Boys soccer: Glenbard South will play for third place after loss in state semifinal
ROCKFORD - For Glenbard South’s first appearance at the state tournament, the Raiders had the unenviable task of facing state power Peoria Notre Dame in a Class 2A semifinal Friday afternoon at Rockford Guilford High School.
After the No. 1 Irish looked untouchable in the first 15 minutes at Swanson Field, the Raiders looked to be the better of the two sides for nearly the next 50 minutes until they conceded the eventual game-winning goal.
Raiders goalkeeper Emmett Foster-Simbulan, Clayton Nallbani and Jonathan Williams were magnificent, as were others for coach Mike Filipiak even during a hard-fought 1-0 loss.
“We came in here and competed the same way that we have during the past couple of weeks when we began our postseason run, so I am obviously extremely proud of the effort the guys gave today against a very good team," said Filipiak, whose team will play for third place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday against Washington (22-2-2), which lost to Crystal Lake South in the second semifinal.
Peoria Notre Dame arrived with a state-best 18 state appearances, four state titles, another four state runner-up trophies, as well as a third-place finish.
"(They) were the top seed, and No. 1 team in Class 2A. Obviously we were the underdog in this game, but after getting over a case of the nerves at the start, I feel like we played them even, and, at times, we had almost all of the play," said Nallbani, who leads the Raiders with 14 goals.
"We've come a long way this season, and we played well enough to win today. It was just that one play that was the difference," Williams said.
Foster-Simbulan made a pair of brilliant saves early on to keep the Raiders (14-10-2) in the game, and it was those goal-saving stops that provided the type of confidence needed to constantly test the Irish.
A tremendous work rate, and plenty of energy from the Raiders after halftime took the Irish out of their possession-styled game until a sublime finish from Cal Byrkit at 67 minutes proved to be the game-winner.
“The season began with the passing our our head coach, Willie Fajkus, so it's been an emotional ride all year long, but the guys have done a great job of pulling it all together to get ourselves here in the state tournament," Filipiak said.
The Peoria Notre Dame vs. Crystal Lake South (18-5-2) state championship game Saturday afternoon will be the third time the two clubs have played for a state title with Crystal Lake South claiming two, in 2018 and 2023.
"There were a lot of unsung heroes in our game with Washington, but in the end, it was great goals from Zach Vallicelli and Ethan Nawracaj (his 23rd) and some amazing work from our all-state keeper Noah Dunteman that helped us advance," Gators said coach Brian Allen.