Host Chicago Christian dominated the first half of Saturday’s Class 1A regional final against Spry, but had just a one-goal lead to show for it as the Knights fired shot after shot off the crossbar and posts.
So if Marty Jaraczewski’s goal was lucky, like he said it was, the Knights were due.
Jaraczewski scored just over seven minutes into the second half to finally give Chicago Christian some breathing room as the Knights went on to a 4-0 win in Palos Heights.
Chicago Christian (11-14) will host Timothy Christian or Phoenix in Tuesday’s sectional semifinal.
“When Marty scored that goal, it was such a relief,” Chicago Christian’s Jake Robertson said. “That first half, we hit the post so many times. That goal helped us settle down a lot.”
Robertson was looking to connect with Josh Van Dyk on a cross, but Van Dyk couldn’t get a shot off. Jaraczewski, though, followed up and blasted a high strike in with 32:23 left in the game.
“It was a great feeling,” Jaraczewski said. “It was really a lucky ball and I was lucky to run onto it. The whole team was working so hard to get that second goal. All the glory goes to God and my teammates. We’ve been on a bit of a roll here lately and hopefully we can keep it up.”
It’s the second regional title in a row, third in four years and third in program history for Chicago Christian.
“This is huge for us,” Robertson said. “It’s my third one and this one feels great because we struggled a lot this season. We came together at the end of the year, though, and really started playing well.”
Robertson scored twice. He had the Knights’ only first-half goal, finishing off a Van Dyk pass, and converted a penalty kick to close the scoring.
Van Dyk also scored for Chicago Christian and Corey Kamp made four saves for the shutout, getting help from the back line of Jason Robertson, Ross Canfield and Trent Vande Kamp.
Irving Trujillo made five saves for the Scorpions (6-5), who nearly broke the shutout late but had an Antonio Bello shot go off the post.
If the Knights meet Timothy Christian, it’ll be third game between the two. Timothy Christian won the first and Chicago Christian took the second.
“It’ll be a tough one,” Chicago Christian coach Kelly Kirchhoff said. “We’ll see who can take the third one.”
