Team rosters that show 13 of 21 squad members are freshmen or sophomores, with just three seniors, are not often those that are printed in state tournament programs.

Williamsville has definitely bucked that trend and hopes that its second state appearance under veteran coach Joe Fandel and its fourth overall trip produces not only its initial victory but also its first appearance in a championship match and ideally, the IHSA Class A title.

The Bullets (23-4-0) meet University (Chicago/13-3-1) in Thursday's 7 p.m. semifinal match at North Central College in Naperville. The winner advances to Saturday's championship at 2:30 p.m. while the loser plays for third on Friday at 11:30 a.m. 

Althoff (14-9-3) meets Willows (20-2-1) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the opening semifinal.

Williamsville, which is located northeast of Springfield and is a member of the Sangamo Conference, has outscored its five playoff opponents by a 31-1 margin and hosted a regional and a sectional during its successful postseason run.

The Bullets scored 14 goals in its regional opener over St. Teresa, seven in the regional final against Unity and seven in the sectional semifinal over Monmouth-Roseville. All were shutouts.

Their next two playoff games were a much different story. 

Williamsville received goals from senior defender/midfielder Madison Rigdon and sophomore forward/midfielder Calynn Frye in the final 6:21 to rally for a 2-1 victory over Bloomington Central to capture the program's fourth sectional championship.

Then they relied on a goal from their leading scorer, sophomore midfielder/forward Brooklyn Termine, off of an assist from sophomore midfielder/forward/defender Kendyl Mirabile in the 12th minute to claim a 1-0 triumph over Alleman in the Illinois Valley Central Supersectional in Chillicothe on May 25.

"This team has really come together as the season progressed," Fandel said. "With so many players being underclassmen, the juniors and seniors have really helped bring those players into the fold. There have been minimal growing pains with this group being close and supporting of each other. "

Termine leads the team with 46 goals and ranks third with 15 assists. Frye has scored 35 goals and stands second with 18 assists. Junior forward/defender Emille Mikus has 21 goals and nine assists. Mirabile has 15 goals and a team-high 26 assists. 

Junior midfielder/defender Claire Corredato and freshman defender/midfielder Cora Senalik (seven assists) both have eight goals. Ridgon has five goals and 12 assists, sophomore midfielder/defender Elizabeth Krimmel has handed out 11 assists. 

Junior forward/midfielder Clair Carter (six assists) and freshman defender/midfielder Kailyn Milnes both have scored six goals. 

The Bullets have scored six or more goals on 18 occasions and have allowed just 12 goals, with five of those coming in a 5-1 loss to Pleasant Plains (co-op) in that school's invitational. Williamsville has gone 14-2-0 down the stretch. The team’s last defeat came on May 1 by a 2-0 score to Sacred Heart-Griffin, its lone setback to a Class A school this season.

Williamsville got off to an 8-0-0 start before losing 1-0 to Pleasant Plains and 2-0 to Rochester in a three-match stretch before it put together another eight-match winning streak that ended with its second loss to Pleasant Plains.

Junior goalkeeper Lillian Johns has played 24 matches and has an 0.50 GAA for the Bullets, who have recorded 21 shutouts and allowed just one goal in three other contests. Johns, who's also a midfielder, shares captain's duties with senior Rigdon.

Fandel, who is assisted by James Doerfler, Rebekah Jostes and Cale Sherrock, is in his 15th season as head coach and surpassed the 200-win total this season (213-89-12). 

The former longtime assistant with the Bullets' boys team now leads that team and guided it to a 19-4-2 in his fall debut. The season included the boys program’s second sectional title. The first came in 2013.

Williamsville last qualified for the Class A girls finals in 2016 when it lost 6-1 to eventual runnerup Marian Central in the semifinals and then fell 4-2 to Marquette (Alton) in the third place match. That team finished 22-5-0 in Fandel's seventh season as head coach. 

This year's 23 wins set a record for the program. It surpassing the 22 victories by the 2016 fourth place team and a similar campaign in 2007, which was the first of two-straight teams that Max Parienti led to the Class A quarterfinals. 

The Bullets went 19-6-1 last spring. That season ended with a 2-0 loss to eventual Class A champion University (Normal) in a sectional final.