Rozycki’s Penalty Kick Blasts Howell Central To Sectional Win Over Hazelwood West

O’FALLON–Francis Howell Central senior Stephen Rozycki, despite being the Spartans leading goal-scorer this season, is not normally one of the players coach Derek Phillips would choose to take a penalty kick at the end of a game.

Not because Rozycki isn’t good at it, but because some of his Howell Central teammates seem to have a stronger propensity for making them when they take them.

But it was different Wednesday night in a Class 3 sectional playoff game at Ft. Zumwalt South’s Jack Ball Stadium, which remained tied after six rounds of penalty kicks.

Rozycki stepped up and calmly smashed a shot past Hazelwood West goalkeeper Nick Ehlers that gave the Spartans a 4-3 edge in penalty kicks and a nail-biting victory over the Wildcats.

“He’s not in our first five for striking on those (penalty kicks),” Phillips said. “But when you get past your first five, you’re looking for kids that are confident. He plays a lot of midfield, so he’s got a lot of touches on the ball, and you want someone who’s going to do it with confidence.”

And that’s exactly what Rozycki did, making his move as soon as the official blew the whistle to signal the ready for play and driving a blast into the top right corner of the net, while West’s Ehlers dove left, anticipating a shot going that way.

'Not good way to win or lose'

The Wildcats had a chance to tie, with senior Drew Foust taking his team’s seventh penalty kick attempt.

But his low shot went wide of the left post for a miss that set off a wild victory celebration on the field for the Spartans.

“It’s not a good way to win or lose a game,” West coach Jason Sellers said. “But that is part of the game, and unfortunately, we come on the wrong side of it tonight. That really is the bottom line.”

After the game went scoreless through regulation play and two overtimes, the Wildcats were able to grab the first lead in the penalty kick round, when senior Jeff Cameron slammed a shot off the left post that caromed into the net for a 1-0 lead.

But Howell Central’s Ryan Miller tied it with a score on the Spartans next attempt.

The two goalkeepers, Howell Central’s Kevin Dougherty and West’s Ehlers, followed with brilliant saves on the next attempts by both clubs to keep the score knotted at 1-1.

'Greatest feeling'

Three straight misses followed four consecutive goals, including a clutch connection with his team down 2-1 by Ehlers. That put the game on Rozycki’s foot, and he delivered a win for the Spartans.

“This was very nerve-racking,” Rozycki said. “To win this, though, is one of the greatest feelings of my life. It's amazing.”

Central (18-7-3) will now host Oakville (19-7), which defeated Rockwood Summit in another sectional round game. The Spartans and the Tigers meet in a Class 3 state quarterfinal game on Saturday at Don Muench Memorial Stadium at 3 p.m.

The winner of that contest will advance to the Class 3 boys soccer Final Four next weekend in Kansas City.

“We're thrilled,” Phillips said. “We played them earlier this year at their place on turf. It's a one-game scenario, so we're excited. (We are) maybe one game away from moving on to the final four.”

Hazelwood West, which had numerous scoring chances during the overtime period, including a close-in volley by junior Kris Ross that narrowly missed the mark, and a corner-kick header by senior John Homeyer that sailed just wide, ends its season with a 20-8 record.

“These guys would’ve loved to have a sectional win, because it would have been our first,” Sellers said. “But at the same time, this is the first time we’ve won 20 games that I remember. We’ve got back-to-back district championships for the first time that I remember. And we just accomplished a lot of special things.”

Scoring Summary

Score by Halves

F

Hazelwood West

0

0

0

0

  3

0

Francis Howell Central

0

0

0

0

  4

1