The agony of the feet was worse than the agony of defeat for Morgan Park Academy. The Warriors fell 3-2 to Rochester in the third-place game of the IHSA Class A state tournament Saturday at North Central College in Naperville.
Morgan Park Academy (19-3-3) didn’t lose third place–the representatives of the 188-student school won fourth and did it with eight starters who played every minute of each game.
“My legs were killing me, my heart was racing,” said senior defender Alex Koht, who has attended Morgan Park Academy since pre-1st grade.
“My feet felt like stones, carrying them with a boulder attached to my back. I mean it was hard; but I’m never going to do it again, so I pushed through the pain.”
The emotion Morgan Park Academy displayed after the third-place game came more from the end of the season and prep careers than the loss. Fourth place is the best state team finish in school history.
“I want to thank everyone for everything they did,” said Warriors all-time scoring leader Elias Litos. “It’s never been done before. It feels special to be a part of it. We feel proud to represent our school, do something great and set a standard for teams to come.”
The Warriors gave the impression they would never forget their state experiences.
“It’s a good way to go out, breaking a few records. I enjoyed it. It was fun,” Koht said. “We’ll have a cheer at our school … have a celebration, get a picture of us kissing the trophy, hold it up for everyone to see.”
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dsurico@tribune.com
