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Semifinal #1: St Ignatius 10 Loyola 9

LINCOLNSHIRE, IL - Mark Alvarado scored with seven seconds remaining in regulation to lift St Ignatius to a 10-9 victory over Loyola on Saturday afternoon in the state semifinal round. The Wolfpack advance to the title game with the win.

Neither team could lead by more than two goals in the game, while the halftime score of 5-5 showed just how close the  two teams were. Brayden Amendola scored two straight goals in the second half to put the Wolfpack in front 8-6, so it looked as if Ignatius would march to the title game. But in a frantic final period, Loyola's Jordan Hodur scored on a shot from outside seven-meters and William LeCompte slammed home a rebound goal after a wild exchange in front of the Ignatius net to tie the game at 8-8 with just over two minutes remaining.

Alvarado scored quickly on the Wolfpack's next possession to give head coach Brian Drumm's squad a one-goal lead, but Dowdle's goal from outside of nine-meters went in just six seconds later and the teams were tied at 9-9 heading into the final two minutes of play.

That setup an epic finish, with Loyola goalie Robbie O'Connor making a key save before Alvarado was ejected as the teams entered the final minute of play. The Ramblers could not score on their end, as Dowdle fired a shot from five-meters that went over the crossbar and St Ignatius called a timeout. The Ramblers made a stop, but the Wolfpack returned the favor on the other end and called their final timeout with 0:14 left to setup a final play.

That is when Alvarado stepped up, creating space on the right side before firing a shot that skipped into the right side of the cage with 0:07 remaining to give St Ignatius a 10-9 lead. Brendan Hulseman tried a last-second shot from outside of seven-meters, but it was tipped away and the Wolfpack advanced to the title game with the narrow victory.

Alvarado totaled 7 scores to lead the Wolfpack, while Amendola scored 2 times and Tom Maloney recorded one score. Mike Fratto also registered 8 saves in the Ignatius' victory.

Dowdle led the Ramblers with 3 goals, Hodur put in 2 scores, and Hulseman, Erik Goosman, Tyler Saint Germain, and William LeCompte each scored once in the loss. Robbie O'Connor stopped 11 shots in the losing cause for Loyola.