Consistent state tournament success has been elusive for boys athletes at Mendota. The school has had three teams advance to the state semifinals. While all three placed third or better, the last of those squads accomplished the feat with a third place finish in baseball in 2003.

So obviously, it was a very big deal for the LaSalle County school when it defeated Aurora Central 2-0 in its own Class A supersectional Saturday to assure the program of its first-ever appearance in the Final Four.

The Trojans earned the right to play the Chargers in Mendota after capturing a 2-1 victory over 2023 fourth place finisher Peoria Christian in the Class A Illinois Valley Central Sectional final Oct. 30 in Chillicothe.

Coach Nick Myers' club has a 24-2-1 record and has outscored its opponents 21-1 in five postseason matches. 

The undefeated, untied champions of the Three Rivers Athletic Conference bring a seven-match win streak into Thursday's 7:15 p.m. semifinal match against last season's Class A runnerup, University (Normal/ 23-5-1) at Hoffman Estates High School.

If the Trojans win the match, they'll play for a state title for just the second time in school history. The first was the baseball team in 1996, which fell to Dupo 14-10 in the title game in the highest-scoring Class A tournament game in state history.

The sectional championship was the second in four seasons for Myers, who is 136-69-6 in 10 campaigns as boys coach at the school where he competed for four years at the varsity level. He has been a coach for both the boys and girls teams for 12 years and is assisted by Rey Arteaga.

Myers coached the boys from 2008-2011 and then again from 2019 to the present when they've gone 112-20-4 with the highlight being his 2021 squad that went 22-1-0 but lost to Bloomington Central in the supersectionals. Senior defenders Cameron Kelly and Maurcio Martinez were both on the varsity roster that season.

The Trojans are unbeaten against Class A teams, falling to Class 3A teams Yorkville and Moline and tying a Class AA squad Streator. They've gone 18-1-0 since suffering that first loss of the season to Yorkville on Sept. 9. They've recorded 15 shutouts and allowed just 22 goals in 27 matches.

The future looks bright for Mendota. It has a small senior class of five that leads nine juniors, six sophomores and five freshmen.

Topping the Trojans offense are sophomore forwards Cesar Casas (32 goals, 12 assists) and Isaac Diaz (31 goals, nine assists), junior midfielder Johan Cortez (27 goals, 28 assists), junior forward Sebastian Carlos (16 goals, nine assists), senior midfielder David Casas (eight goals, six assists) and senior defender Maurcio Martinez (three goals, 11 assists). 

Junior goalkeeper Mateo Goy has an 0.85 GAA to go with 74 saves while playing in all 26 of his team's matches. Team captains are David Casas and Cortez.

"Our boys have had quite the successful season so far," Myers said. "We are happy to be making our first ever trip to the state, and we are ready for the challenge ahead facing off against University (Normal). I think our regular-season schedule has helped us be prepared for the tough battles we are about to have at the state finals -- playing 3A Yorkville and Moline in the regular-season and bulking up on AA schools and adding Peoria Christian.

"Our group has a ton of experience playing together and has great team chemistry.  Our front attacking four of Isaac Diaz, Johan Cortez, Sebastian Carlos and Cesar Casas have a great connection together. 

“Our defense in the last few playoff games has been very locked in and making it hard for the opponents to score. And our goalkeeper Mateo Goy has been playing some of his best soccer ever recently. We are looking forward to the weekend."