide forwards – they’re incredible. They shoot, they’re good, they’re fast, they make a move and for us to stay behind them and just force them to work, they did a great job.”
For MacPherson, the message heading into the game was about putting everything on the line.
“The whole thing was just effort,” MacPherson said. “That’s all that Wub told us, ‘You guys have to give your all if you want to win this game.’ At first, we were all kind of just in shock about (the first goal), but we look to Lou a lot. She’s very influential on our team, and as soon as she got up there and got that first one, I think that changed the whole energy on our team. It was just a whole energy shift from the rest of the game.”
Prior to the match, spectators were asked to observe a moment of silence for two Logan-Rogersville students who were killed in an auto accident Thursday evening.
Wubbena discussed the challenges for the community and for his team to play through the tragedy’s aftermath.
“It means a lot,” Wubbena said. “We’ve had some success with our sports this year, and for this to happen at the end of the year is just, it’s devastating. It’s a small community, so we all know everyone. I talked to the girls and just said, ‘Let this be kind of a release. Let this be a purpose. Just go play strong and see what happens.’ I know that I have a couple girls that are really affected by it, and they played great. I’m really proud of them for just stepping up and playing in those circumstances.”
Up next for Logan-Rogersville (15-6) is a June 6 semifinal round matchup at Fenton’s World Wide Technology Soccer Park against either St. Vincent or St. Charles.
Class 2 quarterfinal: Logan-Rogersville – 2, Southern Boone – 1
Scoring
66:17 – Ava Leininger (LR – 0, SB – 1)
72:28 – Maddie Lou Shuburte (LR – 1, SB – 1)
78:33 – Shuburte from Sidney Holland (LR – 2, SB – 1)
