No. 2 Eagles use goals by Schilke, Sardina to charge up 5th straight trip to Finals, edge out No. 3 Northstar with 2-0 shutout; will face No. 1 Naples Friday for D title

PERRY — Only one stepping stone separating the Fillmore Eagles and a return trip back to the Finals, remained. The defending Class D State Champions have been down this path many times before, with the direct result seeing them savor that sweet, sweet taste of glorified gratification in three of the last four seasons.

But the Eagles also know that every single path they’ve taken in the playoffs, is never one that they took lightly. The No. 2 seeds were presented with the latest example of that thesis on Tuesday in the shape and form of the No. 3 Northstar Christian Knights in a game that displayed a wide occupance of tenacious fortitude.

It was one of Fillmore’s toughest challenges of the season. And through the entirety of their Class D Semifinal bout with the Knights, they had to battle multitudes of physicality, emotional toughness and everything else of the like in between. All while battling across the midfield for any opportunities they could possibly scavenge and use to their own advantage.

Through it all, in a game that saw Fillmore knock on Northstar’s door plenty of times, it received two reponses — one in each half. With the Knights right on their coattails down the home stretch in the second half, an all-important second goal was needed to garner that valuable breathing room while sitting in the driver’s seat.

Henry Sardina was the answer.

Right out of the gate in the last 40 minute session, Northstar came out swinging in the period's early-going with multiple chances to break through against the Eagles deep in the offensive zone. The Fillmore defense, who has been outstandingly stout all season long, was up for the task to keep the Knights out of the net. In turn, the energy built off numerous key stops on the back end, was transitioned back down the field where the No. 2 seeds grabbed that big second goal from their leading scorer on a follow-up in front of the Knights net at the midway point.

The goal gave Fillmore a humongous 2-0 lead for the remainder of the game, as they were able to fight off several obstacles down the stretch leading up to the game’s final horn to officially punch their return tickets back to the Finals for a fifth straight season behind their eventual shutout of the No. 3 seeds in Perry.

“It was a gritty win for our squad tonight. We fought through some injuries throughout the game, had a great propensity for finding a great goalkeeper’s breadbasket on a number of breakaways and missed some close ones on the far post that could have broken the game open a bit more for us,” Eagles coach Jarrett Vosburg said. “WIth that said, at this time of the year, a win is a win and you celebrate lots of hard work that has us back in the Finals. We’re grateful to be back, but we know that we have to get back to work tomorrow to prepare for an even bigger challenge that now lies ahead of us.”

Both teams had some early looks across the opening sequences of the battle, as the midfield battle settled in almost immediately after the kick within the midfield circle. The Eagles (18-0) had the bulk of the opportunities that came and went through the first half, which allowed them to create an opening against Northstar’s defense with 15 minutes left to go.

It led to a mad dash from Henry Sardina up the far sideline, which resulted in a Northstar foul near the top of the 18, it would set up a prime direct kick opportunity for Eben Schilke to take. In one foul swoop, the Eagles senior wasted no time and in the midst of a crowd in front of the Knights goal, Schilke pulverized his shot straight to the far post and in.

After the score, Fillmore allowed the offense to continue applying pressure against Northstar all the way down to the end of the half, with an avalanche of chances being pummeled on goal after a partial breakaway off a steal in front by Layton Sanasith. The Northstar defense bent, but it did not break again for the Eagles, as the advantage remained a one-goal difference entering the break.

The Knights would provide a flip of the script in the early-going of the second half with multiple chances right out of the gate against the Eagles, keeping them pinned in the first five minutes with back-to-back corner kicks as well as a third offensive rush back into the zone — all of which were successfully deterred away from danger by the Eagles defense.

Fillmore would reverse course back downfield again to begin conducting a search for a pressure-relieving score to extend their lead. Approaching the midway mark, they got it behind the aid of Sanasith on the near sideline, as he controlled possession up the field before taking a turn inside towards the Knights net. With it, he shifted along a pass for Noah Strickland to fire home — one that created a massive rebound out front for Sardina to bury home next to the near post for a massive 2-0 lead.

“I can’t say enough about Eben Schilke’s game for us tonight,” said Vosburg. “Obviously that direct kick goal is big, but he won a lot of battles for us in the center of the field. Zach Sisson came up big for us in the center for a second straight game, and our defensive core led by Jude Beardsley, James Hillman and Nolan Krzeminski were stellar once again to pick up our biggest shutout of the season.”

The advantage for the defending Class D State Champions would remain intact all the way to the end, despite one final band of pressure applied by the Knights in the waning stages. But the Eagles defense would hold their end of the bargain to keep Northstar off the board permanently, sealing their trip back to the Finals this weekend with their biggest shutout of their campaign.

The pair of goals for the Eagles came off 15 total shots applied against the Knights, as they captured the 15-9 advantage in the shot department. In goal, Brayden Hennard and Ryan Vedder combined to record the nine-save shutout.

An even tougher challenge now awaits the Eagles of Fillmore this weekend, as they now move into the Class D Finals, which is set to begin on Friday at a site and time to be determined, against the top-seeded and undefeated Naples Big Green, who defeated No. 5 Arkport/Canaseraga, 3-2 in double-OT to fill in their vacancy later on in the night at Perry.

The winner of the Class D Championship bout will officially clinch an immediate trip to the Far West Regional the following weekend.