Crusaders win district in shootout

~ Saxony Lutheran ended a scoreless duel with four goals in shootout

FESTUS, Mo. -- Saxony Lutheran senior Shawn Hadler tried to simplify his approach to his penalty kick with the Class 1 District 1 boys soccer title on the line Monday.

"Just hit the goal, hit the goal," he said. "Just focus on hitting the goal. If you hit the goal, it has a chance of going in. That was the biggest thing."

Hadler blasted his shot to the middle of the goal where St. Pius goalie Garrett McDowell was standing before making a futile dive.

Hadler pumped his fist and yelled, "Yeah," as he streaked toward his teammates in celebration.

Saxony Lutheran's Ryan Sprandel, right, tries to put a shot on goal with his head during overtime.

Hadler's goal provided an insurmountable 4-1 lead in penalty kicks and the Crusaders' second district title in three years.

"All I thought was if he blocks it, we're still up a goal," Hadler said. "Logan [Sprandel] did a good job putting that first one in. [Matt] Stueve putting that next one in, they took a lot of pressure off me. They started it. I just finished it."

The Lancers controlled play for most of the game, but neither team managed to score before the shootout. The Crusaders converted all four of their attempts, which is surprising since it was their first shootout this season and they don't work on penalty kicks in practice.

"We just get out before practice and do a lot of shooting beforehand," said Saxony senior Gus Klaus, who scored the Crusaders' third attempt. "You just have to go up and have confidence in yourself that you're going to make the shot."

The lack of experience in shootouts didn't worry Crusaders coach Ryan Schweain. He didn't change his team's strategy to avoid heading to a shootout.

Saxony Lutheran's Taylor Johnson challenges St. Pius goalkeeper Garrett McDowell for the ball during the second overtime period in the Class 1 District 1 title game Monday in Festus, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

"I definitely wasn't gambling by pushing up any backs or anything," Schweain said. "I knew we had a very good keeper so I was confident going into the shootout. I knew with him in between the sticks, he would come up with a big save, even though he really didn't have to."

Logan Sprandel converted the Crusaders' first attempt, a low shot that sneaked inside the right post for the 1-0 lead.

"If he would have missed that one, I don't know if it would have turned out the same," Saxony senior goalie Matt Stueve said. "It would have put a lot more pressure on me to stop another one."

St. Pius junior Chad Otec then booted his attempt over the goal and hit the upright on the football goalpost.

The Crusaders (13-13) then called on Stueve for the team's second attempt.

"I was kind of nervous because I haven't taken a shot all season pretty much," Stueve said. "That was my first goal of the year. Before games, I take a lot of penalty kicks because I'm just waiting back here to warm up. I guess the practice paid off."

Stueve sent his into the low left corner for the 2-0 lead.

"I knew exactly where I was going," he said. "I kind of looked to the other side and went to the other side where he wasn't going."

Lancers junior Brennon Lauterwasser beat Stueve to cut the Crusaders' lead to 2-1, but Klaus then converted his for the 3-1 lead.

St. Pius sophomore Matt Wilson took the next attempt and smacked the cross bar with his shot, which put Hadler in position to win it.

"We weren't worried if it did go to shootout because we knew we probably had a better goalie," Hadler said. "One way or another, if it came down to PKs, we weren't worried about it."

St. Pius (15-10-1) definitely created the better scoring chances during regulation. Stueve made a beautiful save with just more than six minutes left in the opening half when he knocked a rocket of a shot into the air then barely grabbed it before it crossed the goal line. The play even left one St. Pius player begging the linesman to rule it a goal.

Stueve came up big again early in the second half when a St. Pius shot hit the post and Stueve knocked away the rebound shot. He also made a diving save in the final two minutes to keep the game scoreless.

"It's very frustrating," St. Pius coach Dan Bokern said about the missed opportunities. "It's hard. Mostly, I try not to get up and down because you'd go nuts. We definitely had some good chances. It's a shame they didn't go in. They played good D and their goalie made some good saves."

Saxony Lutheran generated its most pressure in the second overtime but couldn't get one past McDowell.

"I'm not sure if they were wearing down a little bit or if we played with a lot more heart," Schweain said about the second overtime. "We really went after it that second overtime. They wanted it."

The Crusaders advanced to the sectional round, which will be played Nov. 9. Saxony will face Bayless, a 4-2 winner over Maplewood on Monday.

"It's amazing, especially senior year, just to win districts again by PK," Hadler said. "It was a hard-fought game and St. Pius is a good team. It just feels amazing."