Cardiac Colaizzi did it again.
Warren forward Anthony Colaizzi scored in the sixth minute of overtime to defeat O’Fallon 2-1 in the IHSA Class AA state tournament Friday at North Central College in Naperville. The Blue Devils (25-2) play the Maine South-St. Charles North winner in the 9 a.m. semifinal Saturday.
“I love clutch games,” said Colaizzi, whose 21st goal was also his 11th game-winner of the season. “It is so fun to me to (play) in front of all these fans. I love the pressure. I love getting that goal.
“They were giving me so many opportunities I knew I was going to get one. Benny played beautiful balls all game and I knew we were going to get one together. He put one in, I was going to one-time it, that was my initial thought. But I calmed down in the air, actually, and settled it. There was no one pressuring me. They gave me the time so I took a touch and put it away.”
Colaizzi scored the first goal of the game in the 25th minute after a 30-yard carry down the center of the field. That elicited a loud roar from a Warren crowd that included eight busloads of students. Coach Jim McNamara said the Blue Devils’ junior-senior campus looked like a ghost town after 1,500 excused absences were called in.
O’Fallon (17-7-1) tied the game on star Josh Boemecke’s rebound score in the 49th minute.
“I knew it would be tough coming in against one of the best, if not the best team in Chicago. We had a fair amount of chances throughout the game. It could have gone either way,” said the senior.
While Colaizzi was the overtime star on the offensive end, senior Dan Dunkleman came up big on the other end in extra time. The defender won a one-on-one duel with Boemecke nine yards off the goal line in the 82nd minute.
“He stepped in front of me,” said Boemecke, who finished the season with 23 goals and 9 assists. “I went to take the shot and he just got a foot in and got it out of the way. He did a good job with that, but it was close.”