By Bobby Narang
East Aurora High School had one more game left to finish off a stunning boys soccer season.
The Tomcats accomplished several first-time honors this season before competing in Saturday’s Class 3A State championship game against Glenbrook South in Rockford.
The East Aurora Tomcats had won the program’s first supersectional and State semifinal, thus making Saturday’s game another chance to complete a historic run.
However, Glenbrook South’s Henry Stephan scored two goals to lead the third-seeded Titans to a 2-1 victory over the fourth-seeded Tomcats.
“He loves the big moments,” Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara said of Stephan. “He loves the big crowds, both the ones that go for him and against him. He just lives for that. I’m so happy for him. It’s awesome to see him shine on this stage.”
The Tomcats (15-7-3) received their lone goal on a pass from Jeremie Bititi to Miguel Diaz in the 33rd minute.
“We told them the whole season, ‘if we’re going to lose, we might as well lose playing our game,’ and you can say we did that for 80 minutes tonight,” East Aurora coach Nate Parry said. “They never wanted the season to end. Their level of play increased throughout the season. Their soccer IQ increased throughout the season.”
Parry said it was a season to remember.
“They worked so hard and look what they’ve done this season,” Parry said. “I’ve heard from every single school in Aurora cheering for us and from teams around Kane County and Kendall County. Everyone was rooting for us. It’s the way they played and gave it their all out there. It was just an amazing sight to see.”