Peoria Notre Dame holds off Crystal Lake South to earn sixth state title in school history
ROCKFORD – Another stellar season for Peoria Notre Dame ends with the ultimate hardware.
The Irish traveled up north to Rockford to compete in the ninth state title game under head coach Mike Bare. This time around, they had a very familiar opponent.
This game marked the third time Peoria Notre Dame was matched up with Crystal Lake South in the state championship, with previous state title matchups between the teams coming in 2018 and 2023.
The Irish came up short both of those times and because of it, PND head coach Mike Bare said that it gave his team a little extra motivation.
“I had some of the guys on that team in 2023 that are alumni reach out to me, “ Bare said. “They’re like, ‘Coach, you have got to get this one back for us.’”
The Irish controlled the pace and possession the entire first half, but were unable to turn that into goals. They went into halftime tied at zero in a game they were ultimately dominating.
The second half looked like the same story.
They were controlling the pace and dominating possession, but could not create many scoring opportunities. However, the Irish were looking more aggressive in the final third of the field, something that Bare harped on at halftime.
“We wanted them to be a bit more aggressive to take players on,” Bare said. “We didn’t want to change too much because we had so much of the possession. It was just a matter of being more aggressive offensively when we got down in their end.”
Peoria Notre Dame did just that. The Irish attacked the sidelines, generated crosses and finally, a cross coming off of the foot of sophomore midfielder Matteo Teran found the head of senior midfielder Cal Byrkit with 14:37 to go, finally breaking the tie and becoming the only goal needed to be victorious.
Byrkit was a freshman on that 2023 team that lost against Crystal Lake South in the state final. He ended his senior season by scoring a crucial goal in each of his team’s final three games of the season, ultimately becoming one of the most pivotal players for the Irish.
“He’s just got such a big motor,” Bare said. “Cal gives us that potential to score goals out of the midfield. He’s always looking to run the box, and he’s got that ability to go box to box and not only defend, but score great goals for us as well. “
Byrkit is a part of a great senior class, composed of players like Paddy Graham and Jack Miller, who make up a strong defensive line. That defensive line is followed up by another senior, goalkeeper Max Schmidt.
Schmidt had one of the most impressive seasons a goalkeeper can have. Over the course of 26 games, he only conceded seven goals, and never gave up more than one in a game.
“His seven goals in a season is pretty remarkable,” Bare said. “He’s come up big for us pretty much every game throughout the season and the postseason. It’s hard to sit back there for 80 minutes and not see a lot of action, and then to be called upon and have to make a big save. He’s done that for us the entire season. Max always makes the play.”
That impact was on full display on Saturday. He did not see a lot of action as the Irish had the ball most of the game, but when Crystal Lake South had their chances, Schmidt was there to make the play and saved two of Crystal Lake South's 10 shots on target. PND had 12 shots and put five of them on goal.
The Irish finished their remarkable season with a record of 22-1-3. They not only went undefeated in conference play, but were undefeated against teams from Illinois, which is a big feather in its cap when looking at the schedule they had.
“We had to play a tough schedule in the regular season,” Bare said. “We play some elite programs, that being a lot of the Chicago teams and teams out of St. Louis. I told the guys that if we go undefeated, we’re the best team in the country with the schedule we play, and we about did it this year.”
Last year, the Irish gave up four goals to Normal Community in their Class 3A regional final. Bare knew that could not happen again if they wanted to get back to the state tournament. This led to him giving his team the ultimate goal for this season.
“Our goal was to get a shutout in every game, and not only get a shutout, but not even allow chances on goal,” Bare said. “We made a big emphasis on defending in the offseason and throughout the season to reach this goal. With that mindset, that led us to a state title this year.”
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