Boys soccer: Jacobs survives Dundee-Crown on PKs to win sectional

As the sixth shooter for Jacobs, junior Sam Rainer would prefer to not have his number called into shootout duty.

But if he's asked to deliver in such a critical situation he's going to make sure he's prepared for it and give it his best shot.

After a Dundee-Crown player skied his shot, Rainer lined in the sudden victory tiebreaker kick, lifting the Golden Eagles to a 5-4 shootout victory after the teams had battled for 100 minutes of scoreless soccer.

Jacobs (16-4-3) advances to Tuesday's Class 3A Conant supersectional against West Chicago (21-2-3).

"I think I made it look easier than it was," Rainer said. "I made the right decision on the way to go and the keeper went the other way."

While Rainer would've preferred to win in regulation or overtime, or even in the initial shootout, the competitor in him was salivating at the opportunity afforded to him to bury the game-winner.

"At first I was a little scared, especially when we went down by one and then they missed," he said. "Once we were tied I was really excited and then they missed the last one so I knew it was up to me. While I was lining up I was really nervous but I knew I was going to sink it."

Dundee-Crown's Julian Saldana, Kevin Martinez, Juan Pacheco and Isaac Arroyo converted their PKs but the Chargers missed their final attempt while Jacobs' Jesse Nunez sank his to extend the shootout.

After the Chargers failed to convert their ensuing attempt in the sudden death session, Rainer finished in what was the team's first shootout of the season.

"We set the first five (guys) and when they went out there we let the next five know where they were at and when they were shooting," Jacobs coach Colin Brice said. "They were confident, and that's what we want when they're taking penalty kicks. Sam was perfectly comfortable being the sixth shooter. He felt confident he would make the goal."

Liam Armstrong, Alex Nicastro and John O'Connor also made PKs for Jacobs.

Strong defensive pursuit from both teams made it difficult for either team to turn possessions into solid scoring chances. Jacobs had already beaten its Fox Valley Conference foe 2-0 on Oct. 8.

"It's obviously disappointing to go out this way, but that's the way the game goes sometimes," Dundee-Crown coach Rey Vargas said. "I thought my guys did a good job of trying to contain them, to pressure them and create opportunities. That's all we could ask for, and then we took them to the PK shots and thought we had the advantage."

Ruben Zarate and O'Connor had scoring chances in the overtimes for the Golden Eagles while both teams had corner kick opportunities during the 10-minute extra sessions, but the teams locked down hard whenever a threat was presented.

"They've always been a tough team to beat," O'Connor said. "They're always tough, especially to score on with good defense and a good goalie. We had some close chances but were unable to finish and they had about the same amount of chances as well."

Playing in a supersectional isn't new territory for the Golden Eagles, but a trip to state remains elusive.

"All the teams are good and the next game against West Chicago is huge," O'Connor said. "They're very good and they've been playing tough teams. We're looking forward to it."