Tag Archives: Jack Powers

Johnson’s Notre Dame ‘prayer’ answered, Dons oust Fenwick

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By Michael Wojtychiw

CHICAGO — It was a case of deja vu for Notre Dame.

In 2019, the last season the IHSA held a state playoff series in boys soccer, the Dons made school history by winning the Speer Sectional.

Fast forward two years and the Dons (23-1-2) were back at the same spot, hoping to make it two in a row at Speer’s stadium. But in their way stood Fenwick, who made its first appearance in a sectional final since 2016.

Well the Friars, and a crazy, steady rain that had been falling all day.

What the crowd got was a fantastic one-goal game that was won on a shot from Notre Dame senior Trevor Johnson with a minute, 24 seconds remaining on a ball that even he didn’t think would cross the line.

“I wanted to put it on goal, but it didn’t look like it had a chance to go in,” Johnson said after Notre Dame’s 4-3 win. “Once it started to curl, you could see it was going to look in and luckily snuck past the keeper.

“It’s the last minute. It was a prayer.”

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Seniors power Fenwick past Fenton

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By Michael Wojtychiw

CHICAGO — Putting the ball into the back of the net has been a tricky part of the game for Fenwick this season. The Friars came into the postseason having let up five more goals than they’d scored and had been shutout in three of the team’s last four games of the regular season.

That trend, however, seems to have reversed itself in the state playoffs. In the squad’s first two playoff games, it outscored opponents 12-1.

Fenwick’s Ryan Bero (10) battles Fenton’s Christian Bailon for the ball. Photo by Michael Wojtychiw

“These one-off games are challenging and if you can get the lead, calm your nerves down, that’s a really good first step,” Fenwick manager Craig Blazer said. “We were starting to focus on doing that, and it calmed us down.

“We’ve played a little more in the attacking half and not had defenders that have to make all the plays in the back. But anytime you score a goal, it gives you a boost. It just took us a while to get everyone on the same page and now that we are, we’ve got some good momentum.”

The third-seeded Friars continued to put the ball in the net in their Class AA Speer Sectional semifinal against second-seeded Fenton.

The Friars finished enough for a 2-1 win that earned the sectional final against top-seeded Notre Dame.

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