Kankakee Valley High School

The KV varsity boys soccer team lost a tight conference battle on Wednesday against the visiting Andrean 59ers on Senior Night. After a back-and-forth affair that saw Kankakee Valley outshoot its opponent, both teams would need extra time and a penalty kick shootout to decide the winner after a 0-0 score. In the shootout, the visitors came out on top converting four goals to the Kougars three. In the first half, KV held more of the possession and created a lot of opportunities in the Andrean defensive third of the field. There were sequences of four or more pass buildups through the midfield that put the 59ers on their heels defensively at times. KV's best chances in the half came off shots by freshman Bryce Moore, senior Landon Palfi, sophomore Jorge Pena, and freshman Landon Smedley. The Andrean goalkeeper was up to the task and made the necessary saves to keep the Kougars off the scoreboard. The second half was more of the same for the Kougars. They had more of the serious chances and held more of the possession moving the ball well in the midfield. The defense was also strong and limited Andrean's attack with some of their skilled technical players. With neither team able to get on the scoreboard, the game was sent to two 7 minute overtime periods. More specifically in the second overtime, the Kougars had the best chance of the night to win the game. Senior Landon Palfi beat multiple defenders off the dribble and found himself six yards out with just the goalkeeper to beat. His low shot to the left corner was saved by the outstretched legs of the Andrean goalkeeper to keep the game knotted at 0-0. As the sands of the hour glass ran out after two overtime periods, the game would head into a penalty kick shootout to decide the winner. In the shootout, KV would take a 2-1 lead after the Kougars made their first two attempts and Andrean's second attempt hit off the right post. KV led 3-2 after three rounds before the Kougar's fourth attempt was saved and Andrean converted making the score 3-3 going into the fifth round. In the final round, Andrean converted their penalty kick and KV's attempt sailed wide left. "A cruel way to end the game," said head KV coach Jovan Jeftich. "You never want a game to be decided on penalty kicks, but that's what the soccer gods had in mind tonight. "I thought we played our best game of the season. We controlled the ball for much of the game and had the more serious scoring chances. We were just one pass, touch, or shot away from winning tonight. I commend my team for how well we played and hope we can continue playing this way as we finish up our regular season and head into sectionals next week. I also want to thank my four seniors for how well they played tonight in their last home regular season game." Prior to tonight's game senior players Landon Palfi, Jake Hamstra, Trevor Poplawski, and Liam Ooms were honored with their parents in a pre-game ceremony. They were also honored after the game with friends, family, teammates, and coaches with post-game soda refreshments. The Kougars will have a quick turnaround as they return to action on Thursday when they travel to in-town rival Demotte Christian. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Game Statistics Saves Damien Vargas 6 Record 4-10 (0-6 NCC)