Semoball

C4D1 soccer: Rilee Monighan’s pair of goals lift Jackson soccer to fifth straight district crown

The Jackson girls soccer team poses with the Class 4 District 1 plaque after defeating Oakville 2-1 in double overtime on Wednesday at Oakville High School in St. Louis.
Photo courtesy of Jackson Athletics

ST. LOUIS — Emotions grew high on Wednesday night when Oakville scored a late goal to equalize the girls Class 4 District 1 soccer championship and send the game to overtime.

It was Jackson, however, who came away with the district title in a 2-1 golden goal victory in the second overtime period at Oakville Senior High School.

The Indians received two goals from freshman Rilee Monighan. The brace for the rookie proved to be all the club needed as they downed the host Oakville Tigers to win its fifth straight district championship dating all the way back to 2017.

“Both teams really laid it out there but I'm just really happy for our kids and happy for our program,” Indians coach Justin McMullen said. “It was a game that we knew was going to be very difficult going in. Oakville is well-coached.”

Jackson drew first blood in the 18th minute when a corner kick from Justi Nelson came in perfectly for Monighan. Her header sailed past Tiger keeper Sydney Baker to give the Indians the early 1-0 edge.

“She's been waiting to get one of those for a while,” McMullen said. “We showed a different look here lately as far as the postseason goes as far as her moving here up top. They doubled down on Nelson tonight and we took advantage of that.”

Two spectacular defenses dictated the majority of this matchup while going blow-for-blow. Perhaps the best defensive play of the game came when an Oakville shot from inside the box ricocheted off the gloves of keeper Brooke Gerau and began rolling toward the Indian goal line. Indians senior Caroline Rivenburgh cleared the ball off the line just before crossing, preserving the Jackson lead.

“I think we just work well together. In certain situations, they're going to get to the ball and if they're not getting to it, I'm getting to it,” Gerau said. “We know how each other play.”

Oakville peppered Jackson’s defenders with chance after chance, including a number of free kicks and corners to keep them on their toes. It appeared as though Jackson had Oakville’s number until Tiger senior Elizabeth Bayer struck in the 66th minute from outside the box and beat Gerau postside to knot the contest at one-all.

The Tigers created a few more chances before the end of regulation. Among these was a shot that rocketed off of Gerau’s crossbar. Oakville couldn’t capitalize on its momentum at the end of the second half, sending the game to sudden-death overtime.

“The energy level was really high, in particular from the seniors knowing that any moment could be the end of their careers,” McMullen said. “At any moment, it could be the end. The energy level was really good, which is (something) we're really big on. I felt pretty good about it.”

After a scoreless first period of overtime, Jackson needed to end the game with a golden goal in the second period to avoid potentially sending the game to penalty kicks. With flashbacks to their shootout loss to Cor Jesu in the sectional round the year prior, the Indians made the opportunity count in the second period.

“It didn't even cross my mind that losing was even an option,” Gerau said. “Knowing our team can do well has helped me calm myself down. Focusing on the game and not the what-if’s after. Just focusing on the now.”

This time from the opposite corner, Nelson delivered a ball to the top of the box. Though it wasn’t quite as perfect, Monighan fought past the Tigers for a loose ball and delivered it on goal. Baker dived on top of the shot but it trickled past her outstretched body and found the back of the net, ending the game and sending Jackson to the quarterfinal round and one win shy of a trip to the state championships for the first time since 2018.

“We'll go and watch the next game. Preparationwise, we'll continue to do what we've been doing for the last couple of weeks,” McMullen said. “We'll continue to get healthy and we'll take a little bit of time off. But we'll stay focused.”

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