HOFFMAN ESTATES – The tallest player on the field never stood taller.

Hersey’s 6-foot-4 senior goalkeeper Adrian Smakowski capped off a state tournament weekend of 180 minutes of shutout regulation and overtime play in the net with a final act for the ages.

With his team tied 0-0 with Lane in the penalty kick session of Saturday’s Class 3A state finals, Smakowski stopped the first two Lane attempts to give his team a 1-0 lead through two rounds.

Then with the Huskies ahead 3-2 entering the fifth round, Smakowski flipped roles. With Hersey’s potential state-title-winning shot sitting on the spot, he calmly lined his attempt inside the left post
for a 4-2 PK advantage and the first state title in program history.

In a matchup of first-time finalists, fourth-seeded Lane (17-3-1) and third-seeded Hersey (19-3-5) played a tug of war to remember.

“During the game we were confident that if we didn't get a goal, we had the best goalkeeper in the state,” Hersey senior Nate Mabry said. “He saved more than half the penalties taken on him this year. So we trusted him completely.

“It helped also (in PKs) getting the side we wanted (the south end with the Huskies crowd), and getting to shoot first was an advantage. It got the crowd going to get in Lane's heads a little bit.”

If the crowd didn’t play mind games, Smakowski’s first two saves in the PK session certainly had to.

“(On the first PK) the run-up was awkward, so I just chose to react instead of moving,” he said. “I thought it was the best choice, and clearly it was. I got two hands behind it, didn't have to catch
it. It was a nice carry out (away from the net).”

The second stop was even better: a foot save that he guessed wrong on the shot but still was able to deny the try.

“For the second one I have my own way of deciding where to go on the kicks,” Smakowski said. “I got full extension on the bottom right corner. However, he shot down the middle and I just fully extended my
legs. Kicked out as far as I can and created some kind of barrier behind the ball. It helps being long.”

As the two teams huddled after the end of the second overtime, Smakowski was already focusing on his task.

“In penalties I have the same routine as usual,” he said. “Nice little warmup (in the goal before the session), I work on my timing. And besides that it’s just having confidence in myself.

“Visualization, manifestation, knowing what's coming and believing every single penalty, that I'm going to get it.”

While Smakowski was locked in on the first two saves, Hersey’s first two shooters didn’t have it too easy on the rain soaked turf, either.

The first Huskies PK went wide left, then second shooter Johnny Antoniou's hard-hit shot spun across the crease and in after being partially deflected on a great effort from Lane goalkeeper Evan Burgess.

“I could have dove later,” Burgess said. “I was expecting a more close-to-the-post shot, and I ended up deflecting it. I thought I saved it and then saw it spin into the goal. I was like 'Wow, that's really
unfortunate.'”

Burgess’ own clutch heroics earlier in the tournament helped Lane win postseason penalty kick battles with Leyden in the New Trier Sectional final and at Conant in their supersectional.

“This young man (Burgess) is a great goalkeeper,” Lane coach Andrew Ricks said. “He got us here.”

“Considering a lot of our state games have gone to penalties,” Burgess said, “I was definitely used to it now. There's not really a nervous part of it. It's 'Alright, we're going to pens,’ and you know what you
need to do.

“Honestly all the pressure is on the kicker. If the striker misses one, it's much more highlighted.”

But from the third round of kickers on, no striker missed.

Hersey’s Nik VanDeMark and Adam Bujag scored, matched by put-aways from Lane’s Leo Vera and Adrian Onofre as Hersey prepared for the PK that could clinch the state title -- taken by Smakowski.

“I've been the fifth kicker (in PKs) since sophomore year,” he said.

“It's simple. Pick your spot beforehand (to aim for), take a deep breath and you have to believe in yourself. All you can do is your best. You can't control the outcome. Besides that, have self-confidence. You can't panic or you'll mess up. You've got to manage pressure, and that's a skill I really take pride in. This year it's really taken off.”

His pressure-management skill reached the stratosphere on his PK, as he offered no hint of his intended spot and had the talented, PK-savvy Burgess dive toward the opposite post.

It earned him praise from an excellent source.

“The other goalkeeper was a beast,” Burgess said. “I mean 6-4. He was (coaches) All-State. Props to him. He saved two penalties. What more can you do?”

Smakowski’s Hersey teammates were not surprised.

“Every time we go to pens, Adrian saves us,” Huskies’ senior forward Kacper Lechowicz said. “I remember at the start of the season we were losing games in a tournament, then he shined (in a PK session). I’m pretty sure he saved all three pens, and we won the game. When I saw that, I was like 'Our keeper is insane!'”

Mabry (11 goals, 15 assists) joined Lechowicz (13 goals, seven assists) atop Hersey’s scoring list, and in the chorus of praise.

“As far as Adrian goes,” Mabry said, “he's always ready. He's great at reading (PKs), and there's no goalkeeper I've ever played with better than he is.

