St. Albert edged Thomas Jefferson 1-0 Tuesday night in a double-overtime prep soccer shootout at the C.B. Recreation Complex.

Both teams had chances to score. St. Albert had 16 shots on goal, and T.J. had 15. St. Albert made two corner kicks, T.J. made three.

In the shootout, St. Albert's Cameron Tucker faced off against T.J. goalkeeper Eric Schnackenberg. Tucker's kick slammed the ball deep into the net, the Falcons moved ahead 4-3 in the shootout series.

Tucker then returned to the net, deflected the final penalty kick to earn his eighth shutout of the season.

"We've been in five shootouts this season, and we've won four of them," said Falcons coach Tom Lorkovic. "We do practice for that, believe it or not, but I don't think I've been in five shootouts in the seven years I've been here as a coach."

The Falcons lost a tough game Monday night against Tri-Center, trailing 2-1 at the end of the match. But Lorkovic was proud of his players.

"Some teams would have folded, but these guys stuck in there," Lorkovic said.

"Tuesday night's game was well-played. Both teams played clean, and the referees complimented the coaches on the way the game was played. There were no cards, and the teams respected each other," he said.

Lorkovic said he thought the Falcons controlled the game defensively and credited Nate Kruse, Mike Walsh, Jon Recher, Mike Hoffmann, Jacob Dew and Bryce Kinard for their efforts.

The Falcons have three games left in the regular season. St. Albert plays Kuemper Catholic in Carroll Thursday, Glenwood Monday, Nodaway Valley Tuesday and districts begin Thursday of next week.

Thomas Jefferson 0 0 0 0 0 - 0

St. Albert 0 0 0 0 1 - 1

©Daily Nonpareil 2006