Johnsburg tries to ride momentum to third IHSA state finals trip

Growing up, Charlie Eastland had a unique seat to some of Johnsburg’s historic moments.

Eastland was seemingly always there in 2013 as a 3-year-old when the Skyhawks reached the IHSA state finals for the first time in program history. She joined Johnsburg, and its coach and her father Rob, on countless bus rides over the years. None was more memorable than traveling down to state.

Charlie always tried to boost the Skyhawks during those bus rides. No matter if it was a win or a loss, former players said she helped create countless memories.

Now 12 years later, Charlie will get a chance to make more memories on that bus ride down to state again. This time she’ll do it as a player when the Skyhawks take on Timothy Christian in the Class 1A state semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at North Central College in Naperville.

“I just love it, because it’s moments with my dad, but it’s also moments with these girls who I’ve known forever,” said Charlie, a sophomore. “But to be able to be a player, I mean, I’ve wanted this forever. This was always my goal, to go to state with my team, and I just can’t wait.”

It was a moment that almost didn’t happen. Not only did Johnsburg (12-6) need to come back from two deficits in its supersectional match against Willows Academy on Saturday to return to state for the third time in program history, the Skyhawks also had to overcome bumps throughout an up-and-down regular season.

Johnsburg started the season 7-2 and seemed destined to take control of the Kishwaukee River Conference when it beat rival Richmond-Burton 2-0 early in the season. But the Skyhawks finished the regular season 1-4 and eventually lost their lead in the KRC title chase. They also lost in the KRC Tournament quarterfinals.

Since then, the Skyhawks have gone 4-0 in the playoffs and outscored their opponents 18-4 to return to state.

“We knew our losses, they had to happen,” sophomore Devyn Michel said. “Rob says those are our scars, and you have to have scars to keep surviving. So we just knew that we had to perform when it mattered. Even though we were doing bad, this is when it matters, and we’re performing well.”

The Skyhawks said they relied on their relationships with each other to get through that tough stretch of the season. Much of Johnsburg’s roster is filled with juniors and sophomores who grew up playing club soccer with each other.

Rob said the Skyhawks knew how to get out of Saturday’s deficits and the season’s deficits because of their lifelong bonds.

“We’ve got these girls who’ve got the history together,” Rob said. “They know how to dig deep. They know they want it for each other.”

Johnsburg now will try to make more history during its third trip to state, as it tries to win the program’s first state championship. The Skyhawks have previously placed third and fourth in 2013 and 2017, respectively.

They’ll face a tough opponent when they start play Thursday against Timothy Christian (16-3-2). The Trojans return to the state finals for the first time since 2021 when they finished runner-up.

“I just love it, because it’s moments with my dad but it’s also moments with these girls who I’ve known forever. But to be able to be a player, I mean, I’ve wanted this forever. This was always my goal, to go to state with my team, and I just can’t wait.”

—  Charlie Eastland, Johnsburg sophomore

After seeing almost everything this season, the Skyhawks are confident they can keep their playoff momentum going at state.

“We all are confident in each other’s abilities for sure,” junior Liz Smith said. “So we definitely just have to look at the person to our right and left and have full confidence in them, know that they’re going to perform and we’re going to perform.”