Palatine tops Buffalo Grove in shootout
The outpouring of joy and relief when Palatine's Dylan Ruzbasan stopped two penalty attempts in shootout and converted his own spot kick was only the beginning.
His teammate Steven Gatica turned the intensity up even higher by burying a sixth-round PK chance to give No. 11 Palatine (12-4-3) a stunning 1-0 victory over Mid-Suburban East champ Buffalo Grove late Tuesday night at Fremd, sending the Pirates into the regional final round of the Class 3A postseason.
After Palatine fell behind early in the shootout, Ruzbasan brought his team back to life with a pair of brilliant back-to-back saves. He then helped his team get back even at 3-3 before watching Gatica's game-winner send the Pirates' faithful into orbit.
"When you have been keeper for as long as I have, and fortunate to have some great coaches along the way, you kind of learn a few things to look for in these situations and what way a shooter might go," said Ruzbasan, who shared the work between the sticks for coach Willie Filian with Michael Jensen to record the biggest shutout of the season Palatine.
The Pirates next meet No. 3 seed Libertyville (12-3-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Fremd's Hale Hildebrandt Field.
"We lost to Buffalo Grove earlier in the year in a game we felt we had our chances to win at that time, so coming into tonight, I think everyone felt pretty confident we could get out of here with a different result," said Ruzbasan, who when called upon during the second half stepped up to make two keys saves.
Buffalo Grove sees its season end with a 12-6-2 record.
"I said earlier playing an MSL rival like Palatine in the first round of the playoffs would not have been my choice of opponents," said Bison coach Brad Abel. "We might have been a higher seed than the No. 6 we received, but there was no way they were a No. 11. So going in, we knew this would be as tough an opponent as there could be."
It was the kind of match many would have suspected - plenty of pressure from both clubs from box-to-box, counter attacks sprinkled in here and there, and the desire to create chances off of long throws and set-pieces. Both programs feature premier throwers in Hans Haller (Buffalo Grove) and Liam Obernesser (Palatine).
The Bison did not concede a deep Obernesser throw until 31 minutes - and might have dodged a bullet, as it appeared a hand ball in the box went unseen.
In the second half, fans saw dozens of long throws, corners and free kicks, and little possession or play through midfield as both teams looked to find another way to get into the back of the net.
The Pirates appeared to strike first when Jonathan Inez Rodriguez's shot off an Obernesser throw snuck past BG keeper Daniel Sempoch. But the assistant referee ruled the shot was redirected in by a Palatine player in an offside position.
Ruzbasan came to the rescue for his teammates with an acrobatic save on BG all-state senior Drew Brauner in the 67th minute before watching his counterpart turn aside Matthew Mayer, who was set free up the left side five minutes later.
Sempoch left with an ankle injury just before time and was replaced by sophomore Caleb Mayhorn, who remained in goal for the rest of the match.
Both ten-minute extra sessions were played in the Palatine end, but after 100 minutes of soccer, it went to PKs.
With the rain picking up at the start of shootout, the Bison went up 2-1 and then 3-2 before Ruzbasan stopped Colin Doyle and Alex Alfaro, while hitting an unstoppable missile of his own to make it 3-3.
"It is never the way to end the season," said Abel. "It's the way this sport goes sometime, but congrats to Palatine, and best of luck to them on Saturday. I am proud of the way we played and fought out there tonight, and equally proud of the season we had after such a tough start."