Boys soccer: Sullivan, Naperville North stop West Aurora in OT
Halloween isn't here yet, but Chris Sullivan decided to go as Superman on Saturday afternoon.
The Naperville North senior created and scored the game-winning goal against West Aurora in the Class 3A Oswego regional championship to lift the Huskies to a 3-2 boys soccer victory in double overtime.
Sullivan undoubtedly saved the game on a day when the Huskies squandered a 2-0 lead in the final 20 minutes of the second half.
"I'm at a loss for what's going on," Huskies coach Jim Konrad said. "We've been so good and organized. We gave up a couple goals today that - whether the call was right, it is what it is - that we shouldn't have put ourselves in that position to give a team a chance to score."
That call was a penalty kick that Pablo Gaytan drilled with 13:30 left in regulation.
West Aurora (9-7-5) had scored just four minutes earlier when Emanuel Acosta sneaked a shot past Naperville North goalkeeper Tommy Welch just inside the right post.
"We've played a lot of games in the last 10 minutes," West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic said. "For some reason that's our time. If people aren't ready to play us for 80 minutes we can catch them with a surprise."
Naperville North (16-2-3), which won its third straight regional title, started strong. The Huskies got on the scoreboard first when Colin Iverson connected on Ethan Harvey's corner kick. They extended their lead to 2-0 with 16:11 left in the first half when Jack Barry finished Cesar Recendez's feed with a header.
"I just tried to get a piece of it and flick it in," Barry said. "It was a good start, but then we unfortunately gave up some goals. We put ourselves in a tough spot, but it's playoff time and it's how we finish."
The Blackhawks nearly ended the game in regulation when Jose Munoz got a bit of a breakaway, but he was unable to finish with numerous Huskies in pursuit and Welch standing as the last line of defense.
"If he puts it underneath the goalie it's a 3-2 win," Sustersic said. "It happens. Somebody has to win and somebody has to lose and today the sun shined on them a little bit more than us."
Sullivan, like he has done so often for the Huskies, was clutch and delivered when his team needed him most.
"I wanted to play out wide but saw him marked which was kind of the first time all game," he said. "I figured I'd go at their back line and I put my head down and went at a guy. The keeper made a good save and it just came back to me weirdly so I reacted and was just able to lift it over him."
And while doing so, he lifted the Huskies to the Class 3A Bolingbrook sectional, where they'll take on DVC foe Waubonsie Valley on Tuesday.
As for the Blackhawks, it was the end for their seniors but a great learning experience for the players that will be back next fall.
"The sad thing is I had six seniors who played their last game today," Sustersic said. "That's the situation and you can see why Sullivan is an All-American candidate because he split two people and created an opportunity to score and lo and behold he put in a nice shot."