For The Daily Reporter
SHELBYVILLE — Blaire Viehweg understands fully how long it’s been since Mt. Vernon High School girls soccer team has been in this position.
“None of us were alive,” Viehweg said. “We want it so badly. We’ve never been here before. We wanted to play with all the heart that we could.”
Viehweg, a senior, had just two goals entering the game. She doubled that with two in Mt. Vernon’s 4-2 victory against No. 18 Roncalli in the Shelbyville Class 2A girls swoccer regional semifinals Wednesday.
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The Marauders (12-5-1) will meet Center Grove at 5 p.m. Saturday in the regional championship. The Trojans won 3-1 in the regional semifinal against Franklin Central.
Mt. Vernon won its first sectional title in 19 years Saturday. The Marauders went on to win the regional that year.
“We’re doing it not just for our teammates but for everyone in the program,” Viehweg said.
Viehweg usually plays center defender, but she moved up to midfielder for this game.
“To have two goals was unbelievable,” Viehweg said. “It was awesome.”
The Marauders took a 1-0 halftime lead when Morgan Scruggs (team-high 20 goals) scored on a header in the first 10 minutes of the first half.
“In the second half when we got the second goal we got a cushion,” Viehweg said. “We went off on fire.”
Viehweg’s goal gave the Marauders a 2-0 lead in the first 3 minutes of the second half. Roncalli senior Kristen Reece cut the lead to 2-1 with 28:44 left in the second half. Viehweg’s second goal boosted the lead to 3-1. Mt. Vernon sophomore Alaina Nelson’s goal made it 4-1. Reece scored on a penalty kick to make it 4-2 with 5:46 to go, but the Marauders were able to close it out.
“That was one of the best team in the state; our girls came to play,” Mt. Vernon coach Steve Williams said. “This team is gutting wins out. There is a little destiny thing going on here. They’re playing really well. They kind of refuse to lose right now. Who knows what is going to happen on Saturday, but they put us in position to win.”
Willaims said his team played much better in the second half.
“The funny thing is the first half we got a goal, but I think we played very well. We didn’t go to the ball,” Williams said. “The second half was a lot better possession-wise.”
Williams said the Marauders have a young offensive team.
“Our leading scorers are sophomores and a freshman,” Williams said. “We got some future going on. You’ve got to give these kids credit.”
Roncalli coach Maurice Schilten, whose Rebels finished 17-4, was proud of his team’s effort.
“It’s just disappointing,” Schilten said. “We had a great run; we just didn’t expect it to end so soon.”
