Mendota beats Columbia in PKs to claim third place in Class 1A soccer

HOFFMAN ESTATES – Columbia sophomore Wyatt Etherton set the ball down, took a few steps and booted it toward the goal as Mendota keeper Mateo Goy dove to his right.

The ball clanged off the cross bar.

The Mendota fans erupted, Goy leapt to his feet with his arms in the air and waited for his teammates to rush over for a celebratory mob.

With the miss, the Trojans beat Columbia 2-1 in penalty kicks in the IHSA Class 1A third-place soccer game Friday at Hoffman Estates High School.

“It’s an exceptional feeling,” Mendota junior Johan Cortez said. “It’s the first time we’ve been here. It’s really exciting. I’m so proud of all my teammates. We all worked hard throughout the season.

“I’ve been playing with these guys since we were like 7 of 8. We’ve grown up together. We’re all really close. Even outside of school and soccer, we’re all hanging out and having fun. We’re basically a family. I’m so proud of these guys. I love these guys.”

It is the first state trophy for Mendota’s boys soccer program and the first for any sport at the school since the baseball team finished third in 2003.

“I’m so glad we didn’t get fourth,” Goy said. “Based on how hard we worked all summer, how hard we work in the offseason, we truly did not deserve fourth. We worked so hard for the season. I think we should be in the championship, but this works too.”

With a short turnaround after a 1-0 loss to Normal U-High in Thursday’s second semifinal to an 11:30 a.m. kickoff Friday, the Trojans (25-3-1) did not start strong.

The Eagles (24-5-1) dominated possession in the first half and had several strong scoring chances while the Trojans did not have a shot on goal in the first 40 minutes.

“I didn’t think we played the greatest in the first half,” Mendota coach Nick Myers said. “We didn’t look like we were into the game. We looked like we kind of didn’t want to be there for a while. We didn’t have very many scoring chances. Defensively, I thought we did a great job holding them off.”

Columbia kicked a free kick off the crossbar, had a shot bounce off the post, Mendota senior midfielder David Casas made an incredible save on a rebounded shot, and the Eagles missed on an indirect kick inside the box.

“I was focused and ready to go,” Goy said. “I wasn’t really scared of anything. Our defense did very well. David had an amazing goal line clearance after a save. That was crucial.”

After a halftime speech by Myers and assistant coach Rey Arteaga, the Trojans managed to create more offensive opportunities in the second half.

Cesar Casas had a shot 2:40 into the second half and three minutes later put one on goal. The Trojans mounted a quick counterattack that led to a shot by Sebastian Carlos that sailed over the net with 28:08 left that energized the Mendota fans, who chanted “M-E-N … D-O-T-A, Mendota, Mendota, Mendota” and cheered loudly for the remainder of the game.

“I think our first half was pretty poor,” Cortez said. “I think we were down from last night and we came out really slow. But after the halftime speech from the coaches, we got ourselves together and we gave it our all the second half.”

Despite having far fewer chances – Mendota had two shots on goal and two off target for the game to Columbia’s eight on and 16 off – the Trojans got on the board first.

Carlos sent a cross to Cortez, who put it in the back of the net with 12:10 left in regulation.

“I think Cesar sent a ball down the line to Sebastian,” Cortez said. “He was one-on-one and the goal was right in front of him. I was sprinting up. I was wide open. I was yelling for the ball at the top of my lungs. I was talking to him after the game and he said he didn’t even see me, he just heard me. Luckily, he passed it to me, I had the wide-open goal, and I was able to put it in.

“It was an amazing feeling.”

The Eagles responded with 8:43 left when Micah James knocked the ball in after Columbia headed it multiple times in front of the net.

“I hit it off my foot on a save, they got the rebound and he whipped it on the side and I couldn’t react on time,” Goy said.

Goy did react in time in the PK round as he made a diving stop on Columbia’s first attempt.

“Last year, I couldn’t do that [in a PK loss to Quincy Notre Dame in a sectional semifinal],” Goy said. “This year, I redeemed myself in the big moment, and I’m really happy for my team and myself because last year was really hard for me.”

Cesar Casas, Cortez, Carlos and David Casas each made penalty kicks for the Trojans.

“We kind of broke our curse to an extent on PKs,” Myers said. “We’ve lost the last three or four PK shootouts we’ve been in, and a lot of these guys have been part of them. So this is pretty huge for us to finish our season on a win and finish it with PKs.”

The Trojans graduate five seniors in David Casas, Cameron Kelly, Mauricio Martinez, Cameron Escatel and Sam Matura but will return a strong core, including Goy at keeper and their top four goal scorers.

“We’re losing five seniors who are all very important pieces,” Myers said. “We’re going to lose a lot of leadership. But we’re bringing back a great core. Sitting here with third this year, we’re hoping next year at this time we’re sitting here with the first-place trophy. I think we’re fully capable.

“Now this has to motivate these guys. They have to have that drive like we did before this season to go from sectionals all the time to state. Now I’m hoping we take getting third and we want to come back next year and get first. Hopefully, they work just as hard this offseason, which I know they will because these guys love soccer.”