CCHS boys soccer Terrier boys soccer slams through season's end

The South Seven champion Carbondale Terriers soccer team traveled west and south this week for three away matches against rivals Marion, Anna-Jonesboro/Cobden and Carterville/Herrin in an attempt to stay undefeated.

Having beaten the Wildcats in Carbondale 7-1 on grass, the teams faced a different game on Marion's football field turf Tuesday, Oct. 8. The turf game is faster than grass, forcing a higher level of skill to control the ball and make effective passes.

Since the Terriers have a possession- and passing-based attack, this was a great warmup for the upcoming playoffs, which are mostly on turf fields. The Terriers were up to the challenge, scoring three in a matter of 10 minutes. Josh Payne struggled through three defenders to bury the first goal, followed quickly by Sajad Nasser for his 25th goal of the season. James Baltz buried a header from Josh Payne's corner kick for the third.

Marion countered with a goal from outside the box by Junah McPhail, but it was not enough, as James Oberg scored his 32nd goal of the season (tied for first in Illinois 2A). The final score was 4-1.

Again playing away, this time at Anna-Jonesboro/Cobden Oct. 10, the Terriers had something to prove.

With Carbondale sitting at 17-0-2, they knew that AJC was responsible for one of those two draws earlier in the season. This time, however, both Ibsaa Benti's and Sajad Nasser's shots found purchase in the back of the AJC keeper Jacob Schaefer's net as all of AJC's attack was frustrated by the able Terrier defense to finish 2-0. At this point, Carbondale became the final undefeated team in Illinois 2A at 18-0-2.

Oct. 14 saw the Terriers travel to Carterville/Herrin to play a non-conference derby. The Lions roared out into the savannah with a quick volleyed goal by Reese North from a magical free kick taken by Caleb Knight. But there were no worries for Carbondale for the rest of the day. Trailing 0-1 for the first time in a while, the Terriers worked to break down the Lions' defense, which finally conceded on first half goals by Nasser and Oberg. It was a problem-free philosophy.

After the break, the Lions were not kings of the second half. With the Terriers dominating possession, Josh Payne picked up a goal on a knuckleball, curving and dipping under the Carterville/Herrin keeper's gloves. After a hand ball, he placed a perfect free kick to Ibsaa Benti, who caught it on his foot out of the air for the fourth score. Nearer the end, Nasser played a nice through ball to Oberg for a final score of 5-1. With those two assists, Josh Payne and Sajad Nasser jointly broke the Carbondale single season assist record with 18 each.

At 19-0-2, the undefeated Carbondale Terriers now rank ninth in the Illinois 2A state rankings by MaxPreps, rising two spots. The season ended Thursday, Oct. 17 with another non-conference away match at Belleville East. Results were not available at press time. After that, the Terriers will play in the Marion Regional Tuesday, Oct. 22 against the winner of Olney and Centralia.