Pekin 5, Rock Island 4

Another first for Dragons
By Times staff
MOLINE -- Pekin's soccer team added another happy chapter to its storybook season Saturday with its first-ever post-season win -- a 5-4 dramatic come-from-behind victory over Rock Island at the Moline Regional. Trailing 4-3, the Dragons scored two goals in the final five minutes to take the win. After a Rock Island foul, Tory Udry pushed the ball to the top of the box where Aimee St. Andre flicked it to a cutting Sam Berry, who faked out Rock Island's goalkeeper, Anne Ledford. Penalty Instead of allowing a sure goal, Ledford tackled Berry from behind. Still, Pekin's Sam Grimes converted the penalty kick to tie the game 4-4 with 1:14 left to play. "Sam had missed a couple of PKs earlier in the season, and she was kind of down about it," Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said. "Since then, I've been telling her that I have confidence in her to be the one to take them. As a captain, she can choose another shooter, but when the foul was called, she looked over and I yelled to her 'It's your call.' She really stepped up." The game-winning goal was set up with a minute left. Amber Poston got a breakaway chance, but a Rock Island defender deflected the ball over the end line. Grimes quickly got a corner kick into the heart of the box and a weaving St. Andre headed it into the left corner of the goal with 31 seconds left. "This was an amazing finish," Sandoval said. "In my first two years here, we've had several letdowns late in games that cost us, so for my girls to come back like this is terrific. After giving up a PK with five minutes to go (which made it 4-3), they could have given up, but they showed an incredible amount of heart today." St. Andre and Grimes each had two goals. St. Andre assisted Udry on the other. Pekin (11-6-1) has now won five matches in a row. The Dragons play undefeated, No. 1-seeded Normal West at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Moline.