Doody lifts Neuqua Valley over Lyons Twp.

Patrick Doody made a deal with his mother before Sunday afternoon's Pepsi Showdown boys soccer championship match.

Fighting a 102-degree fever since Thursday before getting it down to 99 degrees Sunday morning, the Neuqua Valley junior was told he could play 15 minutes at a time against Lyons Township, taking breaks in equal amounts.

It didn't quite work that way, fortunately for top-ranked Neuqua Valley. Doody's left-footed laser shot in the second overtime gave the Wildcats a rain-soaked 2-1 victory and the tournament title at Toyota Park in Bridgeview.

"She couldn't come, so I figured I was all right to go," Doody said with a laugh.

Doody recalled the game-ending goal in great detail, giving credit to teammate Bryan Ciesiulka for a clever back-heel assist.

"I called out heel, and he dropped it right on my foot," Doody said of the sideline pass that he took to the middle of the field. "And I just started going on a sideways run, and I finally got enough space from them that I just let a shot go. It worked out well."

Though Doody said he thought about trying to bend a shot inside the far post, Lyons Township goalkeeper Sully Fox knew what was coming. Still, there was nothing Fox could do.

"I was thinking to myself, this could go to the upper left corner," Fox said. "Sure enough, he put it upper left corner. But it's kind of one of those goals where you think to yourself, there's not much I can do about that and just give him credit for the great shot that he made."

"Once it reached overtime, adrenaline kicks in and you could be way sick and you'd still be good to go," Doody added.

The Wildcats appeared to have the game in hand when Scott Davis scored his 11th goal of the season in the 75th minute, but Lyons Township got the equalizer two minutes later. That only set up Doody's heroics.

It was the second victory over the Lions (10-2) this season. Neuqua Valley (13-0-1) won the first game 4-0.