Ben Lodewyk knew the drill.
And the Timothy Christian goalkeeper delivered.
Lodewky stopped a shot in the 10th round of the shootout, and Timothy Christian beat Harvard 10-9 in a marathon penalty kicks round after a 1-1 regulation in a Class 1A state semifinal Friday night.
“Knowing that if you save one, the game’s over, it’s just so much pressure,” Lodewyk said.
Every shooter had converted until Lodewyk stopped Harvard goalkeeper Humberto Hernandez, diving to his right to clinch it.
Timothy Christian (19-4-1), which plays Columbia for the title at 5 p.m. today, prevailed in a shootout for the second game in a row.
This one was a little more nerve-wracking.
“We went into PKs in the super-sectional [against Latin], and I didn’t even have to shoot,” said Lodewyk, who converted his penalty kick in the fifth round Friday.
Harvard (22-5) had rallied with just 5:39 left in regulation, as a Diego Hernandez shot deflected off a Timothy Christian player and got by Lodewyk.
But the Trojans found a way.
“We just stayed together,” Lodewyk said. “We didn’t let it really bother us.”
Tyler Vlasak scored for Timothy Christian in the 24th minute, going up the left side and finishing.
After tying it late, Harvard kept the pressure on even into overtime, sending a close shot off-target with less than 10 seconds left before penalty kicks.
And while both teams were perfect through the first nine rounds of the shootout, both keepers came close on a couple shots.
Harvard’s Hernandez just missed on that big save, with a shot slipping underneath him in the seventh round.
“Both keepers got a piece of a couple, and it was only a matter of time,” Timothy Christian coach Joe Grit said.
And he’s certainly happy it was his goal that came through.
“The smiles and the memories, these players are never gonna forget that,” Grit said.
