Lake Zurich senior forward Owen Peich was in the right place at the right time Saturday afternoon.
That wasn’t the case Tuesday, when he was sick and wasn’t even able to attend Lake Zurich’s Class 3A Round Lake regional semifinal. He also blamed a bad connection for missing the Bears’ winning goal in overtime against the host Panthers.
“I was sitting on my couch with a Sprite and a pizza and was pumped up watching the regional (semifinal) at home,” Peich said. “Sadly, the last 10 minutes of the game in the second overtime got cut off. I was texting everyone I knew at the game trying to get updates, who won and the score. I kept calling people, but nobody was picking up.”
But in the regional championship game four days later, Peich was healthy and spot-on with his connections. He drilled a shot into the net from 12 yards out in the 77th minute to propel the ninth-seeded Bears to a 1-0 victory against second-seeded Warren in a matchup of Northern Suburban Conference teams on a summerlike afternoon.
The Bears (12-4-3) advance to play another upstart team from their conference, Waukegan (7-10-3), in a Buffalo Grove Sectional semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The 14th-seeded Bulldogs defeated 11th-seeded Barrington 2-1 on Saturday. Lake Zurich edged the Bulldogs 2-1 on Oct. 6 in the only regular-season meeting between the teams.
Peich, who has scored four goals this season, called his game winner a triumphant moment for the program and himself. The Bears won their first regional championship since 2018, while Peich showed tremendous resiliency coming back from his illness and also making the most of his first and only season on the varsity.
“I got injured right before last season, so I was not in condition, but I played on junior varsity, and we had a great season,” he said. “I worked hard to make the varsity this year. I heard last year we didn’t have the best postseason, but I knew we had a great group of guys and played with some of these guys for years.
“That goal was a warm feeling in my heart knowing I helped my team move to the next round and become regional champs.”
The Blue Devils (15-5-2) fell short of beating their conference counterparts for the second time this season due to a shortage of shot attempts, especially in the second half. Junior Lucas Ahonen had the best shot in the 55th minute, when he smacked the crossbar.
Sophomore Ethan Cole had a memorable game in the net for Warren, battling a heavy wind not in his favor and a bright sun in the second half. Cole made nine saves, including two on the sequence when Peich scored.
“They had multiple opportunities, and (Ethan) made two great plays, and the third one found the back of the net,” Warren coach Jason Ahonen said. “I thought for a good part of the game (Lake Zurich) was the better team. I thought we maybe could catch a little magic. Lucas’ pinger that hit the bar was probably our best chance. It just wasn’t our day.”
The Blue Devils played a stellar game against Lake Zurich senior forward Ian Ferguson, the NSC offensive player of the year, who didn’t score.
But Ferguson was thrilled with the victory — and Peich’s contributions to it.
“That kid deserves it,” Ferguson said. “He’s worked so hard. His work ethic is unmatched, so for him to finally get a reward is very satisfying to see. They played good defense on me and studied their film. It wasn’t my day. It was Owen’s day. It was great to see him put one in.”
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Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.