“He's incredible. Two saves and a goal from your goalkeeper in PKs. That’s all you can ask for. You cannot do better.”

Smakowski’s play in the biggest moment of the biggest game of 2024 earned him Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors in an election where the polls didn’t have to stay open long.

“Our goalkeeper, if there's a Man of the Match it definitely has to go to him,” Hersey coach Mike Rusniak said. “He's our heart and soul. His passion and energy every day in games and practice, he's really
been the driving force behind the energy we have.”

Somewhat hidden in Smakowski’s PK session was a surprising element for Hersey.

The Huskies’ fourth shooter was junior midfielder Adam Bugaj, whose first moment on the field all tournament was onto the field to take a PK.

He converted his shot, going from reserve to state championship match star.

“In practice, we do it (take PKs) every day,” Bugaj said. “I knew where I was going (with the shot). When I was walking up I felt a little nervous, but I had just one thing on my mind -- to score that penalty. I had to do it.

“I was so happy I had a part in this. A big part as well, as it turned out. It's amazing for us to accomplish this.”

The amazing drama of PKs overshadowed a lot of ebbs and flows through 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes.

One key element throughout that time span was the throw-in prowess of Mabry, a state champion gymnast at Hersey whose flip throws had distances Caleb Williams never reached on Sunday at Soldier Field.

“Definitely a first,” Lane’s Burgess said, “having a guy who can throw the ball 45 yards -- a cartwheel throw.

“Honestly I saw that the first time and I was like 'Wow! That's what we need to work against?'

“But credit to my defense for sure,” Burgess added. “I might have touched one or two of those long throw-ins, but I think 95 percent of them were kicked out by the defense. And the fact that we had a clean-sheet, and they had 25 or 30 throw-ins into the box just shows how good our defense is.”

Mabry’s first throw-in in the seventh minute was headed over the net by teammate Adam Myslinski. His second missile-missive from 30 yards in the 10th minute produced even more danger: a shot off the right post by Hersey’s Urik Contla.

Lane had its own early chance, a Trinter header just wide of the left post five minutes in.

Then after Lane repelled two Hersey corner kicks in 35 seconds later in the half, Lane’s William Huge made a big time slippery move up middle around a defender but sent his 20-yard try just wide of frame as the first
half ended 0-0.

The rains intensified as the second half progressed, never really heavy but making the field and ball slicker.

That was a source of difficulty for one key part of the Hersey attack.

“Your hands get cold; it's hard to grip the ball,” Mabry said of his later-game throws. “You're a little concerned about your hands slipping off the ball. And you lose a little distance and accuracy, so it was definitely a factor.”

One throw-in with 17:50 left in regulation set up a Lechowicz shot in the box that the Lane defense blocked. Then from just five yards off the end line, Mabry’s powerful throw to the front was denied on a foul by the Huskies.

“They (Lane) had a strong defense,” Lechowicz said. “They had three in the back, but I was by myself up-there. It was hard to get through them.

“There were many times during the season when we were down, and Nate’s throw-ins helped so much. Normally he's throwing in, and I'm at the back post. We have such a good connection. I've scored a bunch of
goals just from throw-ins.

“My main goal,” Lechowicz added, “was to hunt the corners, hunt the throw-ins, because we have the big throw. But it started raining so the throw inside couldn't go as far, and it was slipping.”

Lane had a more-conventional attack and turned up the heat late in regulation.

With 12:30 left, Sebastian Wimmer deftly attacked left side but had his shots twice blocked by Hersey defenders.

Then four minutes later, Wimmer found daylight for his left-side shot but had it swatted away at the near post by Smakowski.

The push continued at 7:20 to go on a Benicio Lacerda shot that deflected wide. It set up the first of two Lane corner kicks in the next 50 seconds.

The second set piece produced the best chance, a Vera header off a Onofre cross that Smakowski made a high catch to deny.

After the game, Ricks circled back to that excellent late-regulation stretch and other near misses by his team.

“Congratulations to Hersey, but soccer is a cruel sport,” Ricks said. “If it's a boxing match, we win. I'm not taking anything away from Hersey. They put the PKs in and made saves. We played better soccer,
but we couldn't get through. That’s a credit to their defense.”

Ricks’ less than impartial view summed up the emotions of a narrow-as-thread loss, but more near-misses each way in the overtimes predicated the dramatic PK result.

After Hersey came out raging in the first OT (highlighted by Burgess’ point-blank save on a Lechowicz redirect in front of a Mabry corner kick), Lane upped the pressure in the second OT.

A Lacerda corner kick just missed a running Lane teammate at the back post. Both teams then tried to use the rain to advantage: Lechowicz on a low-skipping shot saved by Burgess, and Lacerda with a low short-hop liner in the final 50 seconds that Smakowski smothered.

“Everything’s tougher in the rain,” Smakowski said. “The ball skips faster, especially low shots. So I'm sitting low, extending, making sure I'm behind the ball because that skip is so dangerous. You have
to be ready for any kind of bounce. If I mess up any form or technique, it’s hard to correct.”

