Boys soccer: Kaneland tops Rochelle on PKs to claim regional title

It might not be how Kaneland wanted to win its Class 2A regional Saturday, but as coach Scott Parillo said, the Knights will take it.

After 80 intense minutes of soccer and two 10-minute overtimes, Kaneland and Rochelle stood deadlocked at 2-2.

That meant penalty kicks, and the Knights went 4-for-4 while keeper Hunter Smith saved one shot and the Hubs shot high over the net on another, giving Kaneland a 4-2 win on PKs.

"I can't tell you how many PKs I've gone through," Parillo said. "It doesn't get any easier. It's a lousy way to win and an even worse way to lose and I've done both. It's heartbreaking to play that well and lose in PKs. I thought Rochelle played lights out."

No. 2 seed Kaneland (15-3-1), 14-0-2 in its last 16 games, will play Timothy Christian in the Wheaton Academy sectional at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Brian Bartholomew went low left to start the PKs, and Rochelle tied it before Devin Pieczynski put Kaneland up 2-1. Smith then dove to save a shot, and Tucker Jahns converted for a 3-1 lead.

After Rochelle scored to make it 3-2, John McCaffrey made his and Rochelle shot high, ending the match and setting off a wild celebration by the Knights and their fans.

"One of my teammates told me the goalie commits to his side early," McCaffrey said. "When I was walking there to shoot I was going to shoot right. When I stepped up he went right so I just slotted it to the other side of the goal.

"I felt very confident in Hunter in goal over their goalie and he was able to make a great save that won us this game."

It was a tough way for Rochelle (12-8-1) to lose after the Hubs fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 and battled back to tie each time.

"Both teams it was a hard fought game, you hate to put that much pressure on the keeper," said Hubs coach Brad Male, whose team has just 2 seniors. "That was unfortunate it came down to that. Kaneland is a tough squad."

After Rochelle's second goal, the Hubs had 30 minutes with a strong wind at their back to try to win the game, but Kaneland held.

Playing without Ulysses Herrera, the Knights moved Zach Smith to the back and shifted Gavin Cano from the outside to the middle.

"That defensive line was really good today," Parillo said. "It wasn't our normal defensive line.

"We didn't expect this. We knew we would have a solid team but we didn't think this at all. We'll take it."

McCaffrey opened the scoring in the first minute on a volley from outside the box.

"Honestly I didn't even think about it," McCaffrey said. "Next thing I know the ball was in the back of the net. That's usually when things go best when you don't think you just do."

Kaneland took a 2-1 lead at halftime when Jahns headed in a shot, with Pieczynski getting the assist.