Prep Sports Notebook: SJO volleyball cruises past T-Town, Uni knocks off Sages


Romole scores twice in first half
Nolan Romle scored two of Unity's four goals in their home soccer match against Meridian on Thursday. The freshman's two scores, bookending a strike from Gabe Pound, gave the Rockets a 3-all tie leading heading into halftime.

Later, Meridian striker Spencer Uphoff broke the tie with an unassisted goal in the second half, but the Rockets refused to lie down thanks to junior Andrew Mowrer notching a penalty kick to retie the score, this time at four goals apiece.

With his first goal already under his belt in the first half, Hawks Micah McCoy scored the game-winning goal handing Unity a 5-4 loss.

Mason Davis made 13 saves on the day for the Rockets.

Still looking for their first win of the season, Unity (0-4) will play their next game, the team's first road match, on Monday, September 6 at Warrensburg-Latham. Romole and Rockets then travel to Champaign to face the Tribe of Judah Christian on Thursday.


Box Score -

First half: Meridian Egbert(Boehm), McCoy(UA), Unity Remole(Pound), Pound(UA), Meridian Boehn(UA), Unity Remole(UA)

Second half:Meridian Uphoff(UA), Unity Mowrer(PK), Meridian McCoy(UA)



Thomey buries two goals
When the bout was said and done, both the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team and Hoopeston area would part ways with the identical season records of 4-1-1. Staring at recording their second loss of the season at the end of the first half, St. Joseph-Ogden bounced back to win their second road match of the season handing the Cornjerkers their first loss by way of a 3-1 advantage.

Hoopeston's Harrison Wood gave his team the early lead and their only goal of the contest despite 19 other attempts from his teammates. Teammate and goaltender Owen Root (6 saves) kept the ball out of his net during the first half play, but would later let three second-half Spartan shots slip by him in the final half.

SJO senior Jared Emmert earned his first of two assists feeding the ball to junior Aiden Cromwell to tie the game at one goal each. Emmert then set up the go-ahead score with a pass to Colin Thomey. Thomey, a freshman, sealed the victory with a follow-up goal with the help of Owen Baltzell.

Hunter Ketchum made 18 saves guarding the Spartan goal.

The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team returns to the pitch on Monday, September 6 at Bismarck-Henning. Hoopeston Area visits St. Anne today and plays another road match, this one close to home, at Schlarman on Tuesday, September 7.


Box Score -

First half: Hoopeston Woods

Second Half: SJO Cromwell (Emmert), SJO Thomey (Emmert), SJO Thomey (Baltzell)



Urbana's Jacie Owens lines up a shot over the net during the Tiger's home match against St. Joseph-Ogden last month. In Thursday's home match against visiting Centennial, Owens came up short in her battle against Anna Park. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Tigers fall at home
After avenging an earlier loss to St. Joseph-Ogden on Tuesday, the Urbana girls tennis team dropped their next home match to Centennial on Thursday, 8-1.

The Tigers' solo win came at #4 singles from Alisa Tangmunarunkit, who defeated the Chargers' Nicole Vozovoy, 8-4.

Next up, Tangmunarunkit and her teammates will host the St. Thomas More tennis team on Tuesday at 4pm.


Box Score -

Singles:
No. 1 - Sandhya Subbiah, CENTENNIAL def. Myra Stevens, URBANA, 8-3
No. 2 - Anna Park, CENTENNIAL def. Jacie Owens, URBANA, 8-4
No. 3 - Grace Kahler, CENTENNIAL def. Eisla Madigan, URBANA, 8-2
No. 4 - Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA def. Nicole Vozovoy, CENTENNIAL, 8-4
No. 5 - Yehyun Nam, CENTENNIAL def. Matika Pounginjai, URBANA, 8-1
No. 6 - Aastha Patel, CENTENNIAL def. Grace Coady, URBANA, 8-2 Doubles:
No. 1 - Sandhya Subbiah/Anna Park, CENTENNIAL def. Jacie Owens/Myra Stevens, URBANA, 8-2
No. 2 - Grace Kahler/Yehyun Nam, CENTENNIAL def. Alisa Tangmunarunkit, /Matika Pounginjai, URBANA, 8-2
No. 3 - Nicole Vozovoy/Aastha Patel, CENTENNIAL def. Zoe Johnson/Grace Coady, URBANA, 8-0



SJO golf finishes second at triangle
Jacob Kern, McGwire Atwood, Maddux Carter and Logan Smith combined for a four-man total of 181 strokes leading the St. Joseph-Ogden (7-1) golf team to a second-place finish in a three-school competition between Monticello and Rantoul-Paxton-Buckley-Loda varsity golf contingents.

