Updated: October 18, 2011 9:56PM

Joliet West boys soccer forward Christian Gutierrez has been waiting a long time for his first goal of the season.

What a time — and what a way to get it.

Gutierrez was on the dead run Tuesday night when he boomed the ball from the right corner, hoping it would find its way to a teammate waiting in front of the net.

Instead, Minooka’s All-Southwest Prairie Conference goalkeeper Matt Wickersham grabbed the ball. But it was wet on this cold, drizzly night. The ball escaped Wickersham’s grasp and fell just inside the goal line.

That gave West a 2-1 lead with 4:34 left and the Tigers held on to beat Minooka by that score in the second semifinal of the Class 3A Joliet West Regional.

“Man, that’s my first goal. I was looking all season for that,” Gutierrez said. “I’ve been really close but never had gotten one. I just crossed the ball to the middle and was looking for one of my teammates to knock it in.”

Instead, Gutierrez comes away the hero as second-seeded West (6-13-4) advances to Friday’s 5 p.m. regional final against Lockport, which beat the Tigers 2-0 last week.

West had taken a 1-0 lead midway through the first half when Wickersham made a diving save, but the ball slipped from his grasp and West forward Diego Alcantar was there to knock it home.

“He is an All-Conference keeper,” Minooka coach Chris Brolley said of Wickersham. “The ball slipped through his hands; we knew the elements could come into play. That’s what the playoffs are.

“The big thing is we dominated the game but we couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Minooka (8-10-1), the No. 3 seed, drew even at 1 with 11:19 left when Eric Orndorf headed in a ball that was deflected in front of the net after a throw-in. But as much pressure as the Indians exerted, they were turned away the rest of the night by West goalkeeper David Solis and the Tigers defense.

“I have great respect for Minooka and their coaching staff,” West coach Jeff Lundeen said. “They had a great plan. They did a great job possessing the ball. They were finding the ball with their feet in the second half.”

But with Miguel Ramirez and Frank Spesia manning the center defensive spots in front of Solis, who went the distance because Corey Kopchak was out after suffering a concussion during the recent game against Joliet Central, West survived to face Lockport.

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