Boys soccer: Late PK is Dundee-Crown agony, Streamwood ecstasy

Whenever a penalty kick essentially decides a match, the losing side is understandably angry while the victors rejoice in moving on.

That in a nutshell describes Streamwood's 1-0 triumph over Dundee-Crown in Wednesday's second semifinal of the Class 3A Hampshire sectional.

A hard-fought back-and-forth scoreless draw came down to a handling the ball violation whistled on Dundee-Crown with just 4:27 left in regulation. Alex Chavez converted that chance for his 18th goal of the season and fourth game-winner.

That enabled the Sabres (17-4-3) to move on to Friday's 5 p.m. championship against fellow Upstate Eight Conference member Elgin, which was a 2-0 winner over Crystal Lake Central.

That outcome also ends an otherwise stellar season for Dundee-Crown (18-4-4).

"It (stinks) to lose on a call that the official didn't appear to make until their coach (Matt Polovin) kept yelling for it," Chargers coach Reynaldo Vargas said. "It's especially tough because the boys have worked so hard. Unfortunately tight games like this sometimes come down to just one big thing."

That's not to say both sides didn't have notable opportunities throughout the two halves. In fact, Chavez was virtually trying to will a victory on his own as regulation approached the final 15 minutes. He had several absolute cannon shots that Chargers goalie Damian Smiech blocked or caught. If it were a Blackhawks match, you'd hear Pat Foley's patented "BIG SAVE."

With nine solo shutouts and two shared clean sheets, the Fox Valley Conference's premier goalie deserved better according to his coach.

"We've gotten to this point and it feels like a monkey I can't get off my back," Vargas said. "Coming up short despite tremendous effort gets old. But that's the way it goes."

"Coming off a good win for only our second regional title it's disappointing to have the season end this way," senior Arnol Batres said. "We played great in a tight game and to lose on a penalty in the last five minutes is terrible. Obviously we need to finished the chances we had."

As for Streamwood, Chavez simply looked forward to a rematch with the rival Maroons.

"It should be a great game. In this match, I had confidence in our guys getting us through," Chavez said. "In this case I just followed the PK motto which is push the ball past the keeper. It's an amazing feeling to win but it also comes down to what we practice every day."

"No question Dundee-Crown put up a real good fight," Polovin said. "Thankfully our guys simply don't stop. They play hard and then play harder. In the end, we'll take a win any way we can get it, including if it means hitting a PK."