Naperville Central senior midfielder Josh Weigel got to the fence first and performed the soccer version of the Lambeau Leap.
He got halfway up the fence before being engulfed by adoring fans and his teammates.
“It was just straight-up adrenaline,” Weigel said. “I didn’t really know what was going through my mind. I just wanted to celebrate the fans that have supported us all year, so it was awesome.”
Weigel and his teammates had given their fans much to celebrate this season, which the Redhawks capped with a 1-0 victory against Romeoville in the Class 3A state championship game in Hoffman Estates on Saturday night.
It was the first state championship in program history for the Redhawks (26-3-1), who had been the runners-up in 1988, 2011 and 2012.
The fact that Weigel, a co-captain, led the postgame celebration was fitting considering he scored the only goal of the game on a beautiful play with 32:46 remaining in the second half. It was his 13th goal of the season.
Senior midfielder Sean O’Reilly sent a lead pass into the right side of the box to Weigel, who dribbled past Romeoville goalkeeper Lucas Ortiz and ripped a shot into the open net.
“It was a great pass from Sean,” Weigel said. “I was wide open. All I had to do was go around the goalie and score.”
Naperville Central coach Troy Adams called that play a defining moment of the season because of the exquisite teamwork.
“We talk about communication, and I heard Josh call Sean’s name to get a ball back,” Adams said. “As a coach, yes, the championship is unbelievable, but even seeing those little pieces makes a season complete, when you’ve talked about something as much as we’ve talked about and see players execute it. It was an awesome goal.”
Weigel and O’Reilly did much of the dirty work for the Redhawks this season, so Adams was glad to see both rewarded in the end.
O’Reilly overcame illness to record a hat trick during Naperville Central’s 5-0 semifinal victory against previously unbeaten Stevenson in the state semifinals, and he was instrumental against the Spartans (28-2-1), whose only losses came against the Redhawks.
Weigel stepped forward at a key moment.
“Josh recognized it was the time to call for it himself,” Adams said. “Being he’s usually the one who is unselfish, I love to see him call for the ball at the right time and make the right decision.”
Romeoville made the right decision in keying on stopping freshman forward Chase Adams and senior forward Joey LoDuca, who were held to a combined three shots.
But that just opened the door for Weigel. Chase Adams, who is Troy Adams’ son, was thrilled that Weigel got the history-making tally.
“He completely deserves it, being arguably the most important player on our team,” Chase Adams said. “His work rate and passion for the game has showed. When he scored, it was beautiful to see him get what he deserved.”
Junior Dylan Scott, who shares the goalkeeping duties with senior Austin Waite, made three saves in the final minutes, including one with 25 seconds left where he came out and leaped high in the air to catch a long free kick. Scott was knocked to the ground but recovered the ball.
“I really just didn’t want to miss,” Scott said. “I didn’t want to let down the team on that last play. If that ball had gone in, it would have gone to OT, and I did not want to feel the pressure of overtime.”
Troy Adams had confidence in Scott.
“A lot of goalkeepers would turn their body to avoid the foul, but then the ball goes in the net,” Troy Adams said. “The fearlessness that he showed talks volumes about who he is as a player and who he is as a person.
“To be able to come into a 0-0 game in a state final and play outstanding soccer really shows the competitor he is.”
The victory was especially satisfying for Chase Adams and his brother Carter, a junior midfielder. They were small kids when the Redhawks came up short of a state title in their previous three trips to the finals under Troy Adams.
“Being 5 years old, the sadness of seeing your dad lose in the state finals kind of gets to you,” Chase Adams said. “Being able to help him win his first title is all the love in the world that you can have with your family.
“Having it with your brother and your dad makes it even better. Personally, I couldn’t think of anything better.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
