Boys soccer: Dundee-Crown ousts Streamwood on PKs
Dundee-Crown senior Roland Dearborn didn't want Saturday's Class 3A Dundee-Crown regional championship game to be his last.
Dearborn's goal in the shootout turned out to be the game-winner as No. 2 seed Dundee-Crown pulled out a hard fought 3-2 win over seventh-seeded Streamwood in rainy and muddy conditions in Carpentersville.
The Chargers scored 4 goals in the shootout compared to 3 for Streamwood.
The Chargers (13-9-1) won their second consecutive regional crown and will play Fox Valley Conference foe Huntley at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 3A DeKalb sectional.
"The seniors on this team were determined this was not going to be our last game," said Dearborn.
"On a penalty kick, it is all about being patient and picking a spot where you want to shoot it. It was a horrible day to play. You really couldn't move very well because of the water and mud. You had to stay mentally strong and our team did. What a great feeling to win back-to-back regional titles."
D-C senior goalkeeper Venancio Mejia made a crucial save in the shootout. Streamwood's Joe Sandoval blasted a shot on goal but Mejia dove to the right and pushed the ball over the net.
"Shootouts are a guessing game," said Mejia. "It is all about focus and getting a feel for where the ball is going to be shot. It was a great win. We had to stay mentally tough because of the horrible weather conditions."
Along with Dearborn, Julian Saldana, Kevin Martinez and Isaac Arroyo scored goals for the Chargers during the shootout.
"One of our goals was to win regionals and the kids really came through on a horrible day to play," said D-C coach Rey Vargas. "They played for each other and were really mentally tough. It is quite an accomplishment to win back-to-back regionals."
For the Sabres (10-9-4), goals in the shootout came from Brian Caldera, Edwin Peralta and Hugo Marquez.
"Our kids gave a great, great effort in horrible, garbage conditions," said Streamwood coach Matt Polovin. "We went to the supers (supersectionals) last season so bowing out in the regionals is very disappointing. We had six freshmen play significant minutes today so we should be strong again next season."
After a scoreless first half, the Sabres got on the scoreboard first. Mike Garcia off a perfect corner kick from Leo Magana scored with 23:05 left in regulation.
The Chargers responded with 2 goals in less than a 2-minute span. Jason Miller scored on a header off a pass from Juan Pacheco to knot the score at 1 with 20:41 left. On a great individual effort from Dearborn, the Chargers grabbed a 2-1 lead with 18:57 left. The Sabres tied the game at 2 on a penalty kick by Peralta at the 5:59 mark.
Neither team scored in the two 10-minute overtime sessions.