Mattoon fell a little short in its attempt Tuesday to beat Mahomet and earn a share of the Apollo Conference girls soccer title.

After falling behind 3-1, the Green Wave struck for two quick goals to tie the score right before halftime. Faith Niebrugge took a pass from teammate Lily Ghere to drive in a goal with four minutes left in the half that made it 3-2. Ghere then drilled in a penalty kick to tie the score two minutes later.

The score remained tied in the second half until Mahomet slipped in a goal with 19 minutes remaining. Three minutes later, a second goal made it 5-3.

Mattoon could not convert on two scoring chances in the final five minutes.

“The girls played their hearts out tonight,” Mattoon coach Ryan Ghere said. “We really competed with them. We just made two mistakes in the second half and Mahomet capitalized on both of them. We continue to improve each week.” 

Mahomet (15-1 overall, 9-0 in conference) clinched the Apollo title against the only team that could have tied them. MHS is now 15-5, 7-2.

Gabi Ray scored MHS’s other goal, five minutes into the game, which had tied the score at 1.

Averie Smith recorded seven saves for the Green Wave.