More OT before shootouts in soccer playoffs

Like an unpleasant in-law at a family party, the shootout in soccer has seemingly always been grudgingly tolerated.

"I like them," said Naperville North junior Andrew Menendez, "when we win."

Menendez's qualifying statement underscores how people in the sport tend to feel about the shootout, when five players and a goalkeeper from each team strive to do what regulation play and overtime periods can fail to do: decide a winner.

This season the IHSA has added a wrinkle to postseason games that end in a tie. Illinois teams will play four 10-minute overtime periods in all regional, sectional and supersectional games, instead of the two overtimes previously required.

The rule also applies to state quarterfinal and semi-final games. The four-overtime rule was already in place for both Class A and Class AA title games.

The new rule is aimed at increasing the chances that a game will be decided on the field; the paradox is that while shootouts aren't the preferred method, they arguably inspire as much high drama and sudden, intense emotion as any other part of a soccer game.

"Everyone will tell you that the adrenaline rush is addictive, and in soccer the only thing equivalent to it is that golden goal in overtime," said Wheaton North coach Bryce Cann. "That's the type of adrenaline that you get from a shootout."

As thrilling as shootouts can be, however, some coaches would relegate them to the postseason alone. Neuqua Valley lost a shootout during the Quincy tournament for its lone regular-season loss this year, bouncing them to the third-place game.

Afterward, Wildcats coach Jim Johns was told that a coin flip could have instead been used to determine tournament advancement.

"We would have taken the coin flip -- and taken the tie," Johns said. "The other team's coach said he would have flipped a coin, too."

Top secret plans

As the postseason nears, many teams begin preparing in earnest for shootouts, but don't ask for too many specifics about that preparation because you'll come up empty.

"No comment," said Johns, when asked how his squad trains for shootouts.

"That's as much as I'll say about it," Cann said, after giving away very little elaboration on the subject of particular preparation techniques.

Secrecy and mystery are big in shootouts, from training to participation. A few years ago, a Waubonsie Valley player hit the winning shot in a postseason shootout and was asked by reporters how he approached taking such shots.

"I always shoot to the right side," he said.

Warriors coach Angelo DiBernardo overhead the comment and interrupted the interview.

"Don't tell them that," DiBernardo said to his player, not wanting such information disseminated in the local press as a scouting report for future opponents.

The shooter controls all the mystery in a shootout, while the keeper is left to read his hips, his eyes or any other tip-off toward making a good guess at where the ball is headed.

For shooters, a poker face and a commitment to the shot can go a long way.

"Pick your spot and don't hesitate," Menendez said. "Don't give it away, shoot it like a normal shot and don't change your mind midway through the shot. Go for the spot you were going to go to."

Psychobattle

Naturally, mind games are always a part of the process.

"A lot of guys will line up one way, look at one side of the goal and then go the other way," said Naperville North goalkeeper Jon Emerson.

Facing a clear disadvantage in trying to stop a shot taken from point-blank range, goalkeepers are particularly prone to playing mind games during a shootout. Former Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Pat Sperry would squat down in front of the ball as a shooter approached from midfield, staring up at him and trying to place an iota of doubt inside his head.

In the girls game state champion Waubonsie Valley's goalkeeper Claire Hanold tries to shake hands with each shooter prior to the shot, purely as a method of getting inside their heads.

Former U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel would stretch flat-footed and touch the crossbar with both hands prior to facing a penalty kick, allowing the shooter to soak in the image of his lengthy frame before taking the shot.

While Wheaton Warrenville South's 6-foot-7 keeper Randall Babb could easily embrace Friedel's tactic, he's not particularly interested in toying with a shooter's psyche.

"I'd rather just get on my line and get ready to try to stop the shot," Babb said.

The longer a shootout goes on, the more the pressure mounts on shooters and keepers alike, and the bigger the emotional high becomes once a deciding shot or save occurs.

"You try to block it out, but you're definitely aware that a stop here, or a shot there, is going to win it," Babb said. "But you can't get too caught up in whether your team is up or down in the shootout."

"You want your shooters to relax, and you want your goalkeeper to be almost bursting to make that one or two saves that can win a game for you," Cann said.

Neuqua Valley's Andy Read did just that, making the only save in 10 shots taken during the shootout that gave the Wildcats their win over Naperville Central in the Best of the West tournament title game this year.

Babb and Emerson also came up big this year, each stopping multiple shots in shootout wins this season.

The hero moment

Some coaches never expect their goalkeeper to stop a shootout kick, while some ask for 1 save of the 5 shots taken. Emerson stopped 3 shots in a shootout against Lincoln-Way Central, and Babb stopped 2 shots in a shootout win over Kelly en route to the Tigers' title win of this year's formidable Pepsi Tournament.

"It was great to stop those shots, but it was even better to see the reaction from my teammates," Babb said. "That was the best part."

"It's one of the best feelings in the world, because it's almost like winning a game by yourself," Emerson said. "Once I stopped the second one I knew it was over, because my teammates are amazing at PKs."

"There's not that much pressure because the odds are against you, and when you stop one, it's amazing," said Wheaton North keeper Josh Giuliano. "It's definitely one of the highlights of any game."

So during this year's post-season, if 120 minutes of postseason soccer don't manage to give up a winner, fans, players and coaches will all hold their breath and look to the shootout. And while they'd all rather see games decided strictly by the play on the field, the physical demands of the sport simply prohibit it.

Players invariably not only begin to run out of steam after 80 minutes of regulation play, but the longer they play, the likelihood of injury also unavoidably increases.

"It's not like baseball, where you can play it forever until somebody wins," said Naperville Central coach Jay Konrad. "Until I hear of a better way to break a tie in soccer, I've got no problem with going to shootout."

"In terms of in-the-moment, there's nothing better than winning a shootout," Babb said. "As a goalkeeper, it's your time to shine."