Hinsdale Central holds off Naperville North in shootout

Wes Bergevin is at his best when it matters most.

The Hinsdale Central goalkeeper proved that again Tuesday night in dramatic fashion when he stopped Matty Sylvester on the final kick of the shootout as the Red Devils edged Naperville North 1-0 on penalty kicks at the Class 3A Lewis University Supersectional.

Hinsdale Central (17-4-4) will take on Fremd at 7 p.m. Friday in the state semifinals at Hoffman Estates.

Bergevin, who made five saves during 100 minutes of regulation and two overtimes, broke his school’s career shutout mark with his 25th clean sheet, including 15 this season, and clinched the Red Devils’ third state trophy.

“No surprises there,” Hinsdale Central coach Mike Wiggins said. “We know what we have with Wes.

“Not only is he a great kid but he’s so coachable, he’s so hard-working and a great leader. If we could just make our chances on the PKs we knew that Wes would get it done, and he came through in a huge way again.”

It was the second straight playoff game in which Bergevin has saved a penalty kick to preserve a victory. He stopped one with 23 seconds remaining in the Red Devils’ 3-2 upset of Morton in the sectional final.

“It was nerve-wracking,” Bergevin said. “Every game gets bigger and bigger so this was definitely more nerve-wracking, but I’m confident in there. We practice with some of the best shooters, so they’re constantly training us.”

After Hinsdale Central’s Jack Baderman scored to open the shootout, Naperville North’s Brandon Hipp hit the left post to give the Red Devils an early advantage.

But Naperville North goalkeeper Riley Wiest, who made nine saves in regulation, stopped Hinsdale Central’s third shooter, Justin Yi, and Wesley Wong converted to draw the Huskies (16-5-3) even.

Both sides made their fourth attempts before Will McGowen gave the Red Devils a 4-3 lead by blasting his attempt top shelf.

That brought up Sylvester, who had scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the Huskies’ 2-0 sectional title game win over Batavia. He fired a bullet toward the upper left corner but Bergevin lunged to knock it away.

“I saw his hands,” Bergevin said. “I look for the hands so when he puts his hands on the ball, then I [decide where to] go.”

The shootout was a cruel way to decide a match in which both sides played hard and earned each other’s respect.

“The whole game they put us on our heels,” Bergevin said. “They came out really strong. We matched that intensity and for 100 minutes it was even play.”

Naperville North, which had its 14-game unbeaten streak snapped, missed two great chances. Hinsdale’s Evan Floersch cleared a shot by Hipp off the line in the first half and Chris Sullivan hit the left post in the first overtime.

“Wow, what a Naperville North team,” Wiggins said. “I guess the best compliment you can give is when you play Naperville North you know you’re in for a game and they certainly created that for us tonight.”

Wiggins is friends with Naperville North coach Jim Konrad, who was disappointed but not upset.

“We had a couple good chances and we just didn’t bury them,” Konrad said. “It’s unfortunate when the game comes down to penalties because you feel bad for whoever loses in a shootout.

“This group of boys did amazing things. I’m super proud of them, so it’s a tough way to go out. But Wiggins is someone who’s given a lot to Illinois soccer and if there’s anybody that deserves a state championship, it’s Mike, and I do hope that they go on and win it for him because he’s a coach that should have one.”