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After a successful first year in 2024 under then first year head coach Zach Young in which the Monticello Lady Billies qualified for the 4A State Soccer Championship Tournament for the first time in many years.
The Lady Billies would enter the 2025 season hoping to build on the 2024 season after finishing in the fourth position to qualify for the State Tournament.
From the beginning of the season Coach Young and his assistants, Coach Greg Fallon and Coach Rolando Perez, would face challenges week in and week out but knew the talent was there for the Lady Billie program to build on the previous year’s success.
Opening the season on February 28, the Lady Billies would shut out Hermitage 6-0 before suffering their first loss of the season 3-0 at White Hall and a 3-3 tie on the road at Magnolia.
The team would get back in the win column on March 6 with a 4-1 win over Hope at Hyatt Field and a 9-0 win at Lake Village over Lakeside before entering into their first conference game on Friday, March 14.
Facing Little Rock Mills, there would be more drama getting the game actually started than on the field as Monticello would defeat Mills 18-0 in the contest after changing start times due to weather and the visiting team being late to arrive at Hyatt Field.
From there the Lady Billies would have to deal with injury issues as well as official issues, and not mention other circumstances out of Monticello’s control.
The Lady Billies would get conference wins over Crossett and eStem to move to 3-0 in conference play before Spring Break, but after returning from Spring Break, the team would travel to Star City to face the Lady Bulldogs and would have to do so without two players with one player missing due to travel issues from being away on Spring Break and one not being allowed to play in the contest after receiving a red card in their contest with eStem.
The Lady Billies would fall at Star City 3-2 for their first conference loss of the season.
After the loss to Star City, the Lady Billies would have 10 days before their next game after a non conference game against Lisa Academy was cancelled.
Returning to action on March 11, the Lady Billies would travel to Stuttgart, returning to conference play with a 7-3 win.
Adversity would hit the Lady Billies once again after conference games against Warren and Hamburg were postponed due to lack of officials.
After a 1-0 forfeit win over Lonoke, it would be three weeks before the Lady Billies would take the field again.
After settling the issue with getting referees for the remainder of the season, the Lady Billies would enter Hyatt Field on Thursday May 1,
The scenario for the remainder of the season was simple, they had to win, a tie or a loss would put the Billies in the third position in the conference.
Against Hamburg, the first half would be 40 minutes of scoreless soccer with Monticello having several opportunities but could not get the ball into the net.
After the halftime break, the defensive play would continue with both teams playing the majority of the second half without a single score.
With less than two minutes remaining in the contest, Kallee Laudell would set up a corner kick and would connect with a perfect ball that sailed through the air, descending center goal where Sally Perez would connect with the header pas the Hamburg goalie for the Lady Billie score with 1:12 remaining in the contest.
The Lady Billies would keep the pressure on the Lady Lions to hold on to the 1-0 win to set up a conference showdown with the Warren Lady Jacks on Friday, May 2.
Coming into Friday’s contest with Warren, who was first in the 4A East, the winner of the contest would become the 4A East Conference Champions with the loser entering the 4A State Playoffs as the third seed from the east.
Both teams would remain scoreless for the first 15 or so minutes until Monticello’s Maria Gorostiaga would get the Lady Billies on the board with 25:25 remaining in the first half for the 1-0 lead.
Neither team would be able to score for the remainder of the half, entering the halftime break with Monticello leading 1-0.
Starting the second half, the teams would go almost seven minutes before a goal was scored with Monticello’s JaNiyah Goodman putting the ball past the Warren goalkeeper to give the Billies the 2-0 lead with 32:36 remaining in the contest.
Warren would get on the board a few minutes later on a corner kick with 30:02 on the clock to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Lady Billies would keep the Lady Jacks at bay, taking the contest 2-1 as the rain began fall, giving the Monticello Lady Billies their first Conference Championship in school history.
With the win Monticello finishes with a 7-1 conference record for 21 points followed by Star City, 6-0-2 (20 points), Warren, 6-1-1 (19 points, and Hamburg, 5-3 (15 points).
The Lady Billies will enter the 4A State Playoffs as the #1 seed and will face the #4 seed from the 4A South which will possibly be Magnolia on Thursday, May 15, with Robinson High School hosting at 9 am.
