Columbia blasts past Williamsville and back into Class 1A boys soccer state semifinals
COLUMBIA, Ill. — Micah James grinned when asked about the final goal Saturday afternoon.
"I was just trusting my teammates," the Columbia senior said. "It was more of a cross, to be honest. I'll take it, though."
James' second goal of the day, which came from an impossible angle, highlighted a scoring frenzy from the Columbia offense as the Eagles flew past Williamsville 4-1 in the Class 1A Super-Sectional game at Columbia High School.
Columbia (24-2-1) advanced to the state semifinal round for the second successive season, though last season's margin of victory over Williamsville was only 1-0 in the same round.
"A little more peaceful this time," Columbia coach Jamey Bridges said. "A little less anxiety. I'm glad we were able to lock in that second half. Played simple and got back to what we needed to do."
The Eagles will play Cristo Rey Jesuit (19-4-2) or Miles Northridge Prep (15-3-2) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the first Class 1A semifinal game at Hoffman Estates.
With time dwindling in the second half, James dribbled to the corner of the pitch before settling it. Standing parralel with the post, the senior blasted the ball back toward the middle of the box while he fell out of bounds.
"I think he was trying to slide it to me and the goalie got a little out of position and it was a bullet right at him," Columbia senior Hayes Van Breusegen said.
In the 70th minute of the game, the ball deflected off the goalie's hand and into the back of the net, giving Columbia its 4-1 lead.
"I saw it hit the back of the net and I started to cheer," Columbia senior Brady Hemminghaus said.
After he saw the goal, James let out a scream of celebration and celebrated with his teammates with Steph Curry's iconic "put them to sleep" motion.
"It was just a lot of emotions right there," James said. "We kind of knew that it was the dagger."
It was the only goal the Eagles got that wasn't from a set piece.
"After playing them last year, we're familiar with them," Williamsville coach Joe Fandel said. "We knew what to expect and we knew they were really good on set pieces."
James headed the ball past the defense for his first goal of the day off a corner kick in the 63rd minute. Senior Drew Elliot blasted his shot past the defense in the 23rd minute of the game.
That first goal set the tone for the Eagles' offensive attack.
Off a throw-in at the 1:30-minute mark, Van Breusegen slipped past the defense and buried the shot to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
"We're at home, and the other team had to drive, so getting them while they're on their heels is big," Hemminghaus said.
It's the 19th game where the Eagles have scored within the first 10 minutes.
"It's been fun to score that early in those games," Van Breusegen said.
Williamsville (22-5) had a chance within five minutes of Van Breusegen's goal. The Bullets managed to catch the Columbia defense flat-footed With three attackers bearing down on the Columbia goal, only Hemminghaus stood in their way.
The senior goalie didn't flinch.
"In that moment, you don't really get nervous," Hemminghaus said. "Just have to think about what you practice and try to use it in that situation. I was trying to cut down those angles and get ready to make a save to help keep our team in it."
The goalie turned away the attack calmly, flicking the shot harmlessly away.
"For them to counter like they did, that was the save of all saves," Bridges said. "That was huge."
Hemminghaus finished with four saves.
"The defense played phenomenal in front of me," Hemminghaus said. "They limited the shots in front of me and played such a good game."
Fandel had to fight back his emotions when talking about his senior class and what they've meant to the Bullets program.
"After last year, they were determined to get back here," Fandel said. "Their work ethic this summer was phenomenal. I told the team after the game that players change, but our expectations won't."
