Collinsville ends Lake Park rally, takes 3rd
Kahoks squander 2-0 lead, but take PK session 5-4
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Collinsville finally got to put three months of practice to work in Saturday’s Class 3A third place game.
After enduring Lake Park’s rally from an early 2-0 deficit and ending regulation tied 2-2, the Kahoks’ first penalty kick session of the entire season brought perfection.
With shooters converting all five tries, Collinsville (19-6-2) emerged with a 5-4 win in the PK shootout to earn its first state trophy since placing second in 1996.
“Every day after practice we’ve taken PKs, before the first game even started,” said Collinsville senior Logan Whitehead, who converted the Kahoks’ fourth shot.
“My freshman or sophomore year when I was on varsity we lost in PKs to Quincy, and they ended up getting second at state. PKs can take you a long way, and we didn’t want them to stop us from getting third today. It’s good to end our season on a good note.”
Lake Park (21-5-3) earned the second state trophy in program history, matching the 2013 team’s own fourth place finish.
But in terms of level of play and endurance, it could be argued that few if any fourth place teams in IHSA history can match the 2018 Lancers.
Friday night’s state semifinal with Naperville North produced the first of two marathons in 24 hours. Its highlights included incredible saves by Lake Park goalkeeper Christian Lekki and a refusal to relent against a Huskies team that was en route to its third-straight AAA title.
The difference Friday came down to an official’s whistle. A foul call in the box in the second overtime produced a Naperville North penalty kick, a 1-0 Huskies win, and Lake Park heartbreak that clearly carried over to the start of Saturday’s match.
Just 24 seconds in on Saturday, a Collinsville rush set up Trey Simpson’s goal and an near-instant 1-0 Kahoks lead.
“That was huge for us,” Collinsville’s Donovan Scott-Gass said. “It lifted our spirits right away, and we knew we had a chance in the game.”
The Kahoks’ chances looked even better in the 20th minute. Luke Liljegren made a run to the end line, then sent a perfect cross to Whitehead open in front for a putaway and a 2-0 lead.
Besides Tom Zakic’s great move past two defenders nine minutes in for a 10-yard shot deflected just wide by Collinsville goalkeeper Tate Wyatt, the Lancers had a sluggish first 32 minutes of play.
And already up 2-0, the Kahoks continued to swarm. Only the acrobatics of Lake Park’s Lekki (a leaping deflection over the crossbar of a Zac Cawvey 22-yard shot in the 27th minute, then a diving save on a 6-yard Liljegren header off a 31st-minute cross) kept the game close.
But instead of fading away after the mental and physical exhaustion of the Friday loss and Saturday adversity, Lake Park turned the tide.
Just 6:59 before halftime, Franco Presta’s end line cross was initially cleared from the crease. But sophomore defender Anthony Magner gathered the loose ball and drove a 22-yard shot inside the left post to halve his team’s deficit to 2-1.
“A good cross was sent in,” Magner said, “and there was a poor clearance right to my foot. I just looked right at the goal and buried it top left. I think that started our play and started to get things going for us again.”
Passes by Jesus Juarez, Grayden McClellan and Paul Grzybowicz preceded the Presta cross. And the show of teamwork all led to Magner’s first goal of 2018.
“It’s my first season on varsity,” he said, “and it felt good after a lot of hard work to finally get a goal. And in a big game like this.”
After being stunned by Collinsville’s hot start, the Lancers found their footing.
“Their style (Collinsville’s) was a little more direct than ours,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said. “We play a possession-based game, move off the ball and get our outside backs involved.
“Everybody’s an attacking player on our team, not just our forwards. I love it that we can spread it around and even get a defender scoring his first career goal as a varsity player at the highest level (state). That balance has been a big strength of ours and what got us here.”
Two minutes later, Wyatt’s diving save at the post of Zakic’s 20-yard shot continued the Lancers’ momentum surge.
“A little bit of last night (vs. Naperville North) did take a toll on our game today,” Lake Park senior Matteo Costa said. “But we’re a confident team and a hard-working team. I knew we would pick ourselves up, and in the last 10 minutes of the first half we really showed our true ability to pick ourselves up, go at them again and not give up.”
Three minutes into the second half, Costa punctuated that statement.
