Galesburg’s strike with 2:21 remaining sends Silver Streaks past Streator in regional final

OTTAWA – There weren’t a lot of great scoring opportunities Saturday in the final of the Class 2A Ottawa Regional, but the Streator Bulldogs and Galesburg Silver Streaks both had a few of them.

Unlike the seventh-seeded Bulldogs, the third-seeded Silver Streaks managed to cash one in.

Galesburg defensive midfielder Chase Parcel crept up and found a clean shot in the chaos following a throw-in to the goal box, booting it home past diving Streator keeper Andrew Vogel with 2 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in a scoreless match and propelling Galesburg on to the 2A Dunlap Sectional, 1-0.

“I know we’d had a couple opportunities with the throw-in,” said Parcel, “so I wanted to get into the box because time was running out. My teammate Jepthe [Milambu] headed it right to my feet, and I just saw an opening and shot it.”

What did he think when it sailed in?

“That we were winning,” Parcel said.

Parcel’s shot was a no-doubt laser beam made possible by a strong throw and a header to the center by Milambu.

“They obviously did a good job scouting us,” Silver Streaks coach Phil Redington said. “We just tweaked the pattern slightly for the last 20 minutes, and that created some opportunities for our defensive midfielders to drive into space. Chase saw space in front of him, knew he could take one person on and get a shot off, and he did it to perfection.”

It was the best of a small handful of good chances the Silver Streaks had on a day they outnumbered Streator in shots on goal 15-12. The Bulldogs, though, arguably had a few more truly threatening shot attempts that sailed wide, hit the crossbar or were saved by Vogel’s counterpart, Caleb Johnson (seven saves, shutout).

Connor Decker had probably Streator’s best scoring opportunity in the second half, launching a shot with 20:20 left in regulation that Johnson dove to just barely stop. It was not quite midway through the first half, though, when the Bulldogs had their best chances.

That included a string of three consecutive corner kicks that led to a Galesburg handball a few feet in front of the goal. That handball led to a solidly struck Noah Russow penalty shot that sailed menacingly – but ultimately harmlessly – over the left goal post.

“This was going to be a game of defenses, and you saw it,” Streator coach J.T. Huey said. “Things didn’t turn until the last three minutes [of the second half], and it was in the same respect as the first half with our PK. We didn’t finish. Unlucky, but PKs are like that. They’re wonky.

“Galesburg happened to bang one in. ... We didn’t.”

Galesburg played with a bit more speed and on-the-ball skill than Streator. The Bulldogs countered with slightly better defensive discipline and a lot more physicality, with seniors Aaron Henson, Blaize Bressner and Jordy Sanchez, sophomore Adrian Granados and junior Joe Hoekstra all making shot-preventing plays in front of Vogel (10 saves, one goal allowed).

“We really just tried to body them up, stay on them, not give them any distance,” Hoekstra said of defending Galesburg’s tall frontline.

“I’m really happy with what we did this year. We’ve really got some momentum going into next year with these people coming up – freshmen, sophomores, even the juniors. We won’t have a lot of seniors next year, but it’s a good group coming up.”

Streator closes the season with a record of 9-15-2.

“I would say this is probably the best game we’ve played all season, hands down,” Huey said. “Against a quality, physical, athletic team, and we battled.

“We should be proud of that.”

It is the third regional championship in Galesburg boys soccer history and first since 2010. The Silver Streaks (11-8-1) advance to face top-seeded powerhouse Peoria Notre Dame on Wednesday.