The West Chicago Wildcats squared off against the St. Charles East Saints following WeGo’s victory in their Sectional semi-final game on the rainy night of Oct. 25.

The match was slated to begin at 7:00 p.m., but teams walked onto the field about 45 minutes later, and the kick-off marked the start of the game shortly after 7:51 p.m.

A series of fast passes and a couple of free throws excited the crowd as the Wildcats met tough opposition against the Saints. The game was stuck to the middle of the field as both teams fought to gain ground. With 22 minutes remaining, a hard-fought advance was led by senior Rafael Posada which landed him a near goal, but it was ultimately blocked by the Saints.

After several minutes of back-and-forth and free kicks, the Saints managed to score the first point of the game with 18:51 remaining. The crowd displayed a series of emotions as they compelled the Wildcats to fight onward.

The half concluded 1-0 in favor of the St. Charles Saints, and the teams switched sides and regrouped to discuss their strategies for the latter portion of the game.

The second half began in an explosive manner with several goal attempts made by the Wildcats, however, none of them connected until three-quarters of the way into the game, where Camilo Salinas scored the first goal for West Chicago by a successful free kick at 23:44. The crowd erupted with emotions of joy and pride as they cheered on the Wildcats. The score was then 1-1.

West Chicago continued to apply pressure by playing on the Saints’ side of the field and sending numerous shots on goal, which forced St. Charles’ defense to stay active, however, the second half yielded no points from either team. Regular time ended in a 1-1 tie, and the game moved into overtime.

“That last goal we scored got a lot of momentum going into overtime and [we] were going to clutch up,” according to junior Nick Temes, who was in the student section.

The teams switched sides once more and overtime began in a swift fashion, with the Wildcats taking control of the field within the first four minutes. West Chicago’s goalie, senior Julian Nicoski, blocked two goal attempts by the Saints. The game then moved to second overtime where the Saints scored their second point two minutes after the start of play.

Overall, the Saints took the game 2-1 over the Wildcats after a hard-fought match. The St. Charles Saints will go on to play the York Dukes this Saturday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.