By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After four years and eight seasons of varsity sports, Peyton Wiseman is savoring her final weeks in a Springfield Catholic uniform.
The two-sport standout (basketball, soccer) will continue her soccer career at Louisiana Tech next school year.
But before then, she’s hoping to lead Catholic back to the state’s biggest stage.
“It’s starting to hit,” Wiseman said. “Basketball was hard for me because I won’t be playing basketball in college. That was really the end. With (soccer), I’m just hoping to finish out strong and help us make it to the final four in my last year.”
Performances like Tuesday night would indicate the Lady Irish are starting to hit their stride at the midway point of the season.
Catholic put up four second-half goals in an impressive 5-0 home victory over Logan-Rogersville.
Early in the second half, Wiseman had a pair of goals just seconds apart to put the game away. On the first goal, Wiseman’s shot deflected off a Logan-Rogersville defender and went in.
Seconds later, Wiseman converted a crosser from freshman Claire Majorahn.
“Claire’s really good at crossing the ball in, so I just wanted to run in on it. I knew she was going to give me a chance if I got there,” Wiseman said. “I just wanted to get something on it and hopefully put it in on frame.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Wiseman (8) and senior teammate Izzie Belz (7), who also scored in the match, lead Catholic in goals this season.
Catholic, now 6-4-1 on the season, played a loaded schedule in the opening weeks. The Lady Irish played nine games in 15 days from late March to early April. Included in that daunting stretch was a 1-0 home loss to Nixa on March 25, a moral win of sorts.
“We did well in those moments against good opponents,” said Catholic head coach Mackenzie Serrano. “I expected us to be good this year just based on the fact we have eight seniors, and they’ve played together for a while now. We knew we had some freshmen coming in who would be key components for our team. We’re excited to see how the season finishes out.”
Three freshmen were in the starting lineup for Catholic on Tuesday night. The Lady Irish were also without two normal starters on their backline due to illness.
“We were a little slow to get started, just getting the freshmen working into the system. They’re very talented players; it was just about getting them to figure out how we play… and it’s starting to roll now,” Wiseman said.
Serrano is in her first season as the team’s head coach following a three-year stint as an assistant.
She was a star player for Catholic and graduated in 2018, before finishing her career at Drury. Serrano was on the last Catholic team (2017) to make the final four.
Time has flown by since becoming a coach, Serrano said. This year’s seniors were freshmen when Serrano joined Catholic as an assistant coach in 2021-22.
“We have a very special group. They’ve played club together, they’ve grown up playing together,” Serrano said. “We have a very cohesive unit. It’s such a fun group. It’s fun to watch how they’ve developed over the years. We have a lot of fun connections.”
Freshman Claire Majorahn had Catholic’s first goal (7’) on Tuesday night with a long, breakaway run up the left side following a quick counter from Logan-Rogersville’s end. Freshman Crosby Morgan delivered Catholic’s final goal on a feed from sister Campbell Morgan in the 75th minute.
“In the first half, with our movement in the attack, we were having a lot of success. We were just struggling on the final passes and finishing,” Serrano said. “We just had to communicate better in those moments – make the simple play rather than trying to make the perfect pass. Once we did that and waited for those pockets to open, that’s when we became successful.”
Catholic has won 17 straight vs. Logan-Rogersville, a streak that began in 2012.
Logan-Rogersville, a Class 2 final four participant last season, fell to 4-6 overall. All six of the losses have come against Class 3 or Class 4 schools.
The Lady Wildcats return to action Thursday in a non-conference match at Monett. Catholic will play at Branson the same night.
The Lady Irish will host Willard on April 30 in a match that could determine the top seed for next month’s Class 3 District 6 Tournament at Willard High School.
Springfield Catholic 5, Logan-Rogersville 0
Logan-Rogersville 0 0 — 0
Springfield Catholic 1 4 — 5
First half
Springfield Catholic (7’) – Claire Majorahn
Second half
Springfield Catholic (45’) – Peyton Wiseman
Springfield Catholic (46’) – Wiseman (Majorahn assist)
Springfield Catholic (53’) – Izzie Belz (Campbell Morgan assist)
Springfield Catholic (75’) – Crosby Morgan (Campbell Morgan assist)
