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Washington Evening Journal
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Raiders state-bound for second time in history
Will host Burlington Notre Dame in 2A Quarterfinal Monday
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WILLIAMSBURG — This one was three years in the making.
After two straight seasons falling in the substate final, the Williamsburg boys soccer team finally prevailed, defeating Mount Pleasant 3-2 in the Class 2A Substate 6 final Thursday.
“This is surreal, but I was expecting it,” senior Braysen Doehrmann said. I’ve been expecting it the last three years. We had to make it happen this year and we did.“
The Raiders are now state-bound for just the second time in program history.
“It was definitively a big satisfaction,” senior Mason Eggleston said following the win. “We were so close the past couple years.”
The game action got started early in the first half for the Raiders.
At the 29:52 mark, Doehrmann perfectly executed a corner kick and Eggleston put the ball through the goal with a header.
The score was 1-0 at the half.
Mount Pleasant had several good looks in the first half, with several crucial saves from goalkeeper Logan Hummer.
The Panthers kept charging in the second half and scored within the first four minutes to tie things back up.
Samuel Schaapen scored from long distance on a line-drive shot to the left side of the goal.
The score may have served as a blessing in disguise for the Raiders.
“It was definitely a wake-up call for all of us,” Eggleston said on the goal.
Doehrmann responded with a goal in just over three minutes later in game time, as his shot ricocheted off a Panthers’ defender.
“I feel like if they scored a little bit later, we wouldn't have realized as fast that they can actually get in there and score,” Doehrmann said. “It helped us lock up on defense and be more alert.”
The Raiders added another goal at the 13:49 off a long throw in near the corner kick spot. Saul Pacheco scored his first goal of the season.
Corner kick and throw-in execution was there all game for the Raiders, as they also nearly had several other goals off those situations.
“We practice corner kicks a lot and set pieces too off them,” Doehrmann said. We don’t practice the long throws a lot, but we do them basically every time so we’ve gotten a lot of experience throughout the season on them.“
Mount Pleasant added one goal in the final minutes to make the final 3-2.
A strong group of seniors for the Raiders will now get to close their career at the state tournament.
“I love these guys,” Eggleston said. “I’m from Belle Plaine, but when I come to practice I enjoy every moment. The memories I’ve made along the way with these guys have been the best I’ve made in my entire life.”
“It's a very tight-knit group, we have a lot of chemistry,” Doehrmann added.
The Raiders will host Burlington Notre Dame in a 2A quarterfinal Monday at 7 p.m. First round games are hosted by the higher seed or at a neutral site.
The state semifinal and championship games will be played at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines.
