MARYLAND HEIGHTS – The water turf at SportPort was flooded with USA National Team members and major college recruits, and somehow, the MICDS field hockey team raised its level even higher during its state semifinal battle with John Burroughs.
The Rams scored one highlight-reel after another and overwhelmed John Burroughs 6-3 Thursday to advance to the Missouri State Field Hockey Tournament championship game for the first time since 2021.
“Our goal for them is that you can play your absolute best game in the highest-pressure moments, and they fulfilled that goal today,” MICDS coach Lynn Mittler said.
No. 2 seed MICDS (18-3-1) will face No. 1 Villa Duchesne (24-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday at SportPort in Maryland Heights.
Villa Duchesne defeated Ladue 1-0 in the other semifinal.
The jaw-dropping goals for MICDS began midway through the second quarter when a rebound ricocheted to senior Ellemieke Ferguson near the top of the circle. She tapped it sideways, then lunged full-extension, and while diving to the turf, blasted it into the top corner of the cage to give MICDS a 3-1 lead.
During the quarterfinal win against Ursuline two days earlier, a similar rebound came to Ferguson, and she did not get enough extension or power on the shot.
“I watched the film and I wished that I had done something differently – got a little more energy into it and dove a little bit further,” Ferguson said. “When it came to me today, I said, ‘I’m going full force, even if I have to throw myself at it.’”
John Burroughs junior and USA National Team player Lila Merlin converted a stroke to slice the lead to 3-2, but less than two minutes later, MICDS’ junior Victoria Noble nearly one-upped Ferguson on the degree of difficulty metric.
On a corner opportunity, Katherine Schott fired a pass goalward, and while in motion, Noble angled her stick and redirected it into the top corner of the net to reclaim a two-goal margin for the Rams.
“We’ve practiced that corner so many times. We’ve been emphasizing the stick being in perfect line with the goal. We practiced it before the game and I was scoring, so I called it during the game and my teammates trusted me. Katherine sent the perfect ball and it went in,” Noble said.
Early in the third quarter, Noble retrieved a pass in traffic, wheeled away from the net and blasted an unsavable reverse shot to open a 5-2 lead.
“I needed to release the ball. I couldn’t get stuck with it, so I wound up and shot. I didn’t even see it go in, I just heard the cheering,” Noble said.
Finnley Desloge, another member of the USA National Team, lifted a shot into the cage off a penalty corner to slice the deficit to 5-3.
“All credit to Burroughs, they are an incredible team. We had to bring everything,” Mittler said.
John Burroughs had three more corner opportunities in the fourth quarter, but blocked shots by MICDS junior Samantha O’Neil and the rushing Ferguson prevented the Bombers from climbing closer.
“We had our chances. I never felt that we were out of that game,” John Burroughs coach Carrie Chapman said. “Hats off to MICDS. They’ve got very, very talented players and they had some beautiful shots. They put it all together today. I congratulate them.”
The final beautiful shot from MICDS came late in the fourth quarter when, in transition, Noble sent a pass across the circle that junior Lydia Brown directed into the net in one motion to leave no doubt of the outcome.
“We came out here both nervous and excited. We’ve never been to the state championship game. We wanted to lean on each other, and everyone rose to the occasion,” Noble said.
Ferguson added, “There are some games where you might come away with a win, but it’s not as fun because it’s an ugly win. Today, we were smiling the whole time.”
MICDS opened the scoring when sophomore Caroline Westre grabbed a rebound at the top of the circle, dribbled away from a defender and blasted a shot into the cage. Junior Mallory Jerlecki made it 2-0 early in the second quarter by scoring from a seemingly impossible angle at the side of the net.
“Left side on the baseline is definitely not the best angle to shoot from, but a lot of times the goalie is off-balance trying to get in position, and if I’m ready for the rebound, I can sneak one past,” Jerlecki said.
John Burroughs freshman Charlotte Craig scored off a scramble in front to put the Bombers on the scoreboard before Ferguson scored her sprawling, incredible goal that set the tone for more highlight-reel plays to come.
In all, five different Rams scored goals.
“We focus a lot on passing and playing together. It was such a fun game to play because there were so many different types of goals, so many different players scoring, and we did such a great job of getting everybody involved in the play,” Jerlecki said.
MICDS, like Villa Duchesne, lost a heartbreaker in overtime in last year’s state semifinal. The Rams advanced all the way to 1v1 penalty shootouts before St. Joseph’s won the game on its sixth shooter.
“All the way back a year ago, losing on this field in the semifinals, we started again,” Mittler said. “A very talented group. They come from different clubs and they’re only together these three months. We have our own way, and they’re committed to that way.”
And the MICDS way is clicking on all cylinders heading into Saturday’s championship.
“It’s more than a team, it’s a family, and we’re so excited for Saturday,” Jerlecki said.
For a photo gallery from this game, click on the link below: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Field-Hockey/2026-Season/MICDS-vs-John-Burroughs-Semifinal-2
To read the game story from the regular season meeting between MICDS and Villa Duchesne, click the link below: https://metrosportsstl.com/2026/09/14/redmond-pelikan-shine-in-villa-duchesne-win-over-micds-in-high-powered-early-season-showdown/