LAKE ST. LOUIS – Senior goalkeeper Jackson Keyes has proudly worn a ‘De Smet Soccer’ shirt since he was a fifth-grade attendee at Spartans’ summer camp. Over the years, his height increased significantly – and so did his patience.
“I’ve been waiting for my spot as a (varsity) starter. To finally get my shot is huge,” Keyes said.
Keyes continued to make the most of his dream opportunity by making a brilliant save in overtime and three incredible saves during penalty kicks as De Smet outlasted Liberty 4-3 (3-2 PKs) in a thrilling STL Champions League semifinal Wednesday at Liberty High School.
De Smet (14-3-1) advanced to the inaugural STL Champions League final to play St. Dominic (15-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex – Field 1 in Maryland Heights.
St. Dominic defeated CBC 6-0 in the other semifinal.
De Smet entered its first-ever meeting with Liberty having endured a pair of heartbreaking losses in its previous two matches. The Spartans yielded the game-winning goal in the final minute to Chaminade on Oct. 8 and surrendered the game-winner in overtime to Vianney on Monday.
On Wednesday, Liberty provided the late-game heroics as Cooper Ludwig and Ryan Sinclair scored in the final 30 minutes of regulation to erase a two-goal deficit and send the Champions League semifinal game into overtime tied at 3.
But the déjà vu for De Smet took a sharper turn when senior Dominic Nicoletti received a second yellow card midway through the first overtime and the Spartans were forced to play a man down for the remainder of the game.
A third consecutive heartbreaking loss seemed inevitable.
“There were several guys on this team that did not want this to happen again,” De Smet coach Josh Klein said. “They were in each other’s faces, requiring the best out of each other. There was a playoff energy on this bench and that was the ticket.”
And Jackson Keyes locked the doors.
In the final minute of the first overtime, a header by Sinclair from in tight seemed destined for the back of the net, but Keyes instinctively flashed his left hip and knocked the ball towards the back post where senior Anthony Young cleared it from danger.
“I threw myself at it, made myself as big as possible, and luckily I got a hip on it,” Keyes said. “In overtime, when it feels like the world is on your shoulders, I actually blank out a little bit and go off of pure instinct. After I made that save, I thought, ‘What the heck just happened,’ and then I snapped back into reality. It was an amazing feeling.”
Liberty coach Tony Luedecke praised the incredulous late-game performance of Keyes.
“Their keeper was unbelievable tonight. The save he made at the end of the first overtime, I was running down the sideline already. I was sure it was in,” Luedecke said.
Keyes’ overtime save was simply the appetizer before a smorgasbord of incredible penalty kick saves.
He dove full-extension to his left to deny senior Brody Marino, soared high to his left to reject senior Gavin Hollowell, and executed a Superman dive to his right to bat away a final attempt from junior Gavin Moyers, resulting in a stampede of De Smet teammates racing to thank him.
“I typically want my goalies to save one and let my shooters take care of the rest,” Klein said. “He saved three and got his hand on a fourth one. Holy smoke, you don’t see that very often.”
Keyes was once a field player before assuming the role as senior captain between the De Smet pipes. He used that knowledge to help him excel during the PK session.
“I always look where their eyes are and where their hips are pointed. A lot of people like to look one way and shoot the other and that (knowledge) came in handy tonight,” Keyes said.
The keys to a De Smet victory required more than outstanding goalkeeping.
Even though Nicoletti was unavailable for the end of the game, he placed his fingerprints all over the start. In the second minute, he sent a 40-yard pass into the box that found the head of sprinting senior Sean Sossou, and the Spartans took an early 1-0 lead.
“We were moving the ball through the back, swinging it around, switching field. (Nicoletti) had a nice ball across the box and I was right there to finish it,” Sossou said.
Late in the first half, Sossou received a through ball from senior captain Landon Weber, maneuvered around both a Liberty defender and goalkeeper Aidan Brown, and tapped a pass across the box to junior KJ Tyehimba for an easy finish.
“We’re fast,” Klein said. “We have some very skillful (midfielders) who can hold the ball for us and once they get the ball at their feet, they can unleash our speed up top.”
A De Smet handball in the box late in the half resulted in a PK goal for Moyers and sliced the Liberty deficit to 2-1 at intermission.
Momentum quickly returned to De Smet when Weber intercepted a pass in the midfield and found a streaking Jack Saladin to make the score 3-1 with 28 minutes remaining in regulation.
Liberty, which entered the game riding a 12-game winning streak, refused to go away.
With the ball placed at the 22-yard line, Moyers unleashed a left-footed free kick that found the head Ludwig to slice the deficit to 3-2. A beautiful cross from senior Dylan Handlan to Sinclair tied the game 3-3 at the 11-minute mark.
“They just don’t quit. To come back to tie it up against a De Smet team that is really good, I’m proud of my guys,” Luedecke said.
De Smet dominated the opening four minutes of overtime and produced two near-misses by Saladin and Weber, but the disqualification of Nicoletti changed the momentum and the Spartans’ strategy.
The major change was dropping Sossou, the Spartans’ most dangerous offensive player throughout the game, from forward to defense – a position he plays on his club team. In the second overtime, Sossou slid across the goal crease to deny a blast from Ludwig before it snuck inside the left post for the game-winner.
“It was a last-minute save,” Sossou said. “(Ludwig) had the ball at the top of the 18 (yard box). All our defenders were gone. It was just me and (Keyes) left. He shot it, and I just slid and blocked it at the last minute.”
And Keyes drove the Spartans’ home the rest of the way in spectacular fashion, earning his 13th victory of the season for the team for which he dreamed about goalkeeping since the fifth grade.
“It is a massive deal. To help this team reach the inaugural Champions League final is huge,” Keyes said.
For a complete photo gallery, visit: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Soccer/Boys-Soccer-2024/De-Smet-at-Liberty-Champions-League-semifinals