Junior Jessi Sullivan (14) fights a Mahomet-Seymour player for possession near the Uni net in the second half of the Illineks' 3-0 loss. In the background are senior Zoë Schein (19) and junior Annie Machesky. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

URBANA — Despite spirited resistance from the Uni girls soccer team, Class AA Mahomet-Seymour had the Illineks' number on Tuesday, handing the girls only their second loss of the season in a heartbreaking finale to a strong match between two top sides.

The nonconference loss ended Uni's five-game winning streak and string of four shutouts, dropping the team's record to 7-2-1. The girls remain 2-0 in the East Central Illinois Conference.

The Illineks spent most of the first half displaying their ever-improving defensive prowess, fending off the considerable threat of Mahomet’s attack but failing to make an impression in the attacking third.

The visiting Bulldogs, seeded No. 1 in their postseason subsectional, recorded six shots on goal, while Uni managed two. Goalkeeper Sarah Pfander, like her defense, had a solid half, making three saves.

"Most of the play was a battle for possession in the middle of the field, with few shots on both ends," said Uni head coach Phil Anders.

Uni came out of the halftime break looking like a new team, sacrificing a pinch of defensive solidity for a dangerous and effective attacking mindset that yielded seven shots on goal, most notably a point-blank miss on an open net from left winger Joy Shapley.

Freshman Amanda Hwu outmaneuvers her Bulldog opponent. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

Uni’s midfield engine room felt alive for the first time all match, most notably in the case of on-fire attacking midfielder Michelle Wong, who continues to make the most of the creative freedom allowed by the ever-reliable defensive midfield pairing of Zoë Schein and Amanda Hwu.

Wong and Hwu in particular put in strong performances undeserving of the final scoreline, Wong’s silky passing game and remarkable vision perfectly augmented by Hwu’s aerial prowess and defensive tenacity.

As the half wore on, three of four captains — right-winger Shara Esbenshade, left-back Chelsea Freeland, and center forward Suran Yoo — were on the sidelines, with substitutes in their place. Without their inspiration and constant pressure in attack, the offense seemed to lose steam and gave way to a hastily dealt-with Mahomet counterattack.

The resulting corner saw Mahomet find the net in the 62nd minute, the ball slipping out of the hands of usually outstanding goalkeeper Sarah Pfander to allow Mahomet’s Kara Breedlove a spot on the scoreboard.

The game was still within Uni’s grasp, but the frustrated Illineks appeared to shut down offensively, losing their valuable confidence and much of the creative flair that has accompanied it so often this season.

Uni went down a further two goals in the final stretch, conceding an unlucky own goal in the 70th minute and falling apart defensively in the 79th minute to allow Kelsey Donley a golden chance, which the Mahomet striker duly dispatched with a calm finish.

Despite the final score, the fact that the girls were able to dominate the Bulldogs for long periods and came close to taking the lead on more than one occasion should be looked at as a positive sign for their next clashes with quality sides.

And, in fact, the Illineks are in the midst of a brutal stretch against top competition that won't end until early May. They will face one more Class AA team this week: an impressive Mattoon squad on Thursday. Uni will then square off Saturday against a fired-up St. Thomas More team ready for payback after losing to the Illineks 3-2 on March 27.

Next week Uni will play Class AA Danville on Tuesday and Warrensburg-Latham — the No. 2 seed in Uni's sectional (the Illineks are No. 4) — on May 1.

2008 SEASON AT A GLANCE

GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER: 7-2-1 overall, 2-0 East Central Illinois Conference
(home matches listed in bold)

March 25: at Centennial, W 2-1

• Story: Believe it! Uni begins season with upset of Centennial varsity
• Halftime: Centennial 1, Uni 0
• Uni goals: Erika Belmont (53rd minute), Joy Shapley assist; Aran Yoo (75th minute), Isaure Hostetter assist
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 13 (4, 9)
• Shots on goal: Uni 14 (8, 6); Centennial 14 (5, 9)
• JV result: Uni 0, Centennial 0
• JV Uni goals: None
• JV Uni saves: Sheri Grill 2; Lor Sligar 4
• JV shots on goal: Uni 4 (1, 3); Centennial 6 (2, 4)
• Game stats: Gargoyle scoreboard

