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Dream season ends 1 goal short
Mt. Pleasant fights to the finish in boys soccer Substate final
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WILLIAMSBURG — It would be an understatement to call the 2025 boys soccer season anything less than a monster step forward for the Mt. Pleasant boys soccer team.
The Panthers, who hadn’t won more than four games in a season since 2018, came into Thursday night’s Class 2A, Substate 6 final at 11-4-1, and they were looking for an all out fight.
Mt. Pleasant came up just one goal short of ending a dream season with a trip to the state soccer tournament. No. 5 Williamsburg clung on for a 3-2 win, avoiding upset and moving on to the state tourney.
“I’m at a loss for words, honestly,” said Panther head coach Rocco Russo. “These guys have worked their butts off. We’ve faced a lot of adversity, and our program has not been where it is now, in years. They’ve got a lot to be proud of.”
The Raiders scored early and held a 1-0 lead throughout the first half, despite a boat load of scoring chances for the Panthers. At the break, Mt. Pleasant found itself down one score.
It didn’t take long in for Mt. Pleasant to tie it up once the second half got underway. Senior Samuel Schaapen took a pass from just outside the box and sent a hard grounder past the Williamsburg keeper to knot things up at 1-1.
Unfortunately for Mt. Pleasant, an unlucky bounce would halt the Panthers’ momentum. A Williamsburg cross pass hit a Panther defender and trickled past the line to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead with 33:08 showing on the clock.
That goal came soon after a lower-body injury to Mt. Pleasant forward Brandon Velos, putting the Panthers in an even tougher hole.
Williamsburg eventually made it 3-1 after scoring off a throw in with 13:49 remaining, and Mt. Pleasant’s back was firmly against the wall with under 14 minutes to score two goals.
The game did take one more turn as Jidens Joseph found a through ball to the right side and fired it past the Raider keeper with five minutes left in the game. That cut the lead to 3-2, and the Panthers had a few more chances in the final minutes, but couldn’t put in the equalizer.
“They’re a good team, and they had some great players,” Russo said about the Raiders. “I know we didn’t get the ‘W’ today, but it’s bigger than this game right now.’”
Mt. Pleasant had eight shots on goal in the loss. On the other end, Xachary LeBlanc faced nine shots, saving six.
Mt. Pleasant ended the season 11-5-1. The Panthers were Southeast Conference champions with a 6-1-1 league record.
“What they’ve done for soccer in this community speaks volumes,” Russo said. “They’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”
Williamsburg hosts Notre Dame on Monday night in the state quarterfinals.
