Kennedy keeper sparks a win

CEDAR RAPIDS - Sometimes you just have to trust your gut.Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior goalkeeper Nathan Althoff stood alone in his goal, awaiting the penalty kick from Cedar Rapids Washington first-team all-stater Austin Bergstrom.“That was a thrill,” Althoff said after Class 3A No. 2 Kennedy defeated fifth-ranked Washington, 3-2, by edging the Warriors 4-3 in penalty kicks Tuesday night at Kingston Stadium. “You know I just had a gut feeling where he was going to go, and I had to pick it, and I'm really glad with the outcome.”For Kennedy (6-0, 2-0 MVC), the win preserved an undefeated start to their season and was their fifth against a ranked foe.“Yeah, you know, this is really good for us to see, especially early in the year,” Althoff said.“Last year we had a lot of close losses, especially against great teams, so the fact that we're getting over the hump now, it's a great feeling to have.”Kennedy junior Mitch Bobbin's penalty-kick in the 12th minute of the first half gave Kennedy a 1-0 advantage, while Washington struggled to find a spark.The Warriors tied the game before halftime when senior forward Jack Sundermann corralled a long pass that Althoff misjudged. As the Cougar keeper fell to the ground, Sundermann tapped it in the vacant net for his third goal of the season. It was the first goal surrendered by Althoff in his past four contests.“I just took too big of a touch and didn't realize how quickly he was closing me in,” Althoff said.The teams exchanged second-half goals within two minutes of one another, first by Kennedy sophomore Sameeullah Jung, then the answer two minutes later from Washington's Boris Licona-Moreno to tie the game at 2-2 and force the eventual overtime periods.