Off a Gabe Mendrano send to the box, Costa’s running 8-yard header found the back of the net for his 13th goal of the year and a 2-2 tie.
“They’re a talented team,” Collinsville coach Rob Lugge said of Lake Park. “They’re quick, dangerous. So scoring early for us was a big thing.
“We’ve scored some pretty quick goals this year, but similar to today we’d kind of fall back for some reason and not keep it going and allow teams to come back in (the game).”
The Kahoks had shaken that trend until Saturday. Before the Lancers, no opponent since Granite City on Sept. 25 had scored more than one goal against Collinsville. The 12 games in between featured just six goals allowed.
Tied 2-2, such defense became the theme for the rest of regulation Saturday with both goalkeepers up to every challenge.
Senior Lekki heard chants of ‘MVP’ from Lake Park’s large student cheering section with his clutch saves all weekend, and earned another chorus with 17:15 left when he leaped to deflect a Trey Przybysz 30-yard free kick over the crossbar.
“Christian might have had the best game of his career last night (vs. Naperville North),” Crosby said. “I was so proud of him. He was unbelievable, and he got tested big time. The whole playoffs he has been such a key player in our success.”
In a season that featured 13 shutouts for the Lancers’ defense, Lekki fittingly made 13 saves in Saturday’s finale.
“He set the Lake Park career shutouts record (this season),” Crosby said. “And he performed great this weekend.”
The Lancers again pressured Wyatt late in regulation, starting with a Mendrano 50-yard free kick that the Collinsville keeper leaped over Zakic to grab at the 6-yard line with 14:40 left.
Then with 8:25 to go, Juarez’s well-struck 30-yard free kick was swatted over the crossbar by Wyatt.
Third place game rules meant the 2-2 regulation tie went directly to penalty kicks, where shooters ruled.
Each team converted their first three PKs, until Wyatt’s diving stop on Lake Park standout senior defender Max Ellenbecker.
“I can kind of read them (the PK shooters) off the start,” Wyatt said. “I thought he was going to go across his body, so I went to my right, and I was able to make a good save. I read it really well.”
With the teams tied 4-4 in PKs, the match ended on a conversion by fifth Collinsville shooter Liljegren (who had 15 goals this season).
“Of course I was nervous,” he said, “but once I got out there and set the ball down, I took a deep breath and my mind cleared.”
Lake Park’s postseason run had included winning PK sessions in sectional victories over both St. Charles East and Benet.
“It goes to PKs (Saturday),” Crosby said, “and I guess our luck ran out because we’ve been firing on all cylinders when it comes to those. But I couldn’t be more happy with this experience.
“When you go 5-4 on penalties, that’s pretty tight. All shooters on both teams stepped up and put (shots) in very difficult spots to save.”
It was the single PK by Naperville North in the second OT Friday that left the deepest hurt.
“It’s frustrating to play so well and have that (PK) determine the match,” Crosby said.
“We were disappointed, and it’s tough coming back from playing 100 minutes (Friday) and trying to step on the field and have that fire again right away here. But responding and coming back to make it 2-2 and really having the run of play and a ton of chances in the second half, I couldn’t be more happy with that.
“I hope these guys look back and know they still set a lot of team records at Lake Park,” Crosby added, They will go down in history as pretty special in a program that’s 47 years old. I’m very happy for them.”
Coming off two-consecutive 10-win seasons, Lake Park erupted to prominence this fall.
“From the start of the season I knew we were a special group,” senior Costa said. “Getting that 12-win streak (starting the season), that really boosted our confidence. And the goals we made at the beginning of the season, we met all those expectations we had for ourselves. And I think winning the conference really boosted us and gave us a lot of confidence.”
Co-captains Costa, Ellenbecker and Presta were part of exceptional group of 14 Lake Park seniors.
“Being a captain here, with all our practices and hard work, I’m very proud of our team,” Costa said. “I could ask for nothing more. I think we really proved as a team we could take on anybody in the state. We proved that throughout the playoffs.”
Said Crosby: “We had high expectations at the start of the season, and as a coaching staff we knew this was a group from top to bottom that just had so much talent, so much heart and so much belief in themselves.
“But even making it to state for us was a surprise. And quite a way to cap off a career for a lot of seniors that we have graduating, who have been nothing but class acts and everything a coach could ask for. I’m happy especially for them, that they got this moment.”
