Nothing left to give
By JOHN SAHLY
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jsahly@daily-chronicle.com
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| DeKalb’s Eric Galvan (left) kicks the ball down field before Freeport’s Dylan Lutz can stop him during the IHSA Class 2A Freeport Sectional championship match Friday night in Belvidere. DeKalb lost, 1-0, in a shootout. (Rob Winner – rwinner@daily-chronicle.com ) |
BELVIDERE – His face caked in mud and barely recognizable, Jake Johnsen struggled to find the words after an epic match that was inches from going the other way.
"We came out and gave it everything we had," he said. "Nobody left anything on the field."
DeKalb and Freeport battled all the way to a shootout on a windy and muddy Friday night in the Class 2A Freeport Sectional final at Belvidere. After a scoreless regulation and four golden-goal overtime periods, Freeport prevailed in the last round of the shootout, winning it 3-2 for a 1-0 victory and the sectional title.
"It's a tremendous way to win, but it's an even more difficult way to lose," DeKalb coach Brent McIntosh said.
The Barbs (15-7-4) took a 1-0 lead in the shootout after Freeport (21-2-3) goalie Scott Kesler put his shot high and Pat Rouke found the back of the net on a shot low and to the right. But Freeport tied it in the next round on a goal by Nick Dace and Keith Hendley's shot was tipped over the net by Kesler. The Barbs got the lead back on a goal by Joe Ferguson, but the Pretzels answered in the next round on a goal to the lower right corner of the net by Mike Gordon. Eric Galvan's attempt was blocked.
With the shootout tied at 2, Dylan Lutz made his shot for Freeport and Niko Tsiagalis' shot got tipped wide by Kesler.
"Credit the keepers," McIntosh said. "Our PK takers did a great job. They put it on frame and the keeper made three good saves."
Facing wind gusts of 20-25 mph that caused several kicks and headers to either hang in the air for a few extra seconds or even go backward, whichever team had the wind clearly was the aggressor.
DeKalb had the wind in the first half and outshot the Pretzels 11-0, including several close chances by Tsiagalis and Johnsen, but Freeport turned away DeKalb each time. The team without the wind totaled three shots in regulation compared to 21 for the team with the wind at its back.
"It's a completely different game," Johnsen said. "When you have the wind at your back you're an offensive team."
Facing a consistent barrage of shots from all angles in the second half from Freeport. DeKalb goalkeeper Adam Lorenz came up with several big saves, none bigger than a shot from Luke Dahms that Lorenz had to leap just to tip over the net.
"He was just miraculous, unbelievable," Johnsen said. "Some of those saves, you could feel the season on the line and he pulled it off."
In overtime, and with the ball consistently covered in mud, each team had only a few chances. DeKalb midfielder Sammy Lake appeared to be taken down from behind in the penalty box just 30 seconds into the first overtime, but no call was made.
Freeport thought it had the match won with a few minutes left in the fourth overtime when Mike Gordon's header on a cross went inches wide. DeKalb's defense stiffened and the Barbs shook it off to get another chance before the final overtime ended.
"Freeport's a really good team and to hold them at bay the way we did for 60-plus minutes against the wind is a tremendous accomplishment," McIntosh said. "It doesn't get us anything, but I think that it definitely serves notice that this was a tremendous team."
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