Morton edges St Charles North in OT

Updated: September 10, 2011 10:55PM

Morton is a team thriving on living on the edge.

The Mustangs won their third consecutive one-goal match in the single-elimination Pepsi Showdown by edging St. Charles North 2-1 in overtime in a quarterfinal game Saturday in Western Springs.

Senior Jesus Morales scored his fourth goal of the season on the first shot of overtime. His 25-yard blast 2:05 into the extra session gave Morton (7-1) its second straight overtime victory and a berth in the tournament semifinals Sept. 17 against top-seeded Libertyville (7-1), which beat Lake Zurich 2-0. Lyons plays Metea Valley in the other semifinal.

“This is my last year in high school, so it’s a pretty good goal,” said Morales, who was assisted on the game-winning goal by senior forward Joel Salmeron. “Joel gave it to me, so I just touch it and shoot, so I scored. It’s [my] most exciting [goal] because [it came] in extra time.”

The seventh-seeded Mustangs are no stranger to exciting finishes. They edged Lane 2-1 in the first round Tuesday on a goal by Marcos Romo with eight minutes left and squeaked by West Chicago 2-1 in Thursday’s second round on Alonzo Torres’ goal in double overtime.

This match was no different. Morton’s Brian Tapia scored with 22:17 left in the first half, but St. Charles North (6-3) dominated the midfield play and outshot the Mustangs 12-7.

The North Stars tied the game on an own goal with 2:13 remaining in regulation when a long ball into the box by Justin Stanko glanced off the head of Morton defender Joel Leon and into the net.

Morales felt badly for his friend Leon and wanted to make amends, so he had no fear going into overtime.

“The bench was like, ‘Come on guys, you can do it, we can score,’” Morales said. “We needed to win this game.”

Salmeron, Morton’s best player, missed the first six matches with a strained MCL before playing in the overtime against West Chicago. He played 10 minutes in the quarterfinal as Morton coach Mike Caruso eases him back into shape.

Caruso said the fact the Mustangs, who are defending tournament champions, have done so well without Salmeron will pay dividends. They’ve won seven straight since a season-opening 2-0 loss to Naperville North.

“These kids are confident,” Caruso said. “They gained confidence [playing without] Joel, knowing that when he comes back, I think we’re going to be tough to beat.”

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