Hartrich shines in penalty kicks to lead Ladue past Webster Groves – STLtoday.com

So he called his coach, Dave Aronberg, on Wednesday night to find out why he had not been in the starting lineup the last few matches.

“I was frustrated for sure,” Hartrich said. “He just told me that the other guy (Jared Settler) was playing better.”

But Aronberg added a caveat to his answer.

“I told him that if we go to penalty kicks tomorrow, you will be our man.” Aronberg said.

And Hartrich was the man.

Hartrich made a pair of nifty saves in the penalty kick round to help Ladue to a 2-1 win over Webster Groves in the Class 3 District 2 boys soccer championship Thursday at Gay Field.

The Rams (21-6-1) advanced to face Mehlville (18-2-1) in a quarterfinal game Nov. 13.

Hartrich played well during the regular season with an 8-3 record and 61 saves over 909 minutes.

But the Rams have three capable goalies and Hartich was simply the odd man out for the time being.

Still, Hartrich is team’s best at stopping penalty kicks.

So Aronberg made the switch as the teams headed into the PK round after 110 minutes was not enough to decide a winner.

Hartrich stopped two of six penalty kicks, including one at the outset of the sixth round, which set the stage for a district-clinching goal by Rams freshman midfielder Ari Levin in bottom half of the frame.

Entering a match cold with the season on the line didn’t seem to bother Hartrich.

“I came out and I just felt ready,” Hartrich said. “I was getting ready in my head, thinking about what I had to do.”

Hartich stopped a rocket from Webster Groves senior Ben Allison by pushing the shot off the crossbar. That save paved the way from Levin’s heroics, which gave Ladue a 5-4 advantage in PKs.

“I just told coach, ‘I’ve got this,’ ” Levin said. “I wanted to show the fans what I could do. I had no doubt I was going to make it.” 

Levin drilled a shot into the lower right hard corner to set off a celebration as the thrilling 2-hour, 19-minute affair came to a conclusion.

“When it gets to a penalty kick, it’s a coin flip,” Webster Groves coach Tim Velten said. “I’m still extremely proud of our guys. Both teams played really well. This was a good night of soccer, it’s what high school soccer is all about.”

Levin hit the crossbar midway through the second half with the game tied 1-1. He was so distraught that Aronberg gave him a short rest on the bench to settle him down.

“He told me he was sorry and I just told him to keep his head up and that I was sure you’ll get another chance,” Aronberg said.

Each team converted on four of its first five PKs to send the contest into a one-round format. Aronberg had no hesitation in sending out Levin.

Robbie Mabbs, Dylan Melnