Bender's goal finally ends it for Spartans

Several times over the first 98 minutes, Nick Bender had the ball -- and the match -- on his foot. The senior midfielder for Marian Catholic either fired wide, or was saved, or had a defender upon him before he could either shoot or pass.

As a result of Bender's missed opportunities and a host of similar occurrences on the opposition side, the Spartans' Class 3A regional final match against Lincoln-Way Central at Homewood-Flossmoor went through regulation, and the first 10-minute overtime period, and the first eight minutes of the second overtime, scoreless.

Then Jonathan Avila, Bender's teammate, spotted Bender with a one-on-one opportunity. The ball came to Bender. He turned and beat Central goaltender Tommy Wardynski with an off-speed roller from close range 8 minutes, 36 seconds into the second overtime, giving Marian Catholic a 1-0 sudden-death victory and a berth against Andrew in the sectional semifinal on Tuesday.

"Jon's pass was immaculate," Bender said. "I couldn't ask for anything better."

Marian (9-13-2) fell to Andrew earlier in the season, but has at least one advantage in the sectional. The school is hosting it.

"It was an even game," Marian coach Nassar Shahtaji said. "It just came down to one occasion, we executed, and that was it. Bender, he placed it. He had a lot of chances in the first half, missed a lot of shots, and was really upset at himself. We talked on the sideline about forgetting about what happened earlier."

That worked, but not before the Knights (7-12-3) had one solid chance in sudden-death. Keenan Balle worked the ball within 18 yards of the goal and was about to take a shot when Marian defender Adam Hutchinson made a smothering block.

Knights coach Dan Radz, disturbed by the pressure his team failed to apply, thought the loss of midfielder Nate O'Connor to a calf injury in the final minute of the second half helped decide the outcome.

"That kid's our hub in the back," Radz said. "When you don't have your sweeper, it's 'Oh no.' You sit there, pray, and try to readjust."

The Knights had a territorial advantage early in regulation play, with Phil Galounis threatening to score on a pair of occasions in the first half. In the second half, Galounis was stopped by Marian goalkeeper Ryan Rudolf on a 23-yard free kick. Later in the half, Conor Bartuch drove a point-blank shot at Rudolf for an easy save.

On the other end, Bender provided the only legitimate threats, but Wardynski was his equal until the overtime winner.

"I was thinking we'd have to wait for a perfect pass, because Lincoln-Way was defending really well," Bender said.

"We told the kids if we survived the first half, weathered the storm, we had a chance to play them," Shahtaji said. "We did that. The last 10 minutes of the first half, it was us. The longer it went, we had a better chance."