Monticello finished first with 160 and Rantoul in third with 190 strokes.

Kern led the Spartans with 46 strokes on the Par 36 back nine at Willowbrook Golf Course. Atwood finished one stroke behind him with 47. Carter and Smith rounded out the top four scores with 43 and 45 respectively. Jack Robertson finished the course with 51 strokes and Talan Miller with 57.

SJO's Connor Hale shot a 59 and Tyler Buss 56 as varsity extras on Thursday.



St. Joseph-Ogden's Kelsey Martlage puts the ball back over the net during the Spartans' road match at Urbana on August 31. After winning that match, Martlage with partner Hope Rajlich defeated Watseka's Ashton Peters/Baler Rigsby 8-2 on Thursday.(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)


Dow notches four straight wins
After a win-less first season in 2020, the St. Joseph-Ogden tennis program picked up its third team victory after rolling over Watseka on the road, 7-2.

SJO dusted up the doubles courts taking all three matches and picked up four wins in singles to improve their team record to 3-2 on the season.

Abbey Dow picked up another win at #1 singles besting the Warriors' Ashton Peters, 8-4. The Spartan now boasts four straight wins in singles competition.


Box Score -

Singles:
No. 1 - Abbey Dow, SJO def. Ashton Peters, WATSEKA, 8-4
No. 2 - Emma Simons, WATSEKA def. Allison Kearney, SJO, 8-6
No. 3 - Ava Swartz, WATSEKA, def. Ashlyn Lannert, SJO, 8-4
No. 4 - Claire Huffman, SJO def. Moriah Pueschell, WATSEKA, 8-1
No. 5 - Grace Schmitz, SJO def. Sarah Parsons, WATSEKA, 8-4
No. 6 - Olivia Getty, SJO def. Tiffany Zhao, WATSEKA, 8-6

Doubles:
No. 1 - Hope Rajlich/Kelsey Martlage, SJO def. Ashton Peters/Baler Rigsby, WATSEKA, 8-2
No. 2 - Abby Behrens/Jacey Lewis, SJO def. Emma Simons/Ava Swartz, WATSEKA, 8-6
No. 3 - Katie McDermott/Emma Rydell, SJO def. Moriah Pueschell/Sarah Parsons, WATSEKA, 8-4



Uni outlasts Monticello
Arjun Kala had six saves in Uni-High's 3-2 win over Monticello at home on Thursday.

Noah La Nave had a hand ... er, leg in all three Illinek scores with his first coming via a pass from junior Teo Chemla 13 minutes after Monticello scored their first goal of the game.

Early in the second half, La Nave delivered a righteous pass for Arya Thirodira to sink the go-ahead score. The lead was short-lived as Monticello scored on a penalty kick near the halfway mark in the final half to tie the affair at two-all.

La Nave and Chemla teamed up again for the game-winner 70 minutes into the match for the final goal of the non-conference dual.

Box Score -

First half: Monticello, Noah La Nave (Teo Chemla)

Second Half: Arya Thirodira (Noah La Nave), Monticello, Noah La Nave (Teo Chemla)



SJO volleyball remains unbeaten
The SJO volleyball squad improved to 6-0 on the season after powering past visiting Teutopolis 25-20, 25-10 at home, originally scheduled to be played in T-town, on Thursday.

Becca Steinbach tallied 12 assists and senior Hannah Fox stood out defensively with seven digs on the Spartans home court.

Kennedi Burnett delivered five aces and pounded six kills in the rout. The veteran senior also had six digs.

Next week, the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team hosts Champaign Central on Tuesday, September 7, and Oakwood a day later on September 8.



