Mendota comes up short against U-High in 1A state semifinal

HOFFMAN ESTATES - With just over four minutes remaining, Mendota junior Johan Cortez sent a pass across the front of the net to Cesar Casas.

Casas’s shot went just wide of the goal and the sophomore dropped to the field.

It was Mendota’s best and last scoring opportunity as the Trojans lost 1-0 to Normal University High in a Class 1A state semifinal Thursday at Hoffman Estates High School.

“I thought we played a great game,” Mendota coach Nick Myers said. “I thought for the first time being here we handled our emotions and we got through the initial 10-15 minutes of being in this type of atmosphere. I thought defensively we played great. We were under pressure for a lot of the game. I thought the guys held up well.

“We were right in it with the state runner-up from last year. (U-High) is a very experienced team. I thought our guys held their own and had opportunities to win it, too.”

The Trojans (24-3-1) will play Columbia (24-4-1) in the third-place game at 11:30 a.m. Friday. Columbia lost 1-0 to Cristo Rey Jesuit in the first semifinal. Columbia placed third in 2023.

“I thought Columbia played really well,” Myers said. “From what we watched, it looked like Columbia had the majority of the chances and dominated possession of the ball. Cristo Rey’s goalkeeper played phenomenal. I thought Columbia looked really good so we’re going to have a big test.”

U-High was a big test Thursday as the Pioneers possessed the ball more than Mendota and kept the pressure on the Trojans while the swarming U-High defense limited Mendota’s scoring chances.

The Pioneers had a couple strong scoring opportunities in the first half as Owen Pacetti sent a free kick into the box and a Mendota defender cleared a shot on the rebound with 29:12 left.

With 21:43 left in the opening half, Mendota keeper Mateo Goy leapt up and punched a free kick by Pacetti over the net.

Despite the scoring chances, the game was scoreless at halftime.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Mendota senior defender Cameron Kelly said. “We were under a lot of pressure, but we held up pretty well.”

Mendota sophomore Isaac Diaz fired a shot with 4:45 left in the first half for the Trojans’ first shot of the game. The Trojans were limited to two shots on goal and one off.

“They kind of swarmed us as soon as we got the ball and made it tough for us to get it off our feet quickly,” Myers said. “We adjusted a little bit at halftime. We talked about trying to switch the field diagonally if we can as quick as possible and maybe catch the weakside defender. We just weren’t able to do it enough.”

U-High coach Jeremy Stanton said the Pioneers executed their defensive game plan well.

“I think we won this game on the defensive end,” Stanton said. “We played great team defense. Our back four were incredible.

“We wanted to stay compact defensively. We wanted them to see a second defender because they have good attacking players. We knew once they were attacking and in the final third, a lot of times it was slip passes and try to get behind the defense. If it was out wide it was more of a one-on-one situation. We had a good read on them going into the game and it played out that way.”

The Pioneers kicked up the pressure out of halftime with a few good chances early.

Goy made a save on a cross just 1:12 into the half and the Pioneers had a chance on a scramble in front of the next just over a minute later.

The Pioneers broke through 5:59 into the second half when Keaton Ash headed a throw-in off the crossbar.

The ball bounced off toward the right side and Noah Molitor headed it in for the game’s lone goal.

“It was very similar to a goal I scored against Normal West. The ball just popped out right in front of me and in those situations you can’t hesitate,” Molitor said. “That’s just natural instinct for me to put that in the back of the net.”

U-High had a few more chances, but Goy made a diving save with 11:51 left and finished with three saves.

“I just want to keep my team in it,” Goy said. “(On the goal) I was covering back post on a throw in. Sometimes you’re not ready in the back if no one is talking. We didn’t communicate and nobody covered, but it happens.”

The Mendota defense held Molitor, who now has 45 goals on the season, to one shot on goal and one off.

“We were just trying to stop him from getting the ball and just swarm him when he got it,” Kelly said.

In the final minutes, the Trojans had Casas’s near miss, which gave Mendota a burst of energy to push up, but the Trojans never got another strong look.

“Because we were down we went with a two-striker formation toward the end,” Myers said. “That seemed to help us out a little bit and we got a little more attack. It would have been nice if we would have put that intensity and that pressure on throughout the game instead of just the last 15 minutes, but we had some opportunities toward the end. We had a great one with about four minutes to go. We were able to get it into the box at Johan’s feet and he made a great pass to Cesar and we just missed it.”