Senior defender Ryan Pavelka had not scored a goal for Lockport since his sophomore year.
He picked a perfect time to break that slump, coming through on a header late in the first half Thursday night to get the Porters rolling with a title on the line.
“It felt so great, especially to do it in the championship,” Pavelka said. “It was awesome.
“I want to do as much as I can to help offensively. Any time I can get on the ball on the corner kick, I’ll try to put it in there. It feels good to help the team.”
Pavelka’s goal provided the spark and Sean Flannery came through again with two goals as Lockport won its third straight Windy City Ram Classic championship, topping Shepard 4-1.
Ismael Gomez also scored for Lockport (5-0) in the final of the 32-team tournament at Reavis in Burbank, while Zach Soltysiak had a goal for the Astros (4-2).
Pavelka is a three-year starter whose defensive leadership helped carry the Porters to a third-place finish last season in Class 3A.
“Ryan is really important,” Lockport coach Chris Beal said. “If you have a central defender that can make tackles, win a ball, lead the team verbally and direct guys, that breeds confidence in the rest of the team.
“Guys know if they make a mistake, Ryan is going to cover it up for us. We can be more adventurous and take chances knowing Ryan will cover us. Plus (Thursday), when the other guys weren’t stepping up, he stepped up and put the ball in the back of the net.”
The Porters dominated the first half but missed several chances. The game was still scoreless until Nick Skiba sent a corner kick into the box and Pavelka headed it home with 3:09 left before halftime.
“Ryan has an insane impact on our team,” Flannery said. “On both sides of the field, he’s huge. He scored our first goal to take us into the rest of the game. Our defense was phenomenal, and I can’t thank anybody more than Ryan for that.
“We wouldn’t be a team without him. We really wouldn’t.”
Pavelka is taking on extra responsibility this season after the graduation of all-state defender Gabe Czako, his partner in the middle of Lockport’s back line the last two seasons.
“I feel like I have to step up,” Pavelka said. “Filling Gabe’s shoes is tough to do, but I think so far I’ve done pretty good.
“Tyler (Malczewski)’s done a great job, too, as my other center back. We do a good job communicating and getting open for each other on passes.”
The floodgates opened for Lockport in the second half as Flannery scored twice in just over four minutes.
Soltysiak broke the shutout for the Astros with 4:58 left, but Gomez added an exclamation point for Lockport, scoring with 65 seconds to go.
Gannon Marin made seven saves for Shepard before departing in the second half after a collision with a teammate and a Lockport player.
“Obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but Lockport’s a very good team who finished third in the state last year,” Soltysiak said. “I think it’s a good test. I think we can learn that this is the level we need to try to play at.”
Indeed, the Porters continue to set the standard for Southland teams. And they have another championship to celebrate.
“This is a really good confidence booster getting a trophy and beating some good teams,” Pavelka said. “I think we’re going to do good this year.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.