Burlington Central earns 1st regional title

It will go down as the biggest goal in Burlington Central soccer history.

With under 11 minutes left in the first half of Monday's Class 2A Burlington Central regional title match against Marmion, senior midfielder Kyle Reopelle lined up to take a direct kick 35 yards away from the goal.

Encouraged by Rockets coach Mike Gecan to “look at the keeper and hit it where he's not,” Reopelle delivered a perfectly placed shot into the top left corner of the net, just out of the reach of the leaping Marmion goalkeeper.

“After every practice we work on our free kicks and it worked out perfectly,” Reopelle said. “We just don't hit it 100 percent, just place it.”

Thanks to Reopelle's accurate placement and a diving, point-blank save by Central keeper Riley Jensen midway through the second half, the Rockets held on to beat the hard-luck Cadets, 1-0.

The regional championship was the first for Burlington Central (17-4-3), satisfying a primary team goal. As time ran out Central's reserves and coaches rushed the field to celebrate. A large, excited student section joined the celebration after the teams shook hands.

“It feels unbelievable, especially since we're the first team to do it,” said Central co-captain Chris Gousios. “I don't know how to describe it.”

The match will be remembered with frustration by Marmion (13-6). The Cadets had good chances to strike in both halves, but they were unlucky in some cases and flat-out beaten by Jensen in others.

The Cadets deployed the better attack through much of the first half and launched two near misses. Junior midfielder Mike Frasca lasered a shot off the crossbar in the seventh minute. With 15 minutes left in the first half, Marmion forward Joe Romanos was upended just outside the box by Central captain Zach Jochum, who played with a broken nose. The ensuing free kick by junior Mick Maley bowed around the Central wall but found the right post.

The Cadets were unable to cash in on either prime scoring chance and found themselves trailing 1-0 less than five minutes later after Reopelle connected.

“A great shot there by Reopelle,” Marmion coach Kevin O'Connor said. “That was a wonderful strike. One strike shouldn't have been the determining factor of the game. The soccer gods weren't with us; We put one of the crossbar, one off the goal post.”

Jensen made a good save with 32 minutes left in the game on a volley by Marmion junior Luke Elder, but his best save of the game was yet to come.

With 14:45 left in the game, the Cadets sent a ball through traffic in the box. Senior Mike Gerrold chested the ball to his feet and settled it 15 feet from the line before firing.

“I just dove for the ball and it hit me in the chest,” Jensen said. “I just kind of reacted. I've been waiting all season for this.”

The rebound caromed to the foot of another Cadet, but his shot attempt sailed just over the crossbar.

“The (saves) that Riley came up with at the end on Gerrold, I mean, they made the plays,” O'Connor said. “They won the moments they had to win. This game is about winning moments. There were a few moments that we just couldn't quite finish it. Central won the moments they had to.”

With the goals of Big Northern East champ and regional champion achieved, the Rockets will eye more prizes at the sectional level. They will face Freeport in a Belvidere sectional semifinal Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

“You've got to dream,” Gecan said. “Let's take it one step at a time. We'll go for the sectional semi, then the sectional final, the supersectional. I mean, I know they're one of the better teams in the state. They just have to play great games every day.