Four Women's Soccer Players earn 1st Team All-Region
Four members of the record setting Parkland Women's Soccer team have earned First Team All-Region recognition for their performances this season. The four players are sophomores Jenny Musick (Mt. Zion) and Sadie Somers (Normal U-High) and freshman Priscila Azuaga (Brazil) and Keren Sharabi (Israel).
Musick returned to the Cobras this fall after missing most of last season due to a knee injury that occurred during the opening week of play last fall. The hard-nosed Musick finished second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 2 assists, she is the Cobras career leader in goals with 30. Although Somers scoring totals were down, her value to the team was not as her steady play was a big key to the team's over-all success. Somers finished her two-years at PC with 13 goals and 13 assists.
Azuaga came out on fire to start the season, scoring seven goals in the Cobras first four matches. For the season, the freshman from Brazil led the team with 16 goals and added 9 assists. Sharabi also played a big role in Parkland's record breaking 14 win season as she finished behind Azuaga and Musick in scoring with 5 goals and 9 assists.
Head Coach Josh Alford was justly honored as the Region 24 Coach of the Year guiding the Cobras to a (14-2-1) season and the school's first appearance in the Region 24 title game. The former Cobra Men's star is now (35-13-4) in three years as the Cobras head coach.
PC Women lose heartbreaker to Lewis and Clark
The top two teams in Region 24 battled under adverse weather conditions on Sunday as the #15 Blazers edged the #13 Cobras 2-1 in the Championship game. The win moves L&C (17-3-1) on to the four team Midwest District next weekend, hosted by MCC-Blue River in Kansas City. Parkland's season ends with a school record for wins and a record of (14-2-1).
With temperatures in the 40's, intermittent rain showers, and winds gusting to over 30 miles per hour, it was not an ideal day for a game but both team's played hard. Despite playing with a favorable wind at their back, it looked like the game would be scoreless at intermission, but the Cobras grabbed the lead as Kim Vega scored off an assist from Keren Sharabi with just 1:04 left to take a 1-0 lead to the break.
Lewis and Clark would get the wind advantage in the second half and would tie the match on a goal by Juiie Webb at the 65 minute mark. Both teams would have chances to score over the next 20 minutes as PC just missed on a shot from just outside the box and PC goalie Micaela McLennand would have three big saves to keep the match tied.
Unfortunately, that tie would not hold as the Blazers best player, All-Region selection Kiersen Mottl, recovered a loose ball after a corner kick and drove it into the right corner of the net to give L&C the winning goal in the 84th minute. PC would threaten one more time but came up short in their first ever appearance in the Region title game. The Cobras showed they could hang with the more experienced Blazers actually out shooting the visitors 8-6 and controlling much of the action.
After the match, the All-Region team was announced and four Cobras and Head Coach Josh Alford were honored. Alford, was named Region 24 Coach of the Year, while sophomores Jenny Musick (Mt. Zion) and Sadie Somers (Normal U-High) and freshman Priscila Azuaga (Brazil) and Keren Sharabi (Israel) earned First Team recognition. Mottl and Emily King were named First Team for Lewis and Clark. Alexis Trybinski of SWIC was named the Player of the Year.
Parkland Women blank ICC, move into Region 24 Finals
Priscila Azuaga scored the only goal of the match on a cross from Sadie Somer's at the 37 minute mark of the first half, to lead the #13 Parkland College Women's Soccer team (14-1-1) to a 1-0 win over Illinois Central College in a Region 24 semi-final match. The win moves the Cobras into the Region 24 Finals for the first time in school history where they will meet #15 Lewis and Clark (16-3-1). The Blazers eliminated Kaskaskia (16-2-2) by the same 1-0 score.
ICC controlled the match for the first 20 minutes but the Cobras would make some adjustments and dominate the remainder of the contest, out shooting the visitors 14-5. PC had several chances to score hitting the cross bar on a pair of shots and the ICC goal keeper also denied the Cobras with several saves including one on a penalty kick with just two minutes remaining.
The Parkland versus Lewis and Clark match will take place at 2:00 on Sunday at Parkland. Good luck to the Cobras as they try to win their first Region title. The winner advances to the four team District tournament at the Missouri winner on November 4-5.
Women's Soccer Regional Game Today
The #13 PC Women will begin Region 24 play this afternoon at 2:00 when they host ICC in a Semi-Final. The Cobras (13-1-1) will try to advance to their first Region Championship with a victory. A PC win would mean the Cobras host either Lewis and Clark or Kaskaskia at 12:00 on Sunday. The winner of the regional advances to a four-team district play-off November 4-5 at the site of the Missouri JUCO winner.