Copyright Chicago Tribune
Naperville North’s Eddie Zoeller didn’t realize the magnitude of what he had just done. The little-used senior defender buried a penalty kick into the lower left corner of the net, turned and pumped his right arm in triumph, simply excited that he scored. Then he noticed teammate Jack Bouska. “I started walking back, but then Jack runs over and jumps on me, and everyone starts running,” Zoeller said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I scored the winner,’ so I started running around.” For good reason. Zoeller, who hadn’t scored a goal during his varsity career, clinched Naperville North’s 3-2 victory over St. Laurence in the Class 3A state championship game in Hoffman Estates. It was the perfect ending to a wild evening as the Huskies (25-0-4) won their first state title since 2018 and fifth overall. Naperville North senior midfielder Andrew Hebron scored on a goalmouth scramble with 1:29 left in regulation to force overtime. Then the Huskies fought through the rain, the cold and the determined Vikings (24-3-4) to get into the shootout. Bouska, a senior goalkeeper, stopped three shots to help Naperville North win 5-4 in seven rounds. Zoeller didn’t even play until the second overtime. “Start of the game, I was thinking I was going to sit on the bench mostly,” he said. “But when I stepped up to take the pen, I knew there was a lot of pressure. “I stayed calm walking up and just slotted my pen, had a spot picked and just went at it.” Zoeller sent his shot into the left side of the net as St. Laurence senior goalkeeper Vin Diesi dove to the right. Just like that, Zoeller joined Anthony Minniti, Jack Barry and Colin Iverson on the list of Huskies who have scored a game-winning goal in a state championship game. Hebron was thrilled for Zoeller. “He always works hard,” Hebron said. “He always does the right thing. He always does what he’s told, which is good and what you always want. “And obviously you guys can tell, he always brings humor, is joyful and brings the spirit up for practices and games.” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said Zoeller’s clutch play epitomized the team’s next-man-up ethos. “It’s cliché to say that it’s a whole team effort,” Konrad said. “You hear that all the time, but tonight we truly needed every body to physically finish the game. “And then for the kid who truly loves this program and loves his teammates to be able to step up and deliver a championship for your friends, there’s no greater story than that.” It is a story with many amazing chapters, including goals by players who rarely get chances to score. Senior midfielder Kalan Gaccione scored his third goal of the season off a pass from senior forward Josh Pedersen with 6:43 left in the first half to open the scoring. Junior defender Pauly Rzadkosz and junior forward Alonso Gonzalez scored in the second half to give St. Laurence a 2-1 lead. But with the season on the brink and the rain sheeting down, Hebron delivered. “I couldn’t really see,” Hebron said. “I just stuck my leg out there. I think it went in between a guy’s legs, and I saw it go in the back of the net. It was exciting.” The Huskies went into the shootout missing several stars, including senior defenders Colin McMahon and Sam Hess, due to concerns about exhaustion or hypothermia. That forced Konrad to go to his bench. “The strategy was who can walk, who can still move,” Konrad said. “Obviously, the boys were frozen. You could see them cramping, dragging themselves off the field.” Konrad asked his players who could take a shot. “A couple guys said, ‘I can’t physically shoot the ball,’” Konrad said. “They were locked up physically. We were actually worried about a couple of the guys because they were so cold, so anybody who could still move, we had them start running around.” Pedersen and senior forward Onkar Lidder made Naperville North’s first two penalty kicks, but four reserves also took shots. Three of them — junior midfielder Diego Hernandez, junior defender Cam Brown and Zoeller — were successful. Bouska followed Brown’s tally by recording his third save of the shootout to set the stage for Zoeller. “It’s an adrenaline rush,” Bouska said. “You can’t even describe it. It’s a forever moment from tonight that will forever be cherished. “The penalty saves I was able to make, it helped shift the momentum to us, and we had some big guys who were able to step up and bury their pens, which helped us seal the deal.” Konrad always had confidence the Huskies would pull through, although he didn’t envision Zoeller’s historic role. “Jack saving three is pretty silly, but I knew Jack was going to save them,” Konrad said. “I would have bet on that. But to bet on someone stepping off the bench, playing the last few minutes of the game, playing great and then burying a PK to win, it was quite a story.” One that Zoeller, who was still shivering 20 minutes after the game ended, said was a fitting end to his athletic career. “I’m done with sports,” he said. “When I went in, I knew I had to finish it no matter what. “Jack was obviously amazing this entire playoff run. I had to go in and slot it, and then we won.” Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
