A thrilling match between the boys’ varsity soccer team and Nobel Pritzker took place right here, at the Parker turf field, at 4 pm on October 21, to kick off the beginning of 2A regional soccer in Illinois.    

When the opening game began, the Parker boys were dressed in their white uniforms, and Parker fans were ready to see something amazing.

The start of the match did not go as planned.  After a foul was committed around 25 yards outside the FWP box, one of the Nobel Pritzker players slotted the resulting free kick into the top left corner.  It was a strike of pure class, and there was absolutely nothing senior goalkeeper Julian Rothschild could have done.  

Twenty minutes later Parker had a chance of their own when freshman Dylan Jung was tackled in the box.  It looked great for Parker–the tackle on Jung surely was going to be called a penalty kick.  

But it wasn’t .  Somehow it was actually called a foul on Parker.  As the fans let the referee know, this was quite a controversial call.  Amidst the madness, Nobel Pritzker utilized their free kick, sent a ball down into Parker’s zone, and made it 2-0.       

But as any 2015 boys’ varsity soccer supporter has seen, this team was resilient.  The match continued, and finally Parker broke through when Nobel Pritzker fouled a Parker player inside the box.  

This time the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Junior Andres Marx tiptoed up to the ball and slotted it past the keeper.  With 38 seconds left in the half, Parker was trailing 2-1.

The second half was a memorable one.  A couple minutes in, Marx played a brilliant through-ball to senior Will Helfand who ripped it past the keeper to tie the match at 2-2.  Then, a few minutes later, Parker broke through yet again.  

Freshman Joey Stern started with the ball at midfield.  He dribbled past a few defenders, using his five-star skills, and raced into the box, where he then cut inside, leaving his defender flat on the ground.  He had a go, placing the ball into the lower left corner.  

The crowd went ballistic as Stern sprinted to midfield, pounding his chest and exhorting the crowd to stay in the fight.  

That is exactly what Parker did.  They overcame the early 2-0 score and ultimately took the lead 3-2.  

“It was awesome,” Stern said of his first career Parker goal. “We stayed with it, and it felt great.  It was a huge moment for the team.”

Roughly 15 minutes later, Marx struck again, this time on a 22 yard free kick that made it 4-2 Parker.  The floodgates had been opened.  

When another foul was committed by Nobel Pritzker in the box, resulting in another Parker penalty kick, it was senior Bill Coyle who took the kick.  Coyle blasted the ball into the top left corner, scoring his first varsity goal.  

“It was really special,” Coyle said.  “It was a great end to a great game.  I’m glad I got to take the shot.”   

So Parker did it, beating Nobel Pritzker 5-2.  

But the regional crown was not yet claimed. Parker still had to face Cristo Rey in the regional final.  

It was Friday the 23rd of October.  This time Parker wore its blue jerseys.  The game was a stalemate—the closest any team came to scoring was when a Cristo Rey player struck one and hit it off the post–a testament to how well both teams defended throughout the game.  

The game was so close, in fact, it took two days to finish.  After the full 80 minute regulation, the match was 0-0.  Nightfall was near, and the game had to be postponed until Saturday.

23 hours later, overtime began.  Two ten minute halves were to decide the fate of Parker and Cristo Rey.  After twenty minutes, the game was still 0-0.  So, it went to penalties.

The rules were simple: each team had five players each take a shot, and the team that scored the most goals won.  

Jung took the first shot and nailed it into the lower right corner.  Cristo Rey hit their shot, making it 1-1.  

Senior Bill Coyle took the next shot and came so close, hitting the crossbar.  Cristo Rey took advantage, going up 2-1.

Senior Enrique Ruda was up next, and his shot went over the bar.  But on the next shot, sophomore goalkeeper Chase Hayman made an sprawling dive. Still 2-1.

Junior Andres Marx slotted his penalty kick, yet Cristo Rey scored theirs, making it 2-3.  

This was it.  Do or die.  If Parker missed this shot, the season would be over.  That’s when goalkeeper sophomore Chase Hayman shot one into the top right corner.  None of that would have mattered if Hayman didn’t save the next shot.  And he did.  3-3.

Sudden death was imposed. Captain Zach Weiss took Parker’s first penalty kick of sudden death and calmly shot it past the keeper.  Then Cristo Rey’s player missed the goal by a good five feet to the right.  All the players rushed the keeper.    

Parker lost 6-1 to Ridgewood High School in the next round, sectional semifinals. But for the first time in Parker history, the 2A Regional Championship was ours.