March 27: St. Thomas More, W 3-2

• Story: Uni makes up two-goal deficit to beat St. Thomas More
• Halftime: STM 1, Uni 0
• Uni goals: Aran Yoo (51st minute), Suran Yoo assist; A. Yoo (61st minute), S. Yoo assist; Michelle Wong (65th minute), Elizabeth Russell assist
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 9 (7, 2)
• Shots on goal: Uni 19 (7, 12); STM 11 (8, 3)
• JV result: Uni 3, STM 0
• JV Uni goals: Katie Buzard (18th minute), Katayun Salehi assist; Emma Coverdill (26th minute), Revathi Maturi assist; Coverdill (27th minute), Maturi assist
• JV Uni saves: Lor Sligar 2; Sheri Grill 1
• JV shots on goal: Uni 9 (4, 5); STM 3 (2, 1)
• Game stats: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 1: at Urbana, L 2-0

• Story: Urbana loss, Monticello tie sidetrack Illineks
• Halftime: Urbana 1, Uni 0
• Uni goals: None
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 15 (9, 6)
• Shots on goal: Uni 15 (7, 8); Urbana 17 (10, 7)
• JV result: Urbana 1, Uni 0
• JV Uni goals: None
• JV Uni saves: Sheri Grill 2; Lor Sligar 4
• JV shots on goal: Uni 8 (3, 5); Urbana 7 (2, 5)
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 3: Monticello, T 0-0

• Story: Urbana loss, Monticello tie sidetrack Illineks
• Halftime: Uni 0, Monticello 0
• Uni goals: None
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 5 (2, 3)
• Uni shots on goal: Uni 18 (4, 14); Monticello 5 (2, 3)
• JV result: Urbana 1, Monticello 1
• JV Uni goal: Revathi Maturi (first minute), unassisted
• JV saves: Lor Sligar 1; Sheri Grill 2
• JV shots on goal: Uni 7 (2, 5); Monticello 4 (1, 3)
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 8: Charleston, W 3-1

• Story: Uni shuts down Charleston's top scorer, wins 3-1
• Halftime: Uni 2, Charleston 0
• Uni goals: Erika Belmont (14th minute), Joy Shapley assist; Shapley (40th minute), Shara Esbenshade assist; Michelle Wong (56th minute), Suran Yoo assist
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 9 (6, 3)
• Shots on goal: Uni 18 (12, 6); Charleston 12 (7, 5)
• JV result: Charleston 2, Uni 1
• JV Uni goal: Katie Buzard (57th minute), Revathi Maturi assist
• JV Uni saves: Sheri Grill 6; Lor Sligar 2
• JV shots on goal: Uni 15 (6, 9); Charleston 10 (8, 2)
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 10: at Macon Meridian, rain out

• Game canceled because of rain

April 12: at Normal Calvary Baptist, W 1-0 *

• Story: Wong, Belmont team up for winning goal over Normal Calvary
• Halftime: Uni 0, Normal Calvary 0
• Uni goal: Michelle Wong (50th minute), Erika Belmont assist
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 0; Lor Sligar 3; Sheri Grill 0
• Shots on goal: Uni 21 (12, 9); Normal Calvary 3 (0, 3)
• JV result: No game
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 15: Decatur St. Teresa, W 1-0

• Story: Illineks dominate again in second consecutive shutout win
• Halftime: Uni 1, Decatur St. Teresa 0
• Uni goal: Michelle Wong (38th minute), Suran Yoo assist
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 5 (0, 5)
• Shots on goal: Uni 14 (7, 7); Decatur St. Teresa 9 (2, 7)
• JV result: Uni 0, Decatur St. Teresa 0
• JV Uni goals: None
• JV Uni saves: Sheri Grill 1; Lor Sligar 1
• JV shots on goal: Uni 10 (5, 5); Decatur St. Teresa 2 (1, 1)
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 17: at Decatur Christian, W 6-0 *

• Story: Five goals in 15 minutes lead to Uni rout of Decatur Christian
• Halftime: Uni 1, Decatur Christian 0
• Uni goals: Michelle Wong (38th minute), penalty kick; Suran Yoo (41st minute), Joy Shapley assist; Shapley (43rd minute), Wong assist; Erika Belmont (46th minute), Shapley assist; Belmont (51st minute), Yoo assist; Sarah Pfander (55th minute), Beth Peregrine assist
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 0 (first half), Sheri Grill 0 (first half), Lor Sligar 2 (second half)
• Noteworthy save: Decatur Christian penalty kick in 71st minute saved by Lor Sligar
• Shots on goal: Uni 33 (19, 14); Decatur Christian 2 (0, 2)
• JV result: No game
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 19: at Macon Meridian (make up of rained-out game), W 4-0

