Boys soccer: Jacobs outlasts Streamwood in PKs for sectional title
Dan Buirge had never played goalie before, but he made a heckuva debut.
The Jacobs senior took over in the net for the sudden-death penalty kick round and stopped the only shot he faced. Noah Perrone, the Golden Eagles' first shooter in that round, had already made his shot in that round, and thus the Eagles won the Class 3A Streamwood boys soccer sectional 1-0 over the host Sabres at Millennium Field.
Jacobs (16-6-2) will play St. Charles North (15-2-4) on the North Stars' home field in Tuesday's 7 p.m. supersectional. Jacobs lost to Conant in the supersectional round last year.
"Well, never," said Buirge when asked how often he had played goaltender. "In practice we did shootout and (coach Anthony Cappello) said if there's ever a chance, go in goal if you want to. I said 'Alright, I got this.' "
His experience as a shooter helped when the roles were reversed.
"I saw him look to the left and that's what I do as a shooter, I look to the way I'm not going to go," Buirge said. "So I just guessed the right way, and I knew I'd make the save if I could look that way."
The teams were scoreless through regulation and two 10-minute overtimes. The shooters were perfect in the first round of penalty kicks, going 10-for-10.
"The kid Dan Buirge is one of the smartest soccer players I've ever worked with," said Jacobs coach Anthony Cappello. "In a penalty situation he's always on it. He's always three steps ahead of everyone on the field at all times, so why not. Both teams made 5-of-5, so something's got to give."
Each team had several scoring chances in regulation but couldn't finish.
Jacobs' regular goalkeeper, Preston Krahl, wasn't too bad either, coming up with 10 saves in regulation and overtime.
Midway through the first half, Krahl made a great save on a shot by Rafa Gil. Krahl was screened by two players but still found the ball. The rebound squirted loose and Jose Ibarra was ready to pounce on it at the corner of the net, but Krahl dove back the other way and stopped that shot as well.
"When I had that save, I knew I had to do something," he said. "Nothing was going to get past me. I was just hoping that my team would do well."
Sabres' keeper Daniel Dominguez matched him save-for-save for 100 minutes.
"Both goalkeepers tonight were absolutely spectacular," Cappello said. "I thought Streamwood came out real well and thought they were much the better team in the first half, but I felt we did a good job subbing in and we played a very good second half. From there it was just a battle, nothing but will."
The inability to finish repeated a common theme for the Sabres.
"It's kind of been our thing all season," said Streamwood coach Matt Polovin. "We always seem to be better than the other team, win or lose, it's just that with all the chances on goal we don't put them in like we should."