St. Laurence junior defender Pauly Rzadkosz and his boys soccer teammates knew the challenge that awaited them with the team bumping up from Class 2A to 3A this season.
This wasn’t just any bump though.
The Vikings were on the move to one of the toughest, deepest sectionals around.
Challenge accepted.
After defeating Lyons 1-0 in the semifinals, St. Laurence defeated top-seeded Morton 1-0 on Nov. 1 to win the Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional championship.
“We love having a challenge. We’ve had challenging games all season,” Rzadkosz said. “We know we can beat any team. Earning the three-seed in this sectional, it’s huge. It’s one of the hardest sectionals. We knew we deserved this, and we’d work as hard as we can for this.”
Senior forward Juan “Boy” Hernandez scored the game’s only goal with junior midfielder Cesar Rivera providing the assist. Senior goalkeeper Vin Diesi had three saves in the shutout.
St. Laurence (22-2-4) advanced to play Lincoln-Way Central (18-4) on Nov. 3 at the Lyons Supersectional with a berth in the state semifinals on the line.
The Vikings also won a sectional since 2023 when they finished third in Class 2A.
“When we went downstate and finished third, I said, ‘Everything after that continues to make history,’” St. Laurence coach Jaime Alonso said. “(In Class 2A or 3A,) we had the same aspirations. We used it as motivation. Our preparation had to be better. We’re not the biggest guys on the field, so we’ve got to get stronger and faster.”
Rzadkosz, sophomores Kris Caravantes and Sal Soto, and juniors Josue Garcia and Hilario Sanchez and Diesi in goal helped slow down a talented Morton squad.
Rzadkosz said the goal was to contain high-scoring junior forward Alfredo Campos.
“We had a game plan coming in. Alfredo is a great player,” Rzadkosz said. “We knew they work around him. If we can stop him, they can’t do anything. Playoffs are always about momentum. When we got that first goal, it shifted to our side.”
That game-changing goal came courtesy of Hernandez in the 12th minute.
On a Rivera run up the right endline, Hernandez snuck in unchecked at the back post. Rivera put a beautiful cross to the post, and Hernandez one-timed the ball with his left foot for the score.
“Cesar gave a beautiful cross. I saw the ball coming and had to put the ball in. I still have to bury the shot,” Hernandez said. “That’s a beautiful feeling. It’s amazing.”
Hernandez passed for the assist on Rivera’s game-winning goal in the semifinal win over Lyons.
Rivera said the Vikings were ready for the move up in class.
“It’s a big upgrade to 3A,” Rivera said. “We all had to be better. Our chemistry had to be a ton better. We’re always the underdogs, but it never mattered to us. We played our hearts out.”
Morton finished 21-3-2.
After a two-year drought, the Mustangs won the West Suburban Gold title with a perfect 6-0 record.
“We talked about no breakdowns. We couldn’t give them [St. Laurence] that one mistake,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “It hurts this time of year. Nothing to be ashamed of. We toughened up our schedule, played everybody and beat almost everybody. We don’t turn down any game that people want to play us.”
Senior goalkeeper Diego Vargas finished with five saves for Morton.
Knocked out
In Class 1A, Chicago Christian reached the sectional final but dropped a 1-0 decision to Manteno at Coal City.