Rockford Christian's girls soccer run comes to end in sectional finals

Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star
·2 min read
Alleman's Audrey Erickson and Meredith Maynard celebrate a score against Rockford Christians Tess Combs on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Hinckley-Big Rock High School in Hinckley.
Alleman's Audrey Erickson and Meredith Maynard celebrate a score against Rockford Christians Tess Combs on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Hinckley-Big Rock High School in Hinckley.

The Rockford Christian girls soccer team bolted all the way to the Class 1A sectional finals for the second year in a row, but that's where its run ended again.

Like last year, the Royal Lions bowed out in the Sweet 16, falling 4-1 to Rock Island Alleman in Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional championship game on Friday night.

"Finishing in the top 16 in the state is not too shabby," Rockford Christian head coach Eron Harvey said. "My message to them was that all a coach can ask for is that they give you 100% on the field, and they did that.

"It was just that the more talented team won."

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Rockford Christian (15-2) outscored its first three postseason opponents 16-1, but they fell behind 3-0 to Alleman right away. They hadn't trailed by more than two goals all season, but still the Royal Lions found a way to battle back.

"They bottled us up pretty good, and we couldn't get much going," Harvey said. "But once we got that goal, it kind of got to them a little bit. We had a chance there."

Ellen Love fed Molly Henderson who booted it toward the Alleman net and was helped in by one of their defenders to make it 3-1. That was the first goal scored on Alleman in the playoffs.

Rockford Christan celebrates a goal against Alleman on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Hinckley-Big Rock High School in Hinckley.
Rockford Christan celebrates a goal against Alleman on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Hinckley-Big Rock High School in Hinckley.

But the Royal Lions were unable to pile it on from there, and Alleman found a way to get one more goal past Rockford Christian goalie Tess Combs to finish it off.

Senior Jada Harvey, the team's top scorer and playmaker, was unable to break free most of the day, and she finished the season with 29 goals and 25 assists.

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"Jada was Jada out there, but they were jumping the passing lanes and really making it tough on her, and all of us," Eron Harvey said. "They were just a very well composed team, and they adjusted to whatever we took away.

"It was a tough way to end, but we had a great run."

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IHSA soccer: Rockford Christian loses to Alleman in sectional final