Dramatic win in PKs for Washington

DES MOINES - Gunnar Lenzen raised his arms and his teammates rushed across the field to mob him. That said it all.

'Live to fight another day,” the Cedar Rapids Washington goalkeeper said after the Warriors' 2-1 win over Sioux City West in a Class 3A state soccer quarterfinal drama Thursday afternoon at Cownie Park. 'The dream is still alive, and I couldn't be happier.”

Lenzen stopped three of the seven attempts that came his way in what turned out to be sudden-death penalty kicks, including the final two. He got his mitts on a shot from Juan Carlos Perez, with the ball then deflecting harmlessly off the crossbar and away to allow Washington to win the PK portion, 5-4.

Officially, Connor Geuder's penalty kick goal was the winner.

'You go in there and you try and get in their head, try to see what you think they would do,” Lenzen said. 'Watch their hips, everything. Try and do your best to get the stop.”

'He's a great keeper,” said Wash's Jake Bjornsen. 'I had all the confidence in the world in him.”

Interestingly, West (18-2) switched keepers for penalty kicks, inserting the much physically larger Manuel Garcia for Felipe Barbosa. Garcia stoned Washington's first and sixth shooters, only to have Lenzen counter both times.

'The save before (the final one) was the big one,” said Washington Coach J.P. Graham. 'They make that, the game's over. Gunnar is good. He just stays within himself and feels confident in his abilities. I'm proud of him.”

Richard Moncada's 30-yard bullet gave West a 1-0 halftime lead. Washington (15-4) made a tactical change midway through the second half that produced the tying goal.

Bjornsen went from defense to forward, taking a through ball, rushing down the left side and getting a crossing attempt off that freshman A.J. Patterson kicked in.

'I've got experience in club at forward, so Coach has been moving me up top at some points in games,” Bjornsen said. 'He thought it was a good opportunity to put Mike (Eken) back there and give a new look to the attack, I guess ... I honestly just played it into the box and hoped somebody would run onto it. A.J. made a great run and was there.”

This was Washington's first state tournament win in five years. It plays a familiar foe in Friday's 5 p.m. semifinals in two-time defending champ Iowa City West (19-1).

The Trojans won the regular-season meeting, 2-0.

'It's all the hard work and the fitness they put in to be able to battle like that,” Graham said. 'I think we wore them down there in the second half and overtime. They still had some opportunities because they are a good offensive team, but I felt like we controlled more of the play. That just goes to the guys playing hard and wanting it a little bit more.”

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