Catino Harris’ goal in final minute gives Glenbard West regional title win over St. Charles North

GLEN ELLYN – Catino Harris knew exactly where he needed to be during Glenbard West’s final scoring opportunity of the game.

With only a minute remaining and the score tied in the regional final against fifth-seeded St. Charles North, the No. 4-seeded Hilltoppers found themselves on the attacking end.

As soon as Harris saw sophomore Alex Ginder keep the ball in play, he knew he had to make it into the box or Glenbard West coach Phil Wicyk would be mad at him.

After Harris buried the ball into the back of the net to give the Hilltoppers a 2-1 lead with only 50 seconds left on the clock, Wicyk was anything but mad.

“It feels like one of the greatest goals to ever happen,” Wicyk said. “You couldn’t ask for anything better than a last-minute goal in a title game in front of your home crowd.”

The Hilltoppers held on in the final 50 seconds for a 2-1 victory over St. Charles North to win the regional title.

“It was just kind of instant,” Harris said. “I knew I had to do what I had to do. If I bury it, we win. Alex Ginder came in clutch with the ball in the middle and I knew I had to finish it.”

Glenbard West faced top-seeded Geneva in a sectional semifinal Tuesday. The Hilltoppers ended the Vikings’ season last year in the regional final with a 1-0 victory.

Harris also managed to get in on the play that tied the game against St. Charles North with 11:20 remaining. After the ball was popped up in the North Stars’ box, the sophomore used his head to jar the ball away from the hands of goalkeeper Osman Ahmed and to the feet of sophomore Harrison Olechowski who tied the game at 1-1.

“I knew I had to use my ponytail to my advantage,” Harris said. “I jumped as high as I could. And it just so happened that everything played out in our favor and Harrison was right there to bury it and tie it up.”

The Hilltoppers were inches away from getting the first advantage in the first half on their final two shots but couldn’t get the ball past the goal line before the half ended with the score tied at 0-0.

“It’s been one of our kryptonites this season, not being able to hit the back of the net,” Wicyk said. “I told them at halftime that we need to learn from our mistakes and put it in. And we made no mistake on those last two. But what an overall great game from them and us.”

For St. Charles North, the season ended in heartbreak. The loss marked the fourth straight season that the North Stars made it to a regional final but couldn’t secure a title. The North Stars finished the season with a 9-3-6 record.

“That’s a tough one. That’s going to sting for a while,” St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. “We got a 1-0 lead with 11 minutes to go and we just didn’t find a way to close it out. It’s a tough one and I definitely feel it for our boys.”

The North Stars took the first lead of the game in the 58th minute when sophomore Oliver Longosz dribbled out a free kick and found the far post from 25 yards out for a 1-0 advantage.

“We got the goal off the set and you look up at the clock and see 20 minutes left and you’d like to be able to see the game out,” Willson said. “But when you have to defend for long periods of time, it makes it difficult. We just couldn’t find a way to close it out. But my seniors were awesome all season and great leaders and I’m just sorry that I couldn’t get them a regional this year.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2024/10/26/catino-harris-goal-in-final-minute-gives-glenbard-west-regional-title-win-over-st-charles-north/