Boys soccer: Short-handed Dixon fends off Oregon, wins in PKs

OREGON – Another Big Northern rivalry game between Dixon and Oregon soccer at Oregon Park West, another game decided by a penalty-kick shootout.

For the third straight time the two Route 2 rivals played on the Hawks’ home field – the boys game in 2021 and the girls game last spring – the two teams played through 80 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime with nothing decided.

[ Photos of Dixon vs. Oregon boys soccer ]

And on Monday night, just like last spring for the girls game, even the PK shootout was still tied through the first round of five shots and had to be decided in sudden death.

Dixon defender Robby Ramirez scored the game-winner, blasting a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the net to give the Dukes a 2-1 victory. The senior stepped up when coach Josh Brigl asked who wanted to take the first sudden-death PK.

“I had the confidence. Hayden [Yingling] is a great shooter, Jack [Redell] is a great shooter – they can really hit it – but they were both nervous and shaking a little. I had the confidence and knew I needed to take it,” Ramirez said. “I stepped up there, I was looking right the entire time. I’ve worked on it so many times at practice, a short walk-up and just blast it.”

Oregon junior Gavin Morrow, playing keeper after starter Jameson Caposey was injured in a collision late in regulation, saved two PKs in the first round, but dived to his right as Ramirez’s shot ended up going to his left.

“It’s just a guessing game. There’s really no tells; you just kind of go with your gut, and if you guess right, great, and if you don’t, there’s nothing you can do about it,” Morrow said about the mentality as a keeper facing a PK. “When [Caposey] went down, it was either me or Danny Chisamore to play goalie; he’s pretty good, but I played it last year, so it was just an in-the-moment decision. I just said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it, why not?’ I wasn’t really thinking about it coming down to penalty kicks at the end.”

Kristian Prather gave Dixon a 1-0 lead in the first half off a Ramirez assist, then the Dukes (2-5) were forced to play a man down after losing a player five minutes into the second half to a red card for bad language after his kick went sideways. Dixon ended up outshooting Oregon in the second half and held its own for the final 35 minutes of regulation and all 10 of overtime.

In fact, another Dixon player was given a red card after yelling to a teammate after a mis-kick, and the Dukes actually played two men short for the final few minutes of overtime.

“A couple men down [stinks], but we really just had to lock in and play good defense for the last five minutes, and that’s what helped us secure the tie and get to PKs, and then win in PKs,” defender Quade Richards said.

“We’ve been through this situation before – Faith Christian last year, we were down a player within the first five minutes and then played the last nine minutes down two, so we’ve done it before,” Ramirez said. “Josh told us to just park the bus in the back, keep them off the board and get to a shootout.”

A hand ball in the box with 8:47 left in regulation led to Oregon (5-7-1) tying the game, as Steven Guardado punched his penalty kick through the outstretched hands of Dixon keeper Rex Blackburn.

“It just showed us that we could actually score in this game, and once you score, it gets things moving a little bit and kind of gives you some life,” Morrow said about the equalizer. “It really helps once we get the first goal.”

After two scoreless five-minute overtime periods, Oregon won the toss and elected to kick first in the PK shootout. Guardado’s first shot was saved by Blackburn, then Morrow made a save on Prather’s kick to open the Dixon attempts. The Hawks’ Keaton Salsbury and the Dukes’ Jayvian Herwig traded goals, then Blackburn tipped Leo Cardenas’ shot over the crossbar before Dixon took a 2-1 shootout lead on Richards’ goal.

“The adrenaline’s pumping and your heart’s racing, and you go up there to kick it and your heart starts to beat even faster. You just have to slow it down and put one in the back of the net for your team,” Richards said. “And the goalie making saves is huge, because that’s one less opportunity they have to secure a goal on us. Props to Rex; he did fantastic back there, and that fires us up.”

Chisamore tied it for Oregon with a goal, then Morrow made a save on Chris Osmer’s shot. But Morrow hit his PK attempt over the crossbar, and Dixon’s Billy Sullivan nearly finished it but saw his shot clang off the left goal post after Morrow dived the other way.

“The most important part is to put it on frame, because even if it hits [the keeper’s] hands, there’s still a chance for it to go in,” Morrow said with a sheepish grin. “So all you’ve got to do is just put it on the goal – and unfortunately, I shot mine over the goal, went a little football-mode there. Whoops.”

Cruz Hernandez was the first sudden-death shooter, but his shot just missed wide right. Ramirez then stepped up and knocked home the winner.

Both teams had near-misses in the final minutes of the second overtime period that would’ve ended the game. A shot by Dixon’s Prather missed just wide left with about two minutes to play, then Oregon had a look from in front of the goal with 45 seconds remaining that went just wide to the right.