The Lancers’ underclassmen also now have a foundation of success to build on.
“I think it’s a good experience for everyone,” Magner said, “because next season people will know how it feels to be in a big game like this after being here.
“I think next season we’re all going to be determined to get back here, because it’s been a great experience.”
That experience culminated with the frenzied crowds at Hoffman Estates.
“It’s been a crazy feeling,” Costa said. “From being in school to on the field, fans everywhere, even all the media. It’s a great feeling to be here. And we worked hard, so I think we deserved all this.”
Said Magner: “I’ve never really experienced anything like this. It was all amazing.”
Collinsville followed its own grueling Friday match (a 1-0 loss to Libertyville that ended after 11 p.m.) with a great finale.
“We went to the locker room (before Saturday’s game) and talked about the year,” Lugge said, “what we’ve been through together and how winning this game was important for us as a school and community.
“This group has been outstanding. They deserve these accolades.”
Starting lineups
Collinsville
GK Tate Wyatt
D Zac Cawvey
D Ethan Wilhold
D Spencer Vlasak
D Spencer Pysz
M Zane Baker
M Trey Przybysz
M Trey Simpson
M Wes Henze
M Luke Liljegren
F Logan Whitehead
Lake Park
GK Christian Lekki
D Tom Zakic
D Anthony Magner
D Max Ellenbecker
D Victor Pawlik
M Matteo Costa
M Jesus Juarez
M Paul Grzybowicz
M Gabriel Mendrano
F Grayden McClellan
F Franco Presta
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tate Wyatt, sr. GK, Collinsville
Scoring summary
First half
C – Trey Simpson, 1st minute
C – Logan Whitehead (Luke Liljegren), 20th minute
LP – Anthony Magner, 34th minute
Second half
LP – Matteo Costa (Gabriel Mendrano), 43rd minute
PKs
C (5): Trey Przybysz, Spencer Pysz, Zac Cawvey, Logan Whitehead, Luke Liljegren
LP (4): Matteo Costa, Franco Presta, Gabriel Mendrano, Andrew Eliopoulos
Kahoks squander 2-0 lead, but take PK session 5-4
By Dave Owen
HOFFMAN ESTATES – Collinsville finally got to put three months of practice to work in Saturday’s Class 3A third place game.
After enduring Lake Park’s rally from an early 2-0 deficit and ending regulation tied 2-2, the Kahoks’ first penalty kick session of the entire season brought perfection.
With shooters converting all five tries, Collinsville (19-6-2) emerged with a 5-4 win in the PK shootout to earn its first state trophy since placing second in 1996.
“Every day after practice we’ve taken PKs, before the first game even started,” said Collinsville senior Logan Whitehead, who converted the Kahoks’ fourth shot.
“My freshman or sophomore year when I was on varsity we lost in PKs to Quincy, and they ended up getting second at state. PKs can take you a long way, and we didn’t want them to stop us from getting third today. It’s good to end our season on a good note.”
Lake Park (21-5-3) earned the second state trophy in program history, matching the 2013 team’s own fourth place finish.
But in terms of level of play and endurance, it could be argued that few if any fourth place teams in IHSA history can match the 2018 Lancers.
Friday night’s state semifinal with Naperville North produced the first of two marathons in 24 hours. Its highlights included incredible saves by Lake Park goalkeeper Christian Lekki and a refusal to relent against a Huskies team that was en route to its third-straight AAA title.
The difference Friday came down to an official’s whistle. A foul call in the box in the second overtime produced a Naperville North penalty kick, a 1-0 Huskies win, and Lake Park heartbreak that clearly carried over to the start of Saturday’s match.
Just 24 seconds in on Saturday, a Collinsville rush set up Trey Simpson’s goal and an near-instant 1-0 Kahoks lead.
“That was huge for us,” Collinsville’s Donovan Scott-Gass said. “It lifted our spirits right away, and we knew we had a chance in the game.”
The Kahoks’ chances looked even better in the 20th minute. Luke Liljegren made a run to the end line, then sent a perfect cross to Whitehead open in front for a putaway and a 2-0 lead.