• Story: Winning streak continues as Uni shuts out fourth straight opponent
• Halftime: Uni 2, Macon Meridian 0
• Uni goals: Joy Shapley (fifth minute), Erika Belmont assist; Belmont (11th minute), Shapley assist; Michelle Wong (41st minute), unassisted; Shapley (79th minute), penalty kick
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 0, Sheri Grill 2
• Shots on goal: Uni 19 (9, 10); Macon Meridian 2 (0, 2)
• JV result: No game
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 22: Mahomet-Seymour, L 3-0

• Story: Mahomet-Seymour ends Uni winning streak
• Halftime: Uni 0, Mahomet-Seymour 0
• Uni goals: None
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 5 (3, 2)
• Shots on goal: Uni 9 (2, 7); Mahomet-Seymour 10 (6, 4)
• JV result: Mahomet-Seymour 1, Uni 0
• JV Uni goals: None
• JV Uni saves: Lor Sligar 4; Sheri Grill 7
• JV shots on goal: Uni 3 (1, 2); Mahomet-Seymour 15 (5, 10)
• Game stats and coach's report: Gargoyle scoreboard

April 24: at Mattoon

April 26: St. Thomas More

April 29: Danville

May 1: at Warrensburg-Latham

May 3: Judah Christian *

May 5: Decatur Lutheran *

May 7: Champaign Central (Uni varsity vs. Central JV)

May 9: IHSA Class A Sectionals TBA

* East Central Illinois Conference opponent

SEASON STATISTICS

VARSITY SCORING

• Michelle Wong: 6 goals, 1 assist, 10 games
• Erika Belmont: 5 goals, 2 assist, 10 games
• Joy Shapley: 4 goals, 5 assists, 10 games
• Aran Yoo: 3 goals, 0 assists, 4 games
• Suran Yoo: 1 goal, 5 assists, 10 games
• Sarah Pfander: 1 goal, 0 assists, 3 games
• Isaure Hostetter: 0 goals, 1 assist, 9 games
• Shara Esbenshade: 0 goals, 1 assist, 8 games
• Elizabeth Russell: 0 goals, 1 assist, 8 games
• Beth Peregrine: 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 game

VARSITY GOALKEEPING

• Sarah Pfander: 9 goals allowed, 60 saves, 10 games
• Lor Sligar: 0 goals allowed, 5 saves, 2 games
• Sheri Grill: 0 goals allowed, 2 saves, 3 games

JV SCORING

• Emma Coverdill: 2 goals, 0 assists, 7 games
• Katie Buzard: 2 goal, 0 assists, 7 games
• Revathi Maturi: 1 goal, 3 assists, 7 games
• Katayun Salehi: 0 goals, 1 assist, 7 games

JV GOALKEEPING

• Lor Sligar: 2 goals allowed, 18 saves, 7 games
• Sheri Grill: 3 goals allowed, 21 saves, 7 games

TEAM ROSTER

VARSITY PLAYERS

• 2 Yoo, Suran 12th
• 3 Wong, Michelle 10th
• 4 Pfander, Sarah 12th
• 5 Machesky, Annie 11th
• 6 Freeland, Chelsea 12th
• 8 Chu, Emily 12th
• 9 Esbenshade, Shara 12th
• 10 Yoo, Aran 12th
• 11 Grill, Sheri 11th
• 12 Belmont, Erika 10th
• 13 Stark, Jessica 12th
• 14 Sullivan, Jessica 11th
• 15 Buzard, Katherine 10th
• 17 Levin, Maddy 11th
• 19 Schein, Zoë 12th
• 20 Hostetter, Isaure 10th
• 21 Shapley, Joy 11th
• 22 Hwu, Amanda 9th
• 23 Best, Sian 10th
• 27 Russell, Elizabeth 10th

JUNIOR VARSITY PLAYERS

• 1 Sligar, Lor 11th
• 7 Iyer, Marika 12th
• 11 Gratton, Cristina 9th
• 12 Smith, Lily 9th
• 13 Salehi, Katayun 9th
• 14 Engles, Alexx 10th
• 15 Maturi, Revathi 9th
• 16 Cooke, Jenny 9th
• 16 Nakamura, Natsuki 11th
• 17 Yannelis, Eleni 9th
• 24 Peregrine, Beth 12th
• 25 Pittenger, Larissa 12th
• 28 Coverdill, Emma 9th
• 29 Vazquez, Isabel 10th