Burlington Central sectional champs

BELVIDERE -- Many teams can ride a hot player deep into the postseason.

For Burlington Central's boys soccer team it doesn't get much hotter than goalkeeper Riley Jensen.

Jensen recorded 6 saves and pitched his third straight shutout as Central defeated Sterling 1-0 in the championship game of the Class 2A Belvidere sectional Friday.

The sectional crown is the first in boys soccer for the Rockets, who will travel to Barrington to play the winner of today's Lakes sectional championship between Lakes and Fenton.

They way things are going for the Rockets, however, it might not matter who is on the opposing side of the field. Central (19-4-3) has allowed just 1 goal in the entire postseason after holding Sterling (11-12-2) scoreless in front of a loud, energized pro-Central crowd.

“It starts with Jensen in the back,” Rockets coach Mike Gecan said. “He's a great goalkeeper. Out of all of the goalkeepers we've seen, he's been the best.”

The Golden Warriors didn't let Jensen slide by reputation alone. With just under 25 minutes left to go, Sterling freshman Conrado Solis lined up against Jensen for a penalty kick. Jensen observed Solis leaning to his left and made the adjustment. The junior grabbed the ball to prevent the goal. He made a second save after Sterling caught the rebound and looked to score quickly after the penalty kick miss.

“We've been practicing it a lot because we knew it would be a close game,” Jensen said. “I saw him favor his left, so that's the way I went.”

Sterling finished the game with 7 shots on goal and just 1 corner kick. Central had 13 total shots, but Erick Uribe's goal 10 minutes, 26 seconds into the game was all the Rockets needed.

Uribe, who has 2 of the Rockets' 4 goals in the last 3 games, took a pass from senior Kyle Reopelle and sank it past Golden Warriors' goalkeeper Kyle Mason (5 saves). This was the second-straight game in which the Rockets jumped out to an early lead and then let the defense shut down the opposition.

Brad Herron wasn't even on the roster when the season started, but found himself playing a major role in Friday's contest. Herron, who was on the junior varsity tram for the majority of the season, got the start on defense against Sterling. Gecan pointed out the strong performance from the sophomore helped slow down Sterling's lighting-quick forwards.

“It was great playing with these guys.” Herron said. “They helped me all the way through, that and the support from the crowd.”