As the backup goalkeeper, St. Charles East junior Ivan Campobasso prepares in the shadows, knowing one day his specialty will be utilized to help win a big game.
That specialty is stopping penalty kicks.
The Saints hadn’t gone to the shootout all season, but Campobasso kept working on them anyway, realizing his skills could come in handy on a Saturday afternoon in October.
“I feel like it’s because I’m very long and I like to get really far to the post,” the 6-foot Campobasso said. “We work it a lot in practice to see which one should go in on game day.
“I just feel like I would be more comfortable, so that’s why they give me the chance.”
Campobasso took advantage, making a pair of saves in PKs as St. Charles East walked away with a 2-1 victory over York in the Class 4A West Chicago Sectional championship game.
Starting goalkeeper Jordan Rolon helped the Saints (19-7) finish overtime tied at 1-1 with York (16-4). Campobasso then took some shots during the break before the PK shootout.
Campobasso came in, made a save and saw a York shot hit the post. With an opportunity to clinch, he delivered another save, giving St. Charles East its first sectional title since 2012.
“I knew I had a chance,” he said. “It just went my way, saved it, and there we go.”
And there go the Saints, who travel across town at 7 p.m. Tuesday to play in the St. Charles North Supersectional against New Trier (20-1-2), a 2-1 winner over Leyden.
Aiden Maloney scored with 13:35 left in the second half Saturday to force a 1-1 tie. It remained that way through the two overtime periods, setting up Campobasso’s heroics.
Logan Lewarchick, Marc Walker and Maloney — the first three Saints to shoot — all scored in PKs for a 3-2 lead. But then York countered by stopping a shot from Griffin Counts.
Campobasso knew he needed one more big save to end it.
“Right when I saw one of my teammates miss, I was like, ‘This is my time to shine,'” Campobasso said. “I just went out, I got on that line, and I knew I was pumped up.”
St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo not only has confidence in Campobasso, he has firsthand experience with it.
“He’s got so much reach,” DiNuzzo said. “He’s lengthy, got a very nice vertical and reads penalties well. I think I’m a pretty decent penalty kick taker at 33 years old, and he gives me problems.
“He gives us confidence. We’ve seen a number of times that he can make those kinds of saves. A little bit of scouting, gave him some hints, but he got the job done.”
In both 2019 and 2021, the Saints lost to York in this same situation — during PKs in the sectional final.
The latter loss stuck with Maloney for two seasons. As the ninth shooter, he missed the potential winner in 2021. He connected Saturday.
“This was really big for me,” Maloney said. “I just knew I had to stay calm and put it where I’ve been practicing. (The 2021 miss) is basically the reason I’ve been working this hard.
“It’s been my motivation. Job’s not done, though.”
The significance of the win coming against York was not lost on DiNuzzo.
“It’s a monkey off our back,” he said. “The amount of emails and texts I got from former athletes saying ‘go get them’ is something that sticks with them. It’s exciting.
“We didn’t play our best brand of soccer. It was disappointing, but to get the result is all you need. We found a way to win and see another day.”
Campobasso also was happy he could contribute in a major way to the win.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t go in that much. It means a lot to me to go in last minute and give me that trust to save the game for them.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.