L-P falls 1-0 in Class 2A Ottawa Regional semifinal

OTTAWA – Galesburg came flying right out of the gate, using its speed to get a quick goal.

The La Salle-Peru defense settled down nicely, but it wasn’t enough as the No. 3-seeded Silver Streaks came away with a 1-0 victory over the No. 6 Cavaliers on Tuesday in a Class 2A Ottawa Regional semifinal at King Field.

Just over a minute and a half into the contest, Ryan Tapper rocketed a shot from about 20 yards out past Abraham Garcia and into the net for the Cavs to give Galesburg the early 1-0 lead.

The Silver Streaks continued to use their speed to put pressure on the Cavs, but L-P did a nice job of getting back to keep it a one-goal affair.

Then with 36 minutes remaining in the first half, the Cavs had three solid scoring attempts in one possession, but Galesburg was able to retain the lead.

The Galesburg speed kept the pressure on the Cavs, but once again L-P got a scoring opportunity. However, Ismael Mejia’s shot sailed just wide of the net.

Moments after that, Anthony Makwala had a header for the Silver Streaks to Tapper, who just missed making it 2-0 Galesburg.

The Streaks kept the speed and pressure on the Cavs, but L-P was up to the challenge doing an outstanding job getting back on defense and keeping the score 1-0.

“We got out of position on that quick goal,” L-P coach David Spudic said. “But after that I thought we really controlled the ball and were able to get some good looks and prevent them from getting much going.”

With just 2:20 left in the first half, Ethan Oxley sent a shot that took an odd bounce, but Garcia got a fingertip on the ball and kept the score 1-0 heading into the intermission.

L-P came out aggressive to start the second half as Mejia had two good looks at the net, but Caleb Johnson was up to the task and kept the Cavs from finding the back of the net.

Galesburg had two good looks within a minute and a half of each other with 26 minutes remaining in the game, but Garcia made a tough save as Tapper looked to have a clear shot at the goal, and the score stayed 1-0.

“There’s a reason he holds all the goalie records for L-P,” Spudic said. “Season shutouts, career shutouts. He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to stay in and win this.”

With just less than 11 minutes left, Mejia again sent a rocket toward the goalie, but the shot hit the crossbar and fell just short.

“Ismael is just a special player,” Spudic said. “He’s a sophomore captain and has just great leadership skills all over the field.”

L-P had a furious dash at the end of the contest, but was unable to score and send the game into overtime. Its season came to and end at 7-11-2.

Galesburg moves on to the championship Saturday against Streator, a 4-2 winner over Ottawa in the first semifinal match.