Welcome to the IHSA boys soccer 3A State championship on a cold and rainy night at Hoffman Estates. That matchup features Naperville North, who is no stranger to this spot, as the Huskies take the pitch in the championship game for the fifth time in school history after a 1-0 semifinal win over Lane Tech. St. Laurence is the opponent, a team that’s making its first-ever appearance in the state title. The Vikings defeated Glenbrook North 3-0 in the other semifinal matchup. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Vikings are looking to be the first squad to score on North in the postseason but Colin McMahon disrupts the attack and clears it.
Huskies the other way, looking to strike first with a Luke Bouska cross, but it doesn’t take the favorable bounce off Will Boniface’s head and the game stays scoreless
Back come the Vikings with a free kick from Pauly Rzadkosz, but good luck trying to score when Jack Bouska is in goal.
Kalan Gaccione puts in the first goal for the Huskies
North feeds off that swing on this possession. Josh Pederson takes a shot that gets deflected, but there’s Kalan Gaccione with the heads-up strike, and it’s a goal for the Huskies. They take that 1-0 lead into halftime, just forty minutes from the state title.
The Dogs hope to double that in the second half but Viking goalie Vin Diesi bats it out of the air and his defense will do the rest to stop the attack.
On St. Laurence’s next offensive possession, leading scorer Juan Hernandez tries the long strike, but again it’s Bouska standing his ground for the save.
Midway through the half, Jesus Salazar assists Pauly Rzadkocz as Vikings get a goal to tie the game, and then Alonso Gonzalez slots his shot into the left part of the net. In less than a five minute span, St. Laurence takes its first lead of the game at 2-1.
Andrew Hebron keeps the game alive
Despite this being the first two goals the Huskies have given up this postseason, and trailing for the first time since September 27th, the boys in blue and orange bend but don’t break. With less than two minutes in regulation, the ball pinballs off some heads, Andrew Hebron is in the right place at the right time for the goal. Hebron ties the game at two, and we need two ten-minute overtimes to decide a winner.
In the extra time, Bouska continues to do his thing to keep the game tied with another stop.
Free kick coming up for the Vikings in the second OT, but Juan Hernandez’s strike sails too high. We remain scoreless through two overtimes, so onward we go to penalty kicks.
It’s 2-1 Huskies so far after successful attempts from seniors Josh Pedersen and Onkar Lidder, but Josue Garcia kicks in the equalizer for the Vikings
Up next is Carlos Candona, and he hits the top shelf to put North back in front at 3-2.
Tied at three now, and Maxx Figueora puts the pressure on the Huskies and kicks St. Laurence to a 4-3 lead.
Does Cam Brown have a response? Yes, he does, as he jukes out the goalie, and we’re tied at 4-4.
Here’s Sal Soto on the next shot, but Bouska for the clutch stop, and now the Huskies have a chance to win the game.
Eddie Zoeller secure the boys soccer State championship for Naperville North
It’s defenseman Eddie Zoeller on the attempt, and we have a winner. The first goal of Zoeller’s varsity career finds the left corner to give Naperville North a 3-2 victory in penalty kicks to bring home a fifth boys soccer state championship. This is the fourth first-place finish for head coach Jim Konrad, and the Huskies finish the season 25-0-4 and at the top of the mountain in Class 3A. Glenbrook North wins the third place game. De La Salle wins the Class 2A state title.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
