CHICAGO — Games are generally never equitable or similar. Due to their history and cultural significance, some games attain a quality that extends beyond the normal boundaries.

The Irish Cup, which celebrates the annual battle between Notre Dame and St. Patrick, is a classic example of the type. The activity, drama, emotional intensity and depth of feeling goes to a wholly different level.

“I’ve been involved with it the last 20 years, first as a player, and now as a coach for the last 10,” Notre Dame coach Mike Smith said. “For me, it’s really a fantastic rivalry.

“It’s good for Illinois soccer, because you see how many people are out for these games. This is a fun thing for the players. We always tell them this is one of the beauties of high school soccer, playing before a huge crowd and playing for a trophy.”

Forward Emilano Garcia scored two goals as St. Patrick captured its first Irish Cup win in five years with the 3-1 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory at Read/Dunning Stadium before an overflow crowd.

This year’s edition was like something scripted by Shakespeare — thrilling, intense, wild and insanely combative.

Emotions reached a fever pitch. A combined 12 yellow cards were dealt, and both teams played with nine field players by the end. The game was formally called in the 78th minute following a sideline confrontation between a Notre Dame and St. Patrick player. Punches were thrown but fortunately none landed.

The combatants were given red cards to end an evening that was never calm or passive, and throbbing with incident, action and emotion.

Garcia nullified a frantic and intense Notre Dame comeback with the clinching goal off a gorgeous through-ball from midfielder Nefi Solano.

Solano also contributed a crucial first half goal on a free kick for the Shamrocks (5-4-0, 2-0-0), who have won four of their last five games.

“It was a great game,” Solano said. “The environment was great. Everybody from our school came, and it felt great winning. … We fought through the adversity.

“With this year’s team, our focus has always been to play well, keep our heads and play with intensity and attitude. We want to play simple.”

Not since its 4-1 victory on Sept. 25, 2019, during a gilded season when the Shamrocks finished fourth in Class 3A, had St. Patrick claimed the Irish Cup.

St. Patrick viewed the game in stark terms as a way to offset the Dons’ stranglehold on the prize.

“You know whenever we play Notre Dame, it’s going to be physical,” Shamrocks’ coach Jon Clark said. “It’s going to be tough. They really need to play hard in order to earn that trophy. We knew at the beginning of the day we had to build our legacy. 

“Nobody has been talking about (the Shamrocks) since 2019. I told our players they had an opportunity to make a name for themselves. Our record doesn’t portray how well we’ve been playing.”

Clark said the key to the game was repelling the early Notre Dame onslaught.

“We tend to start flat and get off to a slow start,” he said. “We’ve been working hard on drilling this into their heads. We know how Notre Dame plays, and we know how they come out. 

“We knew those first 10 minutes they were going to be down our throats, and we needed to match that pace. We were playing just as good if not better than them for the first five or 10 minutes. It was a change of pace that was great to see.”

The opening stanza was defined by two interconnected actions with different results. Each side had a crucial scoring chance with a free kick.

A 20-yard shot by Notre Dame’s Joey Sorce hit the post, millimeters from hitting paydirt. In the 12th minute, Solano scored his second goal of the year with a sharp one-touch ball from virtually the same location on the opposite end of the field.

“Basically what happened was I was practicing free kicks the day before, and I felt really good and confident when I went up there,” Solano said. 

“It felt nice when I kicked it. I knew it was going in, and it was obviously a great feeling.”

That early prelude shaped the balance of the first half. Notre Dame had chances and good looks, especially with its free kicks. St. Patrick was a little sharper and quicker to the ball.

“You have teenage kids who are feeling the emotions,” Smith said. “Handling that and trying to play the game is sometimes a real challenge.

“We have a good squad. We’ve kind of had their number the last couple of years, probably the longest one team has held the trophy for consecutive years. Usually it switches off.”

St. Patrick extended the lead to 2-0 in the 30th minute with Garcia taking a ball down the right edge from midfielder Damian Navas and blasting home a 17-yard shot.

The bang-bang sequence typified the intense back and forth. Smith said from his angle, Garcia appeared to have a foot offsides.

“We’re a possessive team,” Garcia said. “We like to possess the ball and wait for the opportunity to score the goal. We clearly had the opportunity, when I got the through-ball.

“Any opportunity I get, I try to finish it.”

Both teams were in the most brutal part of their schedule, with each participating in the BodyArmor Series and playing their third game in five days.