Prep Sports Notebook: SJO soccer wins with buzzer beater


Spartan tennis earns first dual win
Head coach Kevin Martlage and the St. Joseph-Ogden girls tennis team pose for a photo after their dual match of the season on the road against Urbana on Tuesday. The two teams will square off again on August 31. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Urbana, IL - It was a hot time at Blair Park for the St. Joseph-Ogden and Urbana girls' tennis match on Tuesday. Despite a reported heat index of 106ยบ, the two teams battled in the blazing heat with the upstart area program from SJO winning the dual match, 6-3.

Claire Huffman at #1, Abby Dow on the #2 singles court and Ashlyn Lannert on court 6 secured victories in their singles matches. Hope Rajlich and Kelsey Martlage paired up to win at #1 doubles. Meanwhile, Allison Kearney and Angie Chahine held off Urbana duo Eisla Madigan and Myra Stevens at #2 doubles. The Spartans also came out on top on the #3 doubles court with a victory by Katie McDermott and her partner Jacey Lewis.

The Tigers' won three single points with dominating performances from veteran Myra Stevens, Eisla Madigan and Alisa Tangmunarunkit.

Match results:
No. 1 - Claire Huffman, SJO def. Hannah Null, URBANA, 8-3
No. 2 - Abbey Dow, SJO def. Jacie Owens, URBANA, 8-6
No. 3 - Myra Stevens, URBANA def. Grace Schmitz, SJO, 8-1
No. 4 - Eisla Madigan, URBANA def. Ella Armstrong, SJO, 8-0
No. 4 - Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA def. Abby Behrens, SJO, 8-3
No. 6 - Ashlyn Lannert, SJO def. Matika Pounginjai, URBANA, 8-1

No. 1 Doubles:
Hope Rajlich/Kelsey Martlage, SJO def. Hannah Null/Jacie Owens, URBANA, 8-6

No. 2 Doubles:
Allison Kearney/Angie Chahine, SJO def. Myra Stevens/Eisla Madigan, URBANA, 8-4

No. 3 Doubles:
Katie McDermott/Jacey Lewis- SJO def. Matika Pounginjai/Alisa Tangmunarunkit, URBANA, 8-6



Wilson lifts Spartans with buzzer beater
St. Joseph, IL - With the score locked at two-all in the second half, sophomore Spencer Wilson scored his second goal of the contest with .2 seconds left on the clock to give the St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team a 3-2 advantage for win #2 of the season.

While goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum kept the visiting Argenta-Oreana shots out of the goal during the first half, SJO teammate Jackson Greer scored the first goal of the game on an assist from Will Page.

In the final half of SJO's home game, Greer fed Wilson the ball for the first of four second-half goals. The Bombers' Rylan Lawson and Landon Lawson added one goal apiece to later tie the score before Wilson spared both teams from a shootout.

Ketchum tallied eight saves for the Spartans.

Next up for Ketchum and Co., SJO will host Urbana University High on Thursday at 4:30p.



Missed opportunities sink Rockets
Tolono, IL - Fielding an inexperienced contingent this fall, the Unity soccer team opened their season with a 4-2 loss to visiting St. Teresa on Tuesday.

Nolan Remole, with the assistance of senior Grace Brock, nailed the Rockets' first goal of the season in the second half. Freshman Teaguen Williams added the team's second score after the Bulldogs clawed their way to a 3-1 lead.

"We gave up a PK and also did not score on a PK. Those slight differences can make a huge difference in the box score," said head coach Unity Michel Stringer. "As far as in the moment I thought that they played well."

Sophomore Mason Davis had eight saves while guarding the net for Unity.

"Our offensive is young, and for those who scored this was their first high school game so it is understandable that it took them a half to shake off the nerves and find the net," added Stringer.

The Rockets' next three matches are all at home on their new turf field. Unity starts the three-game homestand with Argenta-Oreana at 10a on Saturday. Two days later on Monday, the program hosts Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at 4:30p. Unity fans' last chance to catch the team at home until September 11 will be on Thursday, September 2 in a match against Meridian, also starting at 4:30p.