Besides Tom Zakic’s great move past two defenders nine minutes in for a 10-yard shot deflected just wide by Collinsville goalkeeper Tate Wyatt, the Lancers had a sluggish first 32 minutes of play.
And already up 2-0, the Kahoks continued to swarm. Only the acrobatics of Lake Park’s Lekki (a leaping deflection over the crossbar of a Zac Cawvey 22-yard shot in the 27th minute, then a diving save on a 6-yard Liljegren header off a 31st-minute cross) kept the game close.
But instead of fading away after the mental and physical exhaustion of the Friday loss and Saturday adversity, Lake Park turned the tide.
Just 6:59 before halftime, Franco Presta’s end line cross was initially cleared from the crease. But sophomore defender Anthony Magner gathered the loose ball and drove a 22-yard shot inside the left post to halve his team’s deficit to 2-1.
“A good cross was sent in,” Magner said, “and there was a poor clearance right to my foot. I just looked right at the goal and buried it top left. I think that started our play and started to get things going for us again.”
Passes by Jesus Juarez, Grayden McClellan and Paul Grzybowicz preceded the Presta cross. And the show of teamwork all led to Magner’s first goal of 2018.
“It’s my first season on varsity,” he said, “and it felt good after a lot of hard work to finally get a goal. And in a big game like this.”
After being stunned by Collinsville’s hot start, the Lancers found their footing.
“Their style (Collinsville’s) was a little more direct than ours,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said. “We play a possession-based game, move off the ball and get our outside backs involved.
“Everybody’s an attacking player on our team, not just our forwards. I love it that we can spread it around and even get a defender scoring his first career goal as a varsity player at the highest level (state). That balance has been a big strength of ours and what got us here.”
Two minutes later, Wyatt’s diving save at the post of Zakic’s 20-yard shot continued the Lancers’ momentum surge.
“A little bit of last night (vs. Naperville North) did take a toll on our game today,” Lake Park senior Matteo Costa said. “But we’re a confident team and a hard-working team. I knew we would pick ourselves up, and in the last 10 minutes of the first half we really showed our true ability to pick ourselves up, go at them again and not give up.”
Three minutes into the second half, Costa punctuated that statement.
Off a Gabe Mendrano send to the box, Costa’s running 8-yard header found the back of the net for his 13th goal of the year and a 2-2 tie.
“They’re a talented team,” Collinsville coach Rob Lugge said of Lake Park. “They’re quick, dangerous. So scoring early for us was a big thing.
“We’ve scored some pretty quick goals this year, but similar to today we’d kind of fall back for some reason and not keep it going and allow teams to come back in (the game).”
The Kahoks had shaken that trend until Saturday. Before the Lancers, no opponent since Granite City on Sept. 25 had scored more than one goal against Collinsville. The 12 games in between featured just six goals allowed.
Tied 2-2, such defense became the theme for the rest of regulation Saturday with both goalkeepers up to every challenge.
Senior Lekki heard chants of ‘MVP’ from Lake Park’s large student cheering section with his clutch saves all weekend, and earned another chorus with 17:15 left when he leaped to deflect a Trey Przybysz 30-yard free kick over the crossbar.
“Christian might have had the best game of his career last night (vs. Naperville North),” Crosby said. “I was so proud of him. He was unbelievable, and he got tested big time. The whole playoffs he has been such a key player in our success.”
In a season that featured 13 shutouts for the Lancers’ defense, Lekki fittingly made 13 saves in Saturday’s finale.
“He set the Lake Park career shutouts record (this season),” Crosby said. “And he performed great this weekend.”
The Lancers again pressured Wyatt late in regulation, starting with a Mendrano 50-yard free kick that the Collinsville keeper leaped over Zakic to grab at the 6-yard line with 14:40 left.
Then with 8:25 to go, Juarez’s well-struck 30-yard free kick was swatted over the crossbar by Wyatt.
Third place game rules meant the 2-2 regulation tie went directly to penalty kicks, where shooters ruled.
Each team converted their first three PKs, until Wyatt’s diving stop on Lake Park standout senior defender Max Ellenbecker.
“I can kind of read them (the PK shooters) off the start,” Wyatt said. “I thought he was going to go across his body, so I went to my right, and I was able to make a good save. I read it really well.”
With the teams tied 4-4 in PKs, the match ended on a conversion by fifth Collinsville shooter Liljegren (who had 15 goals this season).
