COLLINSVILLE — The Alton Redbirds had to battle through 100 minutes of play and into a set of overtime penalty kicks, but they got their victory over a Southwestern Conference team Wednesday night.
And what a win.
Lexi Schrimpf scored in the first set of overtime PKs, then Alton goalie Julia May Campbell saved Belleville East’s ensuing attempt and Alton had secured itself a berth in Saturday’s championship game of the Collinsville Class 3A Regional Tournament.
The teams were tied 1-1 after regulation. They then battled through two scoreless 10-minute overtimes, a set of five PKs and then to the sudden-death penalties after being tied 3-3 in the first set.
Alton, which gets credit for a 2-1 victory in the IHSA record books, will play No. 1 seed Collinsville in the title game at 5 p.m. Saturday at Kahok Stadium. The Kahoks defeated O’Fallon 8-1 in Wednesday’s first semifinal game.
“It was a great win for our girls,” Alton coach Jeff Hayes said. “East had a fantastic season and being able to beat them, even if it is in PKs, means a lot.”
East finished its season 15-7, while Alton moves on with a 12-5-3 record. During the regular season, East handed the Redbirds a 1-0 defeat in Belleville.
The victory was also Alton’s first of the season against a Southwestern Conference team. Among the Redbirds’ SWC losses was a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Collinsville. Meanwhkile, in the semifinals of the Granite City 3A Regional, Edwardsville beat Quincy 3-1 and Granite City got past Belleville West on PKs.
“We put a lot of emphasis on those games and we played some really close games in most of the conference games, but we weren’t able to get over the top,” Hayes said. “But tonight we did, and it is really something special for our girls.”
Alton got on the scoreboard first. Katie Kercher scored her eighth goal of the season off an assist from teammate Morgan Rauscher in the 10th minute of play.
That’s the way it remained until Belleville East’s Grace Brauer scored an unassisted goal from about 25 yards out to tie it at 1-1. It was her 26th goal of the season.
In the first set of penalty kicks, Alton’s Annie Evans hit the crossbar and Sydney Mossman’s shot was saved. But the Redbirds rallied with successful attempts by Bri Hatfield, Calista Cox and Sydney Schmidt to tie it at 3-3.
With the Lancers shooting second in the first set of PKs, Annie Brown had a chance to lift her team to the victory after Schmidt’s conversion had tied it 3-3. But Brown’s shot was wide, setting up the thrilling conclusion.
“This one is special for the girls, but in the playoffs, you never want to be satisfied,” Hayes said. “Collinsville has a great team, but we’re hoping to come in Saturday, play well, hopefully get some breaks and be a spoiler.”
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