Boys soccer: Chargers survive elements, Jacobs for 3A title
Prior to Saturday's 3A Rockford Auburn regional championship, Dundee-Crown and Jacobs paused their warmups to marvel as pilots were visible while appearing to land nearly sideways at a local air strip.
A bigger marvel was that neither team wanted to leave the field as sleet continued to pelt the field immediately after Dundee-Crown's nail-biting 2-0 victory over the Golden Eagles.
Jacobs was drained from both disappointment and fatigue in battling into the teeth of a relentless wind against their Fox Valley rivals in falling short of a fourth consecutive regional crown.
Even with the sting of wind-swept freezing rain, the Chargers still took celebratory photos having earned the school's second regional plaque for boys soccer. Emotions and physical play dominated the rematch between teams that battled to a 1-1 deadlock through 100 minutes 18 days before.
"Earlier this season we sometimes lacked consistency, but today they did what we asked them to do which was play their hardest from the start to the end," veteran D-C coach Reynaldo Vargas said. "Everything came together today and we finally got another regional title."
The Chargers' (18-3-4) previous hardware came in 2016 while last season they fell short by a 1-0 tally to another FVC foe in Crystal Lake South. Dundee-Crown advances to Wednesday's 7 p.m. semifinal in the Hampshire sectional facing a Streamwood (16-4-3) crew that won its own regional defeating Larkin 3-0.
Jacobs (9-8-4) not only had three straight regional triumphs, but had back-to-back sectional hardware as well with the added distinction of having been beaten by the state's fourth-place 3A finisher the last two seasons.
"We went from a young group that struggled early to a team that began connecting well and finding success by season's end, so I couldn't be prouder of their effort," Jacobs coach Colin Brice said. "Despite the adverse conditions, we especially created opportunities in the second half."
Brice had particular praise for senior goalie Anthony Riportella, who went from backup to starter following the loss of season-long stalwart Preston Krahl to a knee injury.
Dundee-Crown won the coin flip and courageously gambled on electing to face the wind in the first half which required accurate passing to move the ball. That focus paid off just 5:10 into match when Calvin Carlos blasted a 19-yarder that curved out of Riportella's reach and ricocheted off the right post and in.
"Last year when we lost to South, I was sitting on the bench unable to make a difference, so I made up my mind that couldn't happen again," Carlos said in regard to his fifth goal and third game-winner of the season. "We've got a lot of seniors so it feels good to win for them, my school and my family."
The Chargers added to their lead at 19:23 when Baltazar Rodriguez's first assist put Thomas Sarmiento in the clear for a 23-yard rocket that caromed down and in off the crossbar. Despite initial confusion the linesman and official agreed the ball hit inside the goal and spun outward.
"We practice and practice for opportunities like this," said Sarmiento after his sixth goal. "All I wanted to do was hit it big enough to score."
The first half closed with the start of visible snow pellets. As the second half continued, there were periods of decreased visibility as the wind picked up enough to drive the sleet horizontally. According to the Rockford International Airport, wind gusts topped out at 61 miles-per-hour and at one point was strong enough to move backpacks, coats and water bottles.
That prompted the day's best line from Charger assistant Sebastian Falinski: "Someone hold on to Ashton (Ajroja)."
Dundee-Crown's diminutive freshman not only wasn't blown away, but the 5-4 midfielder was one of many Charger reserves providing quality minutes of relief to allow Vargas to keep fresh players to check Jacobs' increased attack. Despite literally having high shots stalled in the air or occasionally driven back, the Golden Eagles matched Dundee-Crown in overall attempts (five) for the second half and actually owned a 3-1 edge for shots on goal.
Chargers backup keeper Venancio Mejia took over in goal for the last seven minutes after starter Damien Smiech landed awkwardly while making a diving stop.