St. Patrick had back-to-back penalty shootout games, beating Woodstock and losing against Chicago Public League program Payton.

That backdrop only intensified the stakes of the game, and colored the flow and style of play.

“I thought we came out strong the first five minutes or so, and that faded away a little bit,” Smith said. “The first goal we gave up was tough. It was a good free kick.

“Nothing’s ever perfect. It’s a game of inches. In the first half, it’s always tough to give up one, let alone two goals. I was proud of how our kids responded. We came out with a different team.”

Notre Dame took control at the start of the second half, pushing numbers forward with athletic and explosive Sebastian Dzieranowski and all-stater Ante Basan at the top of the formation.

Joey Sorce continued his mastery of ball placement and pace. In the 43rd minute, he caught a ball down the right edge, and played a perfect service into the box.

Centerback Jack McNamara, a tall and angular volleyball player with experience playing striker at the club level, elevated above the fray and smashed home a perfect header.

The newly invigorated Dons controlled the balance of the play over the next 20 minutes. Joey Sorce had multiple free kicks and two corner kicks that put the St. Patrick on edge.

Keeper Gianlucca Estrada, who took over the Shamrocks net in the second half for starter Emilio Gonzalez, was poised, tough and active inside the box. He registered five saves.

“The back really held it down,” Solano said. “I think our defenders were very organized. They talked to each other, and they never lost any balls on the free kicks or the corners.”

St. Patrick met every challenge during this frenetic exchange. Notre Dame appeared to gain a huge advantage in the 65th minute after Shamrocks’ defender Christian Correa was issued his second yellow card.

The disadvantage was only temporary after Notre Dame midfielder Zachary Sorce was also disqualified after picking up his second caution of the game.

During the Notre Dame rally, Dons keeper Trent Davis made two spectacular point-blank stops on Garcia that prevented the Shamrocks from extending their lead.

With Notre Dame expanding its numbers in the attack, the Shamrocks created the classic counter to put away the match.  

Solano found Garcia down the left edge. The forward forced Davis to come off his line and smashed it past him from a few yards in the 77th minute.

He scored his team-best fifth and sixth goals of the season.

“I’m not going to lie, I missed two there, and we could have ended the game early,” Garcia said. “I’m just glad I was able to finish the last one, and take care of the game for us.

“The game was emotional. You could tell our teammates put everything into the game. They fought for every ball played. Everything was perfect.”

For their outstanding play, Garcia and Solano shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.

The game was called moments later, with 2:21 to play, following the sideline altercation.

In capturing the Irish Cup, St. Patrick sees a bright future.

“This is really where the season goes north or south,” Clark said. “We’re about halfway through. These guys are tired. We’re starting to play our conference schedule now. This is great momentum turning things around. 

“This was the momentum that we needed.”

Notre Dame played state power Boylan, ranked second in the Illinois 10, on Sept. 14, and neighborhood rival and seventh-ranked Maine South Sept. 16 in consecutive games in the BodyArmor and suffered its first losses of the season in competitive shutouts.

The Dons are down, but hardly out.

“The kids were upset after the game, and there is still a lot of conference season left,” Smith said. “I still think we’re going to be right there. Benet is going to be tough. 

“I think it’s just a reset, a recharge. We lost to Boylan, who’s awesome, and we battled Maine South. Sometimes you need a bit of a wake-up call when you lose three games in a row. I’m looking forward to seeing how they bounce back.”

Starting lineups

Notre Dame
GK: Trent Davis
D: Lorenzo Mancera
D: Amir Mehmeti
D: Jack McNamara
D: Adrian Pasic
MF: Colin Sorce
MF: Joey Sorce
MF: Many Panora-Garcia
MF: Zachary Sorce
F: Ante Basan
F: Sebastian Dzieranowski

St. Patrick
GK: Emilio Gonzalez
D: Ernesto Meraz
D: Ryan Torres
D: Christian Correa
D: Matheo Garcia
MF: Christian Medina
MF: Nefi Solano
MF: Damian Navas
MF: Devin Ocon
F: Luis Godinez
F: Emiliano Garcia

Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Nefi Solano, jr., MF, St. Patrick; Emiliano Garcia, so., F, St. Patrick

Scoring summary

First half
St. Patrick—Nefi Solano (free kick), 12’
St. Patrick—Emiliano Garcia (Damian Navas), 30’

Second half
Notre Dame—Jack McNamara (Joey Sorce), 43’
St. Patrick—Garcia (Solano), 77’