By Noah Poser

All season, Taft leaned on junior Max Gonzalez to deliver in clutch moments.

So when the Eagles (18-0), ranked fifth on MaxPreps’ site, trailed No. 8 Lane (16-2) 1-0 at halftime of Wednesday’s 2025 CPL City Championship Game at Knute Rockne Stadium – a team they’d beaten earlier in the season – head coach Jeffrey Lucco had a message for his star.

“We trusted our guys who have led us here,” Lucco said. “I told Max at halftime he was going to score, and he thought he was, too. The key was not allowing ourselves to feel bad and to keep believing. Just believe, believe, believe, and that’s what we did.”

That belief paid off. Gonzalez netted the equalizer in the 62nd minute, and Taft converted all five penalty kicks to secure a 1-1 (5-4) shootout win, clinching its second city title in three years and preserving its perfect record.

After the match, Gonzalez admitted he wasn’t as confident as he let on to his coach at halftime.

“At the time, no,” he said. “I was like, I don’t think it’s gonna happen. I had a couple chances earlier and started doubting myself. But once I got on the field, my mind just cleared, and sure enough, we got the goal.”

It was Gonzalez’s 12th goal of the season, but he wasn’t the only standout for Taft. Senior goalkeeper Maxsymilian Potyrala limited Lane to a single goal and made several key saves late in regulation and overtime.

Lane struck first in the 6th minute on a goal from junior Adrian Skolznik, his sixth of the year. The Champions, aiming for back-to-back city titles, appeared to double their lead late in the first half, but the goal was waved off due to an offside call.

Lane had multiple chances to put the game away after that, said head coach Andrew Ricks.

“Finish our chances,” Ricks said. “We had better chances than they did. They have a good goalie, and he did well, so I’ll give him that. But we had quality opportunities where if we just redirect the ball, it’s on goal and it would’ve been fine. We didn’t convert, and it came back to haunt us in the penalty kicks. 

“We had one missed PK, and our goalie didn’t save any. He usually does, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Potyrala’s decisive stop in the shootout capped a stellar performance that drew high praise from Lucco.

“We think he’s the best goalie in the state,” Lucco said. “He’s a small kid. If he was taller, he probably wouldn’t be playing high school soccer, because he’d be playing MLS Next. But we’re happy he’s here. He’s our coach on the field. He’s amazing.

“He did the same thing in the first game against Lane making big save after big save. There’s no moment too big for him, so we trusted him and rode him to victory.”

Potyrala said he just wanted to do his part, especially after Gonzalez leveled the match.

“They definitely made it hard, especially by scoring early,” he said. “This year, we’d only been down once before against Stagg. So it was a different environment and a different position to be in than what we’re used to, and I think we adapted well. 

“Lane is a really good team, and beating them is a huge accomplishment. Coming up with some big saves to help my team, my family – it feels good.

It was indeed a big accomplishment, as the win marked Taft’s second top-10 victory of the season and sets the tone for a team with even bigger goals ahead.

“On Friday, we’re right back to it,” Gonzalez said. “We have to keep going. This is a good reward, but this isn’t the end of our journey. I want to go all the way to the state finals and win it. That’s the goal. So on Friday we’re going to start training again and going even harder to achieve that goal.”

But first, a well-earned celebration.

“We’re probably going to celebrate today and maybe tomorrow,” Gonzalez said. “Oh no, definitely tomorrow. Maybe take the day off, relax a bit, enjoy the moment. You know how it is.”

Meanwhile for Lane, it wasn’t the ending the team wanted on this particular day, but the bigger picture remains intact.

Last year’s squad made a surprise run to the state finals, knocking off several top contenders. This time, they won’t sneak up on anyone, but the belief is still there that they can make another run.

As long as they don’t look too far ahead.

“I’m sad, of course,” Skolznik said. “We all are. But looking on the bright side, we’ve got states next, and our main focus now is Evanston on Tuesday. From then on, we’re taking baby steps.”

Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA

Season Awards Ceremony