Looking to play a bigger role in Lockport’s offense, Sean Flannery had a lesson to learn.
The senior midfielder has accepted that he’s never going to be the flashy scorer. He needs to grind out his goals this season, though, and play tough up top.
“Everyone wants to be the guy that’s technical, the guy that’s doing these cuts and getting past people, and that’s just not me,” Flannery said. “I had to realize that.
“I know that I just have to go. Just get toward the goal and fight. It took a few screams and a few subs from coaches to realize it.”
Flannery put his new strategy to work Tuesday, scoring the winning goal in overtime as the Porters rallied to top St. Laurence 3-2 in a Windy City Ram Classic semifinal at Reavis.
The Porters (4-0), who are going for their third straight title in the 32-team tournament, will take on Shepard (4-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday in the championship game.
Shepard defeated Reavis 2-0 in the second semifinal.
The battle between Lockport and St. Laurence (3-2) was a back-and-forth showdown until Flannery provided the decisive strike less than two minutes into OT when he headed in a cross from Danny Jimenez.
More Top Picks Best Pen Display Tablets For Professionals
“I knew I wanted it,” Flannery said. “I knew it was going to come. My voice is completely gone after that goal. I was really excited. It felt amazing. I screamed as loud as I could.
“It was the best feeling in high school yet.”
Flannery has mostly played defense throughout his high school career, but Lockport coach Chris Beal plans to use him all over the field this fall.
“Sean can play in the back, play up front — he can do a lot of things,” Beal said. “We put him on that right flank (Tuesday) so he could come inside and get some shots. That worked pretty good.”
Flannery also assisted on Nathan Blazewski’s goal in the first half.
Blazewski said the Porters have been encouraging Flannery to be more aggressive offensively.
“When he puts his shoulder down and actually attacks the net, he’s dangerous,” Blazewski said of Flannery. “Everyone tells him to do that more. It was good to see him do it.”
But St. Laurence fought back after Blazewski’s goal.
In the 30th minute, Tristan Figueroa beat a defender and drew a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick that Nathan Lara converted to force a tie.
Lara then struck again, scoring off Pedro Mendez’s assist, to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead with 20:11 to go.
St. Laurence could not quite hold on, though.
“This game gives us that playoff taste,” St. Laurence coach Jaime Alonso said. “We know this is similar to what we’d see in a sectional or a supersectional.
“I told the boys we need to learn from this. We have to see what we messed up and fix the patches and move on.”
With just over 14 minutes to go, Blazewski drew a foul in the box and Dominic Williams converted the penalty kick to create the 2-2 tie.
“They went up and we weren’t playing like we should,” Blazewski said. “We didn’t have energy. It was like a dead game. But we started to get it back, started creating chances, got that PK and tied it up.”
Flannery said the Porters are continuing to show the never-say-die attitude that led them to a third-place finish last season in Class 3A.
“I’m trying to carry it from last year,” Flannery said. “The seniors last year kept our heads up and kept our hopes high, and I know I have to do that this year.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.