If the rainy-and-slick field bothered Smakowski and the Huskies in the PK session, it didn’t show.

“We would always (work on PKs) at the end of practice, and these kids were excited for them,” said Rusniak (75-38-3 in seven years at Hersey). “These kids wanted it. We knew who our shooters were going to
be. It's not always your goalkeeper who's one of the shooters, but when he has ice in his veins like he (Smakowski) does, it's awesome.

“The biggest thing is how proud I am of how hard they worked,” Rusniak added. “That game was an exciting back-and-forth event, which is want you want in a state final.”

The title game capped a wild postseason ride for Hersey, which had turned a nervous regional debut into a historic fall journey.

“Our first (regional) game vs. Buffalo Grove we were down 1-0,” Lechowicz said, “and then in the second half we played a brand new game (and won 2-1). We all just locked in. Everybody was running, everybody just outworked the other team. We scored two that half, and since then we knew we had the potential to just keep on going.”

Going just 8-6-3 last season and losing their regional semifinal made Hersey a seemingly unlikely state champ more than 12 months later.

“It's unbelievable,” Bugaj said. “I never thought before Hersey was going to be even close to this. This group we had is amazing.”

Two-straight 2-1 losses at the St. Charles Invitational left Hersey with a 1-2-1 record on Sept. 4, but the Huskies lost just once (to Wheeling 1-0 Oct. 1) the rest of the season.

“After our first in-season tournament didn't go so well, our first conference game was at (defending West Division champion) Palatine,” Mabry said. “We played tough defense and started to get more chances offensively (in the 0-0 tie).

“From there we progressively built better offense and came together more as a team and gained momentum until the end. And we were really confident we could get here after the Libertyville win in PKs (in the
Barrington Regional final).

“This means everything to this team,” Mabry added. “We worked hard seven months now since the summer. We came together as a team, we found our identity and built trust with each other.

“There's no better way you could end your senior season. Perfect.”

Lechowicz recalls those summer days of dreaming big, which turned into an improbable reality for a school making its first trip to state.

“At the start of the season, we put all our goals on a board, and the main goal was to win state,” he said. “It was just a goal. Then we kept going. We won regionals, won sectionals and that (goal) started
to be more alive.

“And once we won supersectionals it was like 'We need to bring this state trophy home.' And that's what we did.”

A team can’t come much closer to a championship than Lane, which was the first Chicago Public League school to reach a Class 3A final.

The road was an unlikely one of upset wins.

“To be here in the first place,” Burgess said, “and beating Evanston, a no. 1-seed. Going into it we were like 'We have nothing to lose.' Then we end up beating (second-seeded) Leyden, a very tough opponent. So to get here and be here is amazing. Obviously I'd like to win. Who wouldn't? But just the history and being part of this is amazing.”

In a great nine-year coaching run with a 115-36-18 record, Ricks’ work nearly paid off with a title.

“Our guys are devastated, but we still got here,” Ricks said. “For CPS (Chicago Public Schools) to get here, a Chicago team, is not easy. Who knows when it will happen again. In AA it's happened, but 3A is a different story.

“I thought we played well. I kept telling everyone 'Leave it on the field; no regrets.' It was a razor-thin margin. It's a final.

"Everyone's tired at the end. It’s who can win the war of attrition. We still had some chances at the end and in overtime. I thought we had better chances in overtime. I think we were trending up, but we couldn't put the ball in the goal.”

Hersey’s Smakowski played a big part in that. The last words here, fittingly, go to the goalkeeper/PK shooter who made a huge state-ment on the field.

“I couldn't be happier,” Smakowski said. “The best possible way to end our senior years. It's a pleasure and an honor to have this team, and be part of this program and accomplish something like this.”

Starting lineups

Lane
GK: Evan Burgess
D: Adrian Onofre
D: Jasper Grove
D: Cam Chitnis
M: Andrew Hwu
M: Kanan Krause
M: Benicio Lacerda
M: Grayson Trinter
F: William Huge
F: Sebastian Wimmer
F: Leo Vera

Hersey
GK: Adrian Smakowski
D: Lian Berk
D: Urik Contla
D: Joe Farrell
D: Nate Mabry
M: Nik VanDeMark
M: Teddy Reyes
M: Adam Myslinski
M: Ray Reyes
M: Johnny Antoniou
F: Kacper Lechowicz

Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Adrian Smakowski, sr., GK, Hersey

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
No scoring

First overtime
No scoring

Second overtime
No scoring

Shootout
Hersey (4): Ray Reyes (wide); Johnny Antoniou (goal); Nik VanDeMark (goal); Adam Bugaj (goal); Adrian Smakowski (goal)
Lane (2): Joshua Wang (save); Grayson Trinter (save); Leo Vera (goal); Julian Strelow (goal); no fifth shooter