Boys soccer: Crystal Lake South defeats Peoria Notre Dame for Class 2A state championship

Crystal Lake South goalkeeper Chris Slawek got a good look at Peoria Notre Dame midfielder Teddy LaHood, who controlled the ball with his left foot and struck a sinking, right-footed shot from 30 yards away with 30 seconds remaining Saturday.

Slawek tracked the ball and moved to his left and then, at the last second, shifted his body back to the right as the ball made a turn after a deflection near the top of the 18-yard box.

The Gators' sure-handed senior jumped on top of the ball, held on tightly and laid completely still for a few seconds.

"I just wanted to lay down on it and just make sure they didn't get anything out of it," Slawek said.

Not long after, Slawek and the second-seeded Gators were celebrating a 2-1 win over the top-seeded Irish in the Class 2A state final at Hoffman Estates High School and the second state championship in program history.

South (22-4-1) won its first state title five years ago. That win also came against Notre Dame, which this season was trying to capture back-to-back state titles.

The Gators had other ideas.

"We just had to play our brand," said senior forward Nico Velasco, who had South's first goal Saturday after producing the game-winner in the semifinals. "We're CLS United. It's a brotherhood. We all carry each other shoulder by shoulder.

"We just played the best version of ourselves collected."

South led 1-0 at halftime on Velasco's goal in the 25th minute and extended it to 2-0 in the 46th minute on a beautiful strike from junior Nick Prus. The midfielders' right-footed shot went from right to left and sailed just under the crossbar and over the outstretched hands of Irish goalkeeper Theodore Dimler.

Gators coach Brian Allen said Prus' goal, his 14th of the season, was one to remember.

"We tell him, 'Take your moment' because you can hit something special and that's something that's going to be remembered for a long time," said Allen, who has 251 wins in 17 seasons at South. The big two (Ali Ahmed and Nolan Getzinger) get a lot of attention, but that third guy right there can be a game changer.

"If you give him time and space, he's lethal. And in the biggest moment of probably his life, he hits one goal that I sure as heck won't forget for the rest of my coaching career."

Trailing 1-0 at half, Notre Dame moved standout forward Kayden Hudson out wide and the Irish started to attack South with balls on the ground and in the middle of the field. That plan seemed to work as the Irish had many more scoring chances over the final 40 minutes.

Notre Dame finally broke through on a goal from Declan Schuler, who headed in a throw-in from Hudson to the near post past Slawek in the 58th minute.

The Irish had many more chances in the game's final moments and felt it should have been rewarded a penalty kick when Hudson went up for a ball in the box and fell to the ground in a collision with a South defender.

"With about three minutes to go in the game, I think if you watch it back there's a clear penalty," Notre Dame coach Mike Bare said. "Kayden's got their defender probably at the penalty spot, the ball is played over, the ball's going to drop right where Kayden's running, and he turns. He's hooked, he's grabbed and he's tackled.

"That's a big moment in the game. As an official, you've got to be ready to make that call. And obviously, that's a game-changing call."

Velasco scored the game's first goal in the 25th minute after Getzinger nailed a shot that was saved and tipped off the crossbar by Dimler. A miscommunication between a defender and Dimler gave Velasco an opening, which he took full advantage of.

"As a winger, it's like a second-nature instinct to attack the ball in case any seconds come out," Velasaco said. "The outside back played it to the goalie's shinguards, it came back to me, and I shot it in. I was just there at the right time."

In addition to winning its second state championship, the Gators tied the 2004 and 2018 teams for their most wins in a season with 22.

South's latest state title was a true team effort.

"It really showed throughout the playoffs," said Getzinger, who finished with a program-record 29 assists. "Different games, different players stepped up. It was just an all-round, whole team (effort) to get here. It was really everybody putting everything they got into getting here and winning state."