Amid light rain and characteristic October cold on Benedictine University’s brightly lit soccer field in Lisle, Illinois, the Francis W. Parker Boy’s Soccer team suited up for the fifth game of their strong state playoff run on Wednesday, October 24. Clapping and screaming as they arrived, the Colonels had high hopes as they matched up against Saint Edward Catholic Central High School. Unfortunately for the Colonels, this match would prove to be their last.

The team, just a win away from competing in Peoria’s hallowed State Semi-Finals, suffered a 2-1 loss. After a 1-0 scoreline for most of the game, both teams scoring in the final four minutes.
“The last five minutes were unbelievable,” said senior and right-midfielder Dhruv Bali. “I’ve never gone from a high to a low so quickly and so hard.”

After netting a quick goal to start the game around the ninth minute, the GreenWave largely shut down the Colonels. Despite a plethora of shots, Parker went scoreless for the next sixty-seven minutes.

“It was a really hard fought match, we were working hard to get a goal the whole game,” said junior and starting outside-midfielder Joey Stern. “We did a good job getting the ball in the box and getting as many shots on goal as possible but things just weren’t working out.”

The Colonels saw a stroke of luck as freshman Daniel Mansueto was fouled in the other team’s penalty box with just four minutes left on the game clock, leading to a Colonels penalty kick as the team was presented with a shot at redemption. With a hard hit ball in the bottom right corner of the goal, junior Dylan Jung tied the game with time running out. Celebration ensued: unfortunately, it was premature.

The GreenWave responded just a minute later, quickly moving down the field and responding with a goal of their own. After a the Colonels committed a foul twenty-five yards from their own goal, Saint Edward capitalized as senior captain A.J. Franklin struck a ball hard into the back of the net. Franklin is the state’s leading goal scorer this year and hold Saint Edward’s record for goals scored in a high school career.

It a dramatic end for the Colonels team which will find themselves short leadership and experience in 2018. The team will lose notable senior captains Chase Heyman, Malcolm Hoerr, and Cameron Miller – among others – come next season. “I am more than proud of our efforts in this game,” Hoerr said. “We played with a lot of heart and showed a ton of improvement over the course of the playoffs.”