“Of course I was nervous,” he said, “but once I got out there and set the ball down, I took a deep breath and my mind cleared.”
Lake Park’s postseason run had included winning PK sessions in sectional victories over both St. Charles East and Benet.
“It goes to PKs (Saturday),” Crosby said, “and I guess our luck ran out because we’ve been firing on all cylinders when it comes to those. But I couldn’t be more happy with this experience.
“When you go 5-4 on penalties, that’s pretty tight. All shooters on both teams stepped up and put (shots) in very difficult spots to save.”
It was the single PK by Naperville North in the second OT Friday that left the deepest hurt.
“It’s frustrating to play so well and have that (PK) determine the match,” Crosby said.
“We were disappointed, and it’s tough coming back from playing 100 minutes (Friday) and trying to step on the field and have that fire again right away here. But responding and coming back to make it 2-2 and really having the run of play and a ton of chances in the second half, I couldn’t be more happy with that.
“I hope these guys look back and know they still set a lot of team records at Lake Park,” Crosby added, They will go down in history as pretty special in a program that’s 47 years old. I’m very happy for them.”
Coming off two-consecutive 10-win seasons, Lake Park erupted to prominence this fall.
“From the start of the season I knew we were a special group,” senior Costa said. “Getting that 12-win streak (starting the season), that really boosted our confidence. And the goals we made at the beginning of the season, we met all those expectations we had for ourselves. And I think winning the conference really boosted us and gave us a lot of confidence.”
Co-captains Costa, Ellenbecker and Presta were part of exceptional group of 14 Lake Park seniors.
“Being a captain here, with all our practices and hard work, I’m very proud of our team,” Costa said. “I could ask for nothing more. I think we really proved as a team we could take on anybody in the state. We proved that throughout the playoffs.”
Said Crosby: “We had high expectations at the start of the season, and as a coaching staff we knew this was a group from top to bottom that just had so much talent, so much heart and so much belief in themselves.
“But even making it to state for us was a surprise. And quite a way to cap off a career for a lot of seniors that we have graduating, who have been nothing but class acts and everything a coach could ask for. I’m happy especially for them, that they got this moment.”
The Lancers’ underclassmen also now have a foundation of success to build on.
“I think it’s a good experience for everyone,” Magner said, “because next season people will know how it feels to be in a big game like this after being here.
“I think next season we’re all going to be determined to get back here, because it’s been a great experience.”
That experience culminated with the frenzied crowds at Hoffman Estates.
“It’s been a crazy feeling,” Costa said. “From being in school to on the field, fans everywhere, even all the media. It’s a great feeling to be here. And we worked hard, so I think we deserved all this.”
Said Magner: “I’ve never really experienced anything like this. It was all amazing.”
Collinsville followed its own grueling Friday match (a 1-0 loss to Libertyville that ended after 11 p.m.) with a great finale.
“We went to the locker room (before Saturday’s game) and talked about the year,” Lugge said, “what we’ve been through together and how winning this game was important for us as a school and community.
“This group has been outstanding. They deserve these accolades.”
Starting lineups
Collinsville
GK Tate Wyatt
D Zac Cawvey
D Ethan Wilhold
D Spencer Vlasak
D Spencer Pysz
M Zane Baker
M Trey Przybysz
M Trey Simpson
M Wes Henze
M Luke Liljegren
F Logan Whitehead
Lake Park
GK Christian Lekki
D Tom Zakic
D Anthony Magner
D Max Ellenbecker
D Victor Pawlik
M Matteo Costa
M Jesus Juarez
M Paul Grzybowicz
M Gabriel Mendrano
F Grayden McClellan
F Franco Presta
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tate Wyatt, sr. GK, Collinsville
Scoring summary
First half
C – Trey Simpson, 1st minute
C – Logan Whitehead (Luke Liljegren), 20th minute
LP – Anthony Magner, 34th minute
Second half
LP – Matteo Costa (Gabriel Mendrano), 43rd minute
PKs
C (5): Trey Przybysz, Spencer Pysz, Zac Cawvey, Logan Whitehead, Luke Liljegren
LP (4): Matteo Costa, Franco Presta, Gabriel Mendrano, Andrew Eliopoulos