Replacing Ismael Gomez was always going to be a challenge for the Lockport boys soccer team. The 2024 Herald-News player of the year received that honor for a reason, after all.

So far this season, though, they hadn’t missed a beat going into Thursday night. They were unblemished, outscoring opponents 11-2 on the year and getting geared up to play in the Windy City Classic finals against De La Salle.

Unfortunately, that’s where they suffered their first hiccup of the year.

The Porters did better against De La Salle than anyone else this year, but they were unable to get the win, suffering their first loss of the year 3-2 at Reavis. Lockport had to settle for the Windy City Classic runner-up plaque.

Lockport (4-1) did some things to be proud of not just on Thursday, but throughout the tournament. They knocked off host Reavis 2-1 before downing St. Laurence 2-1 in the semifinals. De La Salle (5-0) hadn’t conceded a goal entering Thursday’s final, yet Lockport got two of them.

“We enjoy this tournament because you get to play some really good teams early on in the season,” coach Chris Beal said. “The deeper into the tournament you get the better the competition. We found some things positive and negative from this tournament and you can learn from wins, but you can also learn from losses.

“We lost in the championship game so now we can see what we need to fix. We have a training week now with no games so it’s a building block to fix what we need to do.”

Lockport got on the board first thanks to Krystian Rafacz in the 24th minute. That gave the Porters a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes into the second half, however, the Meteors managed to draw even. Jayden Farley took a penalty in the box and Christian Flores was tasked with attempting the PK. Credit Lockport keeper Ben Szudy with blocking the first attempt, but Flores managed to coral the rebound and knock it in on the second attempt.

Alex Panduro, one of the best players in the state, put De La Salle ahead in the 46th minute before making it a brace for himself with just 15 minutes to go. Rafacz did manage to trim it to 3-2, but only 1:43 remained on the clock and the Meteors got the victory.

Coach Francisco Martinez praised the effort Lockport gave his squad.

“They were the first team to really challenge us this season,” Martinez said. “They were pressing us while we were trying to keep the ball on the ground, which we were better at in the second half. Our boys were down, but we learned what kind of team we were by coming back out and putting pressure on (Lockport).”

Beal, meanwhile, felt the Porters’ issue was getting away from the kind of team they are.

“I think in our semifinal game against St. Laurence, we were really good in the first half working that quick combo play and speed,” Beal said. “I think we didn’t really do that in the first half, even with us getting the early goal. I think we played somewhat hesitant. We didn’t really click or move as quick as we like. De La Salle came out in the second half really aggressive, hit us a few times early and by the time we came back at it it was a little too late.”

Szudy felt the Porters are building on their team chemistry, with many of the players coming from different club teams.

“We’ll take the loss as motivation,” he said. “Hopefully we come out stronger in our next game.”

Still, Lockport battled with the defending 2A runner-ups.

“We have to analyze, reflect on the week and figure out how we can get back to the way Lockport plays,” Beal said. “Lockport’s identity is that attacking speed, dangerous in the final third. We need high intensity and pressure. We need to play heavy metal soccer and that’s what we’re looking to get back to after our little break.”