Wheaton North falls in overtime
The chant from an unidentified St. Charles North soccer player was the perfect statement for a team that felt forgotten this year but continued a memorable postseason run on Tuesday:
"Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!"
The ninth-seeded North Stars (13-8-2) won 3-2 over No. 4 Wheaton North (11-6-6) on a Brandon Bautista goal in overtime, to advance to Saturday's title game of the Class 3A Wheaton North sectional.
The North Stars knocked off No. 1 Larkin for a regional title on Saturday.
"A lot of people were underestimating us, the whole season," said North Stars senior Dan Stanek. "We didn't get a reporter the whole season, and that (ticked) us off."
"We want to show people what North Star soccer is all about."
It was Stanek and Wheaton North's Jason Lollar who set the stage for Bautista's heroics, with each player scoring twice in regulation to force overtime.
Stanek broke the ice in the game's 30th minute, running onto a feed from Noah Anthony and finishing at the goalmouth. The lead held to halftime.
Despite the Falcons' ability to keep the ball on the North Stars' side of midfield for much of the first half, Willson's back line of Zach Matuszak, Nick Lutsch, Luis Ramirez and Alex Bergmann gave away scoring chances as willingly as a dog gives up a bone.
"We've been playing a whole lot better in the back," said North Stars coach Eric Willson. "Some of our youth is getting more and more experienced, and it's just kind of an attitude you have to have when you play in the back.
"I'm really proud of the way our defenders played tonight."
The Falcons tied the game in the 47th minute when Robert Wertke sent a corner kick towards the box that Lollar volleyed left-footed to the back netting from 15 yards out.
Stanek's ninth goal of the season came in similar style to his eighth, with the senior charging the net after a cross from Luis Ramirez and heading it into the net in the 67th minute.
Lollar tied the game again with a head shot goal off a Pat Langan feed in the 77th minute. Early in the first overtime, Bautista scored the biggest goal of his high school career on a feed from Zach Matuszak, running it down inside the box and scoring the game-winner on a head shot.
"Zach played it in from the right side, and I just had to get there," Bautista said. "The keeper was coming out, I saw the ball, and I just placed it."
"We can't be too disappointed, because we haven't been in this position for a couple years," said Falcons coach Bryce Cann. "The guys performed well and gave us a chance to win. We just fell a little short."