Neal Boyer Post-Tribune correspondent
10/21/2008
One week after winning their first boys soccer sectional, the Slicers earned their first regional championship with a stunning 2-0 win over Valparaiso. And, fittingly, they did it Saturday night with another first.
LaPorte had never beaten Valparaiso. The No. 9-ranked Vikings were heavy favorites at home after beating host LaPorte 3-1 earlier.
The Slicers came in just 7-11-1, while Valparaiso was 12-4-1.
Even more amazing is that LaPorte managed just two shots on goal -- both went in off set pieces as Valparaiso outshot the Slicers 11-2.
Midway through the first half, senior Joel Diehl's header off Caleb Bede's free kick made it 1-0.
"The cross came in, I jumped up, the ball hit my forehead and went in off a defender," Diehl said of only his second goal. "That was huge. It gave us a lift but we tried to act like it was 0-0."
"Their first goal was a deflection," Vikings coach Danny Jeftich said. "That's what (sophomore keeper) AJ Ratajac said. This is disheartening. I feel real bad for our (eight) seniors; they played their hearts out. But we move on. Our (14) juniors will remember this night and hopefully go farther."
Valparaiso has won four regionals, the last in 2005.
LaPorte will play Mishawaka Marian, a 2-0 winner over South Bend Clay at LaVille, in Saturday's Crown Point Semistate. Marian has won three regionals.
Coach Chris Buresh, chilled by a water shower and the shocking upset, noted, "We've been in this position before, up 1-0 at the half. But we'd always blow it. It was nice for us to capitalize on the first goal but the second was huge."
It came off Bede's corner kick with 19:18 left. Senior Nate Edquist scored on a nifty header, his third goal of the year.
"We missed an assignment," Jeftich said. "Who should mark him? It was an uphill battle after that."
Senior goalie Grant Noakes did the rest, posting his sixth shutout in the last seven games and eighth overall.
The 6-foot-6 keeper made five saves the first half and six in the second as Valparaiso came out firing.
"I had some key saves, one real good one the first half," he said. "We couldn't get down early. The second goal lifted a weight off my shoulders."
Said Diehl: "The second half we all played defense to help take the load off Grant."
There were so many orange-clad Slicers in the box in the second half that it looked like a packed pumpkin field. Noakes had five or six helpers on nearly every shot in the second half, with several balls headed or kicked out of the box.
One of the most frustrated Vikings was top scorer Torrey Brock. He got off four shots after the break, all hard but right at Noakes from about 18 to 20 yards. He only had to dive a couple times.
"Getting one goal each half helps," Buresh said. "We were fortunate tonight. Valpo's a very good, talented team. The last time we sat back the first half. Tonight we tried to force the issue from the start."
When asked if his team might have taken LaPorte lightly, Jeftich replied, "perhaps."
"We may have been a little overconfident," he said. "We dominated them 3-1 the first time. Our defense was super, allowing only a PK goal."
His defense was good enough to hold LaPorte to just two shots Saturday; neither Vikings goalie had a save.
Jeftich said there's been "a few games over my career as a player and coach where a team gets just two shots and wins. Their keeper played big with some good saves."
Valparaiso also got five corner kicks to just one by LaPorte, which made it count.
As Slicers fans roared at the final horn, three Vikings lay prone on the cold turf in disbelief and shock.
"Life goes on," Jeftich said.
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