HOFFMAN ESTATES – Mendota captains David Casas and Johan Cortez had a not-been-here look early Friday afternoon.

The Trojans, who made their first appearance in the Class A state tournament, lost to University (Normal) 1-0 Thursday night and made a quick turnaround for Friday’s third place game against Columbia.

The teams battled for an exciting 80 minutes  — with Columbia at the fore for much of it  — before it ended in a 1-1 draw.

The match went straight to PKs and Mendota finished a memorable experience with a 4-3 advantage. 

Cesar Casas, Johan Cortez, Sebastian Carlos and David Casas all converted their shots in the shootout for Mendota, while Liam Bivins, Quentin Frentzel and Micah James connected for Columbia.

Several minutes after the game ended, David Casas and Cortez were in charge of picking up the heavy hardware. Both players looked around, stared at their teammates, and sheepishly grabbed the trophy together before walking the trophy over to their mates.

“It was the first time I was holding a state trophy, so I was really proud of myself and my teammates,” David Casas said. “We really fought hard. This is great.”

Cortez agreed.

“It was a great feeling, the first time we’ve been here and to get a trophy … I’m really proud of my teammates because we worked really hard throughout the season. This is a great feeling,” he said.

Mendota (25-3-1) scored the first goal of the game in the 67th minute on Cortez’s tap-in from a few yards out. The Trojans, though, were forced to defend for most of the game by the bigger and taller Eagles.

Mendota coach Nick Myers credited his players for playing with mental and physical toughness to outlast their opponent.

“Anytime you play in any third place game, it comes down to which team wants it,” Myers said. “Both teams were coming off 1-0 tough losses from the night before. We talked before the game that we have to want it more than they do.

“In the first half, I didn’t think we played the greatest and weren’t into the game. We looked like we kind of didn’t want to be there nor did we have a lot of scoring chances.

“Defensively, I thought we did a great job of holding them off. We had a nice halftime speech, so I thought we came out in the second half with a lot more fire and energy and had more chances in the second half than in the first half.

"We kind of broke our curse on PKs. We had lost the last three or four shootouts we’ve been in. This is pretty huge for us to finish the season out with a win, and on PKs.

“These guys are tough, We’re usually smaller than most teams, but we hang in there and play hard and stay aggressive. We always scrap and fight. They had some big and strong kids who knocked us off the ball quite a bit. We talked about quick passing.”

Columbia coach Jamey Bridges said the defeat stung his players and assistants. But he was happy his team responded with a goal by James in the 72nd minute to tie the game and end their state scoreless streak.

The Eagles (24-5-1) had a 13-game win streak snapped in Thursday’s 1-0 semifinal loss to Cristo Rey. Columbia placed fourth one season after finishing third and graduating 12 players from the program.

“We were happy with the way we were playing,” Bridges said. “It’s tough to get the boys amped for a third place game. We came here to win, but the letdown and heartbreak was tough. We came out strong with a lot of chances. We should’ve had a couple in the beginning, and then we got frustrated. We made a mistake on their goal, but we came back quickly.”

Mendota junior goalie Mateo Goy had a big hand in his side’s finish and earned applause from the Mendota faithful for his stellar work between the pipes.

The 5-foot-7 keeper played bigger than his frame, recording nine saves in regulation. Goy added another stop in the PK session on Columbia’s first attempt. The Eagles missed a chance to force a sixth shooter when its final attempt smacked off the crossbar.

That sent Mendota’s players into a mass celebration on the pitch as several fans hung off the nearby fences on the sun-filled afternoon.

“I’m so glad we didn’t get fourth based on how hard we worked all summer and in the offseason,” Goy said. “We truly did not deserve fourth. We should’ve won a championship, but this works too.”

Goy said he tapped into a special place to help his team in regulation and during the shootout.

“I was focused and ready to go,” Goy said. “I can’t explain it. I was mentally ready to go. Last year I couldn’t (stop PKs), but this year I redeemed myself in the big moment.

"I’m really happy for my team and myself. I’m happy to redeem myself. Last year was really hard on me because I couldn’t save any (in penalties), but since then, I haven’t lost a PK shootout in three (games).”

After Columbia controlled the field position for most of the game, Mendota shocked the large crowd with the game’s first goal in the 68th minute. Junior midfielder Cortez took a pass from Sebastian Carlos and tapped in a point-blank shot for a 1-0 lead.

“I forgot the play, but Sebastian Carlos took a ball down the line, and he was 1-v-1 and the goal was wide open,” he said. “I was sprinting up and had no one on me.

"I was yelling for the ball at the top of my lungs. He told me after the game that he didn’t even see me, but he heard me. Luckily, he passed me the ball, and I had a wide open goal and was able to put it in.

“The first half we weren’t giving it our all. We were little down from last (Thursday) night. After that halftime speech from coach, we got it together. We kept pushing, so that goal was an amazing feeling. It was a very passionate speech.

"I’m really proud of this team. We’ve grown up together, and we’re all really close. We’re basically a family.”

After going down a goal, Columbia came back even stronger and evened up the score at 1-1 on James’ nearby shot from a few yards away with 8:43 remaining in the run of play.

“I saw it coming in. It took a couple of bounces and got in front of me,” he said. “I was in the right place, so all I had to do was knock it in.

"We’ve been able to (come back) all year whenever we’ve been down. It felt good to be back in the game, but we knew we still had to keep going.”

Columbia senior goalie Brady Hemminghaus notched two saves in the match. He also made a big stop on the second try in the shootout.

“We had a really good run, and the 24 wins ties a school record. That’s a great accomplishment,” Hemminghaus said.

James said the Eagles had a season to remember.

“I would say we were playing for a lot this year,” James said. “I would still say we still had a great season. Even though we placed third last year and fourth this year, I still think we got so much better.

"In these last few games, we left it all out there and just came up short in both games.”

At Mendota's postgame media session, Myers glanced at his players and offered a bold statement for the returning players.

“We’re losing five very important pieces and losing a lot of leadership with David,” Myers said. “His presence on the field is huge for us. Mauricio Martinez has bailed out a lot of times this year, and Cameron Kelly and Cameron Escatel have both stepped up this year. Sam Matura seems to do great things for us when he gets minutes.

“We’re only losing five guys, so we’re bringing back a great core. Sitting here with third this year, we’re hoping next year we’re sitting here with the first place trophy.

"I think we’re fully capable. This has to motivate the guys to have that drive. We finally made state and that really motivated them. We want to take getting third and come back next year and get first. Hopefully, that drives them and they work hard in the offseason. I hope we’re back.”

Columbia’s fourth trip to the state tournament fell short of the program’s second state title, but Bridges was proud of his charges.

“To make it back-to-back, we can’t be prouder as coaches that we had this run with the seniors,” Bridges said.

 

 

Starting lineups

 

Mendota
GK: Mateo Goy
D: Daniel Garcia
D: Cameron Kelly
D: Mauricio Martinez
D: Cameron Escatel
MF: Johan Cortez
MF: David Casas
MF: Ramiro Palacios
F: Isaac Diaz
F: Cesar Casas
F: Sebastian Carlos

Columbia
GK: Brady Hemminghaus
D: Liam Bivins
D: James Thebeau
D: Sully Bonaldi
D: Jack Fromme
MF: Elliot Nelson
MF: Quentin Frentzel
MF: Liam Evans
MF: Nathan Rein
MF: Drew Elliot
F: Hayes VanBreusegen

 

 

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
Mendota: Johan Cortez (Carlos), 68’
Columbia: James (unassisted), 72’

Shootout

Columbia
1—Elliot Nelson—saved
2—Liam Bivins – good
3—Quentin Frentzel – good
4- Micah James – good
5—Wyatt Etherton – off crossbar

Mendota
1—Cesar Casas – good
2—Isaac Diaz – saved
3—Johan Cortez – good
4—Sebastian Carlos – good
5—David Casas -- good