Bolingbrook’s season comes to an end in regional final with loss to West Aurora

BOLINGBROOK – The Bolingbrook boys soccer team hadn’t lost in eight games entering Saturday’s home regional final. West Aurora hadn’t lost in seven. The winner would advance to the sectional semifinals to play Naperville North while the loser would see their season come to an end. High stakes, drama and everything on the line?

It’s exactly what you want in a playoff atmosphere. The game itself wasn’t quite as dramatic, but the Blackhawks will certainly take it.

West Aurora managed two goals in the second half while dominating the time of possession. The second half saw the Raiders earn plenty of solid chances, but they were unable to convert any as West Aurora won the Class 3A Bolingbrook Regional final 2-1.

West Aurora (18-4) was firmly in control the entirety of the first half as the ball rarely crossed over into its side of the field. The Blackhawks supplied consistent pressure for 40 minutes, breaking through for goals on two separate occasions. When the Raider offense picked up in the second half, the Blackhawk backline refused to yield despite the strong effort by Bolingbrook until the final minute of play.

“Give Bolingbrook a hell of a lot of credit,” West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic said. “They did a great job and had a quality year. ...We just took advantage of our opportunities. It was a hard battle all the way. Our seniors were giving everything they had to not let this be the end of their high school career. Credit to the Raiders and the Blackhawks for playing a hell of a game.”

The pressure was high and the attack was strong early for the Blackhawks. It took 16 minutes for that relentless attack to finally break through as senior midfielder Diego Munoz managed to send it into the back of the net with emphasis. He and his teammates shared a jovial celebration as Munoz provided West Aurora with a 1-0 lead.

It was just 11 minutes later when the Blackhawks added to the damage. Senior forward Power Selemani saw an opportunity from about 25 yards out. Unguarded, it was just him and keeper Diego Guzman with Selemani winning the dual as he scored a screamer from distance for a 2-0 lead.

The second half saw the time of possession switch in favor of the Raiders as they got off several quality shots. Strong defense and a few key saves by Blackhawks keeper Luis Garcia kept West Aurora in front as they seemed to be cruising to a victory.

Until things got quite interesting in the final minute.

With 55 seconds left, West Aurora was called for a penalty right in front of its own net. Bolingbrook senior forward Kamsiyochuku Ifeajekwu went up to attempt the ensuing penalty kick which he made. That cut the deficit to just one, however it was far too late for the Raiders to come back.

Bolingbrook finishes the year 17-3-2.

“This group changed our program,” Bolingbrook head coach Nic Trotter said. “They way they played, the way they competed and the way they set tempo changed everything. This is the best group we’ve ever had and we were very unlucky today. I thought they did enough.”

Next up for West Aurora is a Tuesday sectional semifinal at Naperville North against the top-seeded Huskies. They plan to keep the intensity and energy going with the goal of moving to the sectional finals.

“We just have to give it everything we’ve got,” senior midfielder Pas Ndayishimiye said. “We have to come into practice with the mentality that we’re going to go in and win. We’ll come in on Tuesday, execute the game plan like we did today and hopefully come out with a win in the semifinals to move onto the finals.”