Oliver's PK goal keeps CL South unbeaten in FVC

Charlie Oliver had played enough soccer for one day.

So the Crystal Lake South junior forward made sure the Gators went home Tuesday a winner.

Oliver's penalty kick goal with 6:13 remaining in the first overtime, which sailed past Jacobs goalie AJ Pfatschbacher, gave the Gators a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Golden Eagles in a Fox Valley Conference showdown in Crystal Lake.

"Our team deserved to win because they fought and worked so hard," said Oliver, who now has 21 goals this season. "I have struggled with my penalty kicks so I wanted to make sure I really concentrated and scored. I have been thinking too much with my penalty kick shots so I just went out there and shot the ball. It was a great win against a very good Jacobs team."

Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen was confident Oliver would score the winning goal.

"Charlie has been in so many pressure situations in club ball and in high school," said Allen. "He is the person you want shooting for the win. He came up big again and gave us the big win."

Oliver's penalty kick came about when Gator midfielder Mike Hernandez was tackled in the penalty box by a Jacobs defender.

"Give Mike credit for putting pressure on the Jacobs defense," said Allen. "He did a good job of getting into a position to score and he got fouled."

Jacobs (9-4-0, 6-2), which out shot Crystal Lake South (15-1-2, 9-0) 5-3, had a golden opportunity to score in the first half. Off a corner kick from Eric Soto, Taylor Pignataro placed himself in front of the goal. Pignataro blasted a shot from 5 yards out on South goalie David Walsh. Walsh got a hand on the ball and pushed it over the net.

Walsh registered his 13th shutout of the season.

"David Walsh has been outstanding all season and he was great today," said Allen. "The back line defense in front of David was also outstanding.

"Jacobs has a dangerous attack and we did a great job of stopping them."

South, which didn't get a shot on goal until there was only 4:02 left in the game, had its best opportunity to score with 2:24 remaining. Travis Bittenbender broke through the Jacobs defense and hammered a shot on Pfatschbacher, but the Jacobs goalie was able to make the save.

"The kids did everything we asked of them but put the ball in the net," said Jacobs coach AJ Cappello. "It was a great defensive battle and both teams showed a lot of heart and desire to defend."