Washington puts pressure on another favorite, but Valley survives

DES MOINES – Cedar Rapids Washington followed its recipe for an upset again.

Only this time it was the Warriors left heartbroken in the final moments.

Mark Broderick converted a penalty kick in the 78th minute to lift West Des Moines Valley into Saturday's Class 3A boys' state soccer championship with a 2-1 win, leaving Washington facing the opposite emotions it experienced after a late winner Thursday.

A Tiger throw-in was flicked on by Broderick to Jordy Triana at the near post. Bennett Cooper challenged and played the ball with his hand on the goal line in defense, resulting in an immediate penalty and red card.

'That's the way it goes sometimes, get caught up in the moment and make a bad decision,' Washington Coach J.P. Graham said.

Back-up keeper Isaac Keppler got a hand to the shot, but Broderick put enough power on it to get it through.

'Definitely the most pressured (PK) I've had,' Broderick said.

AJ Patterson muscled through the Tiger defense seconds later and put a shot on goal with the outside of his right boot, only for Beau Blazek to make the save and allow No. 2 Valley (20-1) to survive.

Patterson's runs down the left and deft dribbling helped create more opportunities for Washington (14-6) in a wind-aided second half, but Valley kept the chances coming on the counter and was rewarded.

'I definitely didn't want overtime,' Broderick said. 'I was very tired, so getting that at the end was really nice.'

Washington was out-shot 12-1 in the first half and did well to keep the game deadlocked. Only 29 seconds into the second half, Valley finally found the net — on the wrong end.

A deep ball was headed by defender Connor Russo over an oncoming Blazek for a 1-0 Warrior lead. Patterson turned to the crowd, pumped his fist and yelled, but the Tigers weren't rattled.

Two minutes later, Griffin Albaugh put home a rebound for the equalizer.

'This year, it's been crazy, we've gone down so quick and we've quickly equalized,' Valley Coach Aziz Haffar said. 'Every game that we went down, we find a way to tie it and then to win. It's the sign of a very good team, a championship team.'

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It could have been enough to rattle Washington, but the Warriors managed 10 second-half shots and put the pressure on the favored Tigers. Bodey Patterson and Juluis Cooper each picked up yellow cards as the Tigers' frustration mounted and the challenges got more physical.

'They're used to blowing teams out,' Graham said. 'The longer you keep it close and make it a fight, that's what we wanted and that's what I was proud of our guys for doing.

'Still couldn't get a goal. We got some quality shots off at the very end but I wish we could have gotten a few more opportunities.'

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