Mount Horeb gets the job done

No question, it was a tough way for defending champion Delavan-Darien to bow out.

Mount Horeb cashed in a pair of penalty kicks - one in each half - and that was ultimately the difference as the Vikings upended the Comets, 2-1, in the Division 3 title game at the WIAA state boys soccer tournament at Uihlein Soccer Park on Saturday night.

Delavan-Darien (25-2-3) came in with a pair of 50-goal scorers in Zeus Huerta and Jason Cano, only to see both shut down by Mount Horeb (19-4-1) in a rematch of the 2014 and '16 Division 3 title games.

"It was a physical game," coach Mike Marse said. "We play physical, we get PKs called against us. Zeus was getting beat up all night. They were targeting him. He's got to learn to deal with that."

Delavan-Darien was unable to convert the game's first good scoring chance, with Huerta's goal kick from about 20 yards out clanging off the crossbar in the 14th minute.

It wasn't long thereafter that Mount Horeb cashed in its first penalty kick, an opportunity that came courtesy of Martin Soto's tackle of Connor Long.

Jaden Neumann, who'd tied an alldivisions record with a four-goal game for the Vikings in the semifinals, cashed in at the 22-minute, 43-second mark to break the Division 3 record for goals in a tournament and give Mount Horeb the 1-0 lead.

That held up until the second half, when the Comets finally broke through to tie it. The score came off a corner kick, with Osvaldo Torres sending a shot in from 30 yards off a deflected header at 68:29.

Newly energized, Delavan-Darien pressed the action until making another crucial mistake at 78:40 when Moses Solis was whistled for his takedown of Kyler Donovan in the box.

This time it was Jacob Culberson who beat Hugo Valadez with the penalty kick for the clincher.

"There was a while in the second half where we looked like, 'Oh, OK, we're getting worried and just kick the ball,' "Marse said. "Then with that goal, they played with a little bit of energy.

"But then came the PK and it was like, 'Ah, man.' But it was a great season for us. To have only two returning seniors that played last year, this was a great season for a young team."