It took two days for the Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer team to secure a berth in the IHSA Class 1A regional tournament championship match at St. Thomas More.

The Comets faced the host school, the No 1 seed, on Tuesday (Oct. 12), but regulation and two 10-minute overtimes ended with neither team getting on the scoreboard.

The referees postponed the penalty kick shootout until Wednesday (Oct. 13) due to darkness.

It was a thrilling finish for Oakwood/Salt Fork.

Four Comets netted their penalty kicks, including three underclassmen.

Senior Joe Lashuay converted his penalty shot as did freshman Macen Phillips, sophomore Brody Taflinger and freshman Saul Carillo.

St. Thomas More made just two of its penalty kicks, and the Comets survived, moving into a 4 p.m. Friday (Oct. 15) championship match against Monticello.

Oakwood/Salt Fork goalkeeper Josh Ruch was credited with his 11^th shutout, for not allowing a goal during the 100 minutes of action on the field.

His feat set a school record, breaking a tie he had with Landon Turner, who is an assistant coach for the Comets.

In total shots,St. Thomas More had more attempts, 19-11. Ruch’s 11 saves marked the sixth time he was in double figures this year.

Oakwood/Salt Fork is 18-7 – the most single-season wins since the program was established – and has an eight-match winning streak. In those matches, the  Comets’ defense has yielded just three total goals.

The program is seeking its second-ever regional crown in soccer and the first since 2016.

The post Oakwood secures spot in Regional Championship first appeared on SJO Daily.

Grant Powell started the postseason with a hat trick on Saturday (Oct. 9) as the Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer team turned back visiting Georgetown-Ridge Farm 7-1 in a Class 1A IHSA regional quarterfinal match.

In addition to his three goals, Powell had one assist.  Reef Pacot had two goals and two assists.

Also netting goals for the Comets were Joe Lashuay and Dylan Diaz.

Oakwood/Salt Fork led 4-0 at halftime.

Other assists were by Saul Carillo, Diaz, Powell and Zane Trimmell.

Goalkeeper Josh Ruch turned back six shots.

The Comets held a 26-9 edge on total shots.

On Thursday (Oct. 7), the two seniors on the Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer team combined for the Comets’ first goal as the team whipped Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 5-1 on Senior Night.

Carlie Thompson set up Lashuay for the opening goal.

Lashuay scored again before halftime as did teammates Powell, Macen Phillips and Pacot.

Jacob Taflinger and Carillo also had assists.

Oakwood/Salt Fork held a 24-5 edge in total shots.

Ruch had two saves.

Lightning forced the match to be called 15 minutes into the second half.

Oakwood/Salt Fork is 17-7 with a seven-match winning streak. The sixth-seeded Comets will return to action in the semifinals on Tuesday (Oct. 12) in the semifinals at St. Thomas More against the top-seeded host Sabers.

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Freshmen Ethan Merritt and Macen Phillips each scored two goals on Wednesday (Oct. 6) as the Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer team shut out Tolono Unity, 7-0, at home.

Other goal-scorers for the Comets, with one apiece, were Robby Wright, Reef Pacot and Dylan Diaz.

Grant Powell contributed three assists, adding to his season (19) and career (30) school-record totals. Pacot had two assists.

Oakwood/Salt Fork held a 3-0 lead at halftime, and outshot Unity, 33-2. Freshman Saul Carillo had one save for the Comets.

Oakwood/Salt Fork (15-7) returns to action on Thursday (Oct 7) in its regular-season home finale against Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.

The Comets have won their last five matches and have allowed one total goal in those matches.

The post Comet soccer on five-game win streak first appeared on SJO Daily.

Oakwood/Salt Fork recorded its sixth shutout of the soccer season, blanking Iroquois West 5-0 on Tuesday (Sept. 28) in Gilman.

Grant Powell hit two goals and added one assist in the win.

Joe Lashuay, Brody Taflinger and Reef Pacot all netted one goal. Pacot and Lashuay also notched one assist.

The Comets led, 3-0, at halftime.

Josh Ruch registered 12 saves, one off of his season’s best.

On Thursday (Sept. 23), the Comets dropped a 3-1 decision at Hoopeston Area. Powell hit the team’s lone goal, with an assist to Saul Carillo. Ruch had three saves.

Oakwood/Salt Fork (11-7) returns to action on Thursday (Sept. 30) at home against Georgetown-Ridge Farm.

The post Comets pick up sixth shutout first appeared on SJO Daily.

Joe Lashuay and Reef Pacot scored goals on Thursday (Sept. 2) as the Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer team registered its first shutout of the season, 2-0, at home over Iroquois West.

Lashuay’s goal, assisted by Brody Taflinger, lifted the Comets into a 1-0 lead at halftime. Pacot’s goal was assisted by Grant Powell.

Goalkeeper Josh Ruch collected a season-high 10 saves.

On Saturday (Sept. 4), Pacot and Saul Carillo each scored two goals as the Comets shut out visiting Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond, 6-0.

The team’s other goals were scored by Dylan Diaz and Cooper Myers.

Powell had three assists, Taflinger had two assists and Macen Phillips had one assist.

Ruch ended with two saves.

Oakwood/Salt Fork (4-3) held an 18-12 edge in total shots against Iroquois West, but had a 41-4 advantage in shots vs. A-L/A-H. The team returns to action on Tuesday (Sept. 7) at Georgetown-Ridge Farm.

The post Oakwood Soccer holds Iroquois West scoreless first appeared on SJO Daily.

Junior Grant Powell scored three first-half goals and added three second-half assists on Thursday (Aug. 26) as Oakwood overpowered Watseka 11-3 in a soccer match on the Warriors’ pitch.

Powell totaled four assists.

Also scoring multiple goals for the Comets was Brody Taflinger with two.

Reef Pacot had three first-half assists and had four second-half saves when he played in goal.

Other Oakwood scorers were Saul Carillo, Macen Phillips, Joe Lashuay, Ty Smoot, Dylan Diaz and Tucker Pesek. Phillips also had an assist.

The Comets bombarded Watseka with 36 shots.

Josh Ruch had one save.

Oakwood/Salt Fork (2-1) returns to action on Monday (Aug. 30) at home against Monticello.

The post Oakwood Soccer overpowers Watseka first appeared on SJO Daily.

Freshman Saul Carillo’s second-half goal, assisted by senior Joe Lashuay, accounted for the only scoring for the Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer team, which lost its season-opener at home on Monday (Aug. 23) to St. Joseph-Ogden, 2-1.

SJ-O led 1-0 at intermission.

Oakwood/SF goalkeeper Josh Ruch had five saves.

The team bounced back on Tuesday (Aug. 24), handing visiting Schlarman Academy a 5-1 loss.

Reef Pacot hit two goals and had one assist. Teammate Macen Phillips had one goal and one assist.

Other goal-scorers for Oakwood/Salt Fork, which pepperd Schlarman with 37 shots, were Dylan Diaz and Carlie Thompson. Joe Lashuay had one assist.

Ruch posted two saves.

Oakwood/SF (1-1) returns to action on Thursday (Aug. 26) at Watseka.

The post Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer rebounds with win over Schlarman Academy first appeared on SJO Daily.