Shootouts get a winner, but little else

FENTON -- Almost everyone at the Anheuser-Busch Center for the state soccer final four would agree that it's a shame to have a soccer game end in penalty kicks.

Almost everyone.

"I like that as a method of deciding games," Helias keeper Jorden Bax said. "It's fun for the keeper. The keeper never gets enough glory, but when he gets in that situation, it's his time to shine."

Bax was the one who took the spotlight Friday afternoon in the Class 2 state semifinal game, stopping three of Notre Dame's first four penalty kicks and watching the fifth one roll by the goal, as the Crusaders posted a 2-1 advantage in the penalty kick session.

That gave Helias a 1-0 win against Notre Dame after the teams played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer.

The heartbreak belonged to Notre Dame's Ryan Bass, who made some big saves during regulation and overtime to keep the two-time defending state champions from bowing out earlier. But Bass was unable to stop Helias' first two PKs, and he also was Notre Dame's fifth kicker in PKs. With the Bulldogs trailing 2-1, Bass rolled his kick wide left with Bax having guessed the other side. That miss clinched the match for Helias, although coach Chuck Register said he wasn't watching.

"I don't watch them, I don't watch penalty kicks," Register said. "All I do is tell from reaction."

Bax, a senior, is in his first year at keeper for Helias, which also won in penalty kicks earlier this year against Francis Howell North.

"It's got to end," Register said, "but you never want it to end that way because both teams played so great. Both keepers had such a great game, and you hate to put it on them. But one's got to win, one's got to lose, we've got to go on."

Helias will go on to today's 5 p.m. title game against St. Dominic. Notre Dame will play 11 a.m. in the third-place game against Kansas City Pembroke Hill.

The Bulldogs and all-stater Bass were in a PK situation for the first time this season.

"No one likes to end a game on PKs," Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn said. "Even if you win a game on PKs, you hurt for the other team.

"Their keeper made some nice saves, Ryan made some nice saves in PKs, but I think any soccer coach would rather end the game on the field. Especially Notre Dame because I think we use our bench more than anybody else. If the game keeps going, I think eventually we win it because we use our bench a lot."

Notre Dame senior Joda Holloway, one of three Bulldogs kickers to have a PK blocked by Bax, was not as critical of the process.

"The game has got to end somehow," he said. "The best team doesn't always win, but some team has got to win.

"If the game is that even, and either team deserves to win, it's a shame just one team gets to go on."