SJ-O soccer falls in thriller

CATLIN — The last game of the season didn't go the way the SJ-O soccer team wanted it to; but at least the Spartans went out fighting.

Salt Fork forward Jordan Romo snuck a goal past SJ-O backup goalie Dan Schuele with two minutes remaining in double overtime as the Storm topped the Spartans 2-1 in IHSA Class 1A soccer regional action Wednesday.

St. Joseph-Ogden lost 4-1 to the Storm last month at home and entered Tuesday's match on a three-week losing streak. The Spartans played better at the end of the regular season than the beginning, but a stiffer schedule kept them out of the win column.

Looking for their program's first ever postseason win, the Spartans pushed the Storm to the brink.

"I didn't want us to come out here and be flat and we weren't, we battled this team to the end of double overtime," SJ-O coach Richard Vetter said. "Obviously it hurts because it's a loss, but you can't ask the kids to play any harder. They laid it all on the line."

Austin Baker scored for SJ-O in an exciting first half. Tied 1-1 at the break, the teams played to a draw in the second period. SJ-O had two quality shots on goal in the final five minutes of regulation but was unable to capitalize.

Romo finally did for Salt Fork in overtime, sneaking through a golden goal more than two hours after the opening kick.

This is the first year the IHSA has used sudden death in playoff overtime games. Up until this year, the IHSA held two 10-minutes overtime periods then went to a shootout.

Vetter said the rule change forced the Spartans to alter their strategy.

"I thought we were going to get 20 (minutes), so I thought we would still have some time to score," Vetter said. "We kind of needed to drop back a little more on defense while still trying to be aggressive on offense."

SJ-O finishes the year 4-17-1. Vetter knows the Spartans' record wasn't great, but he is optimistic for the group he'll return in 2011. SJ-O played better than its record indicated and

Vetter said they always played hard.

"If we continue to work as hard this next summer as we did this past summer, I think we'll be able to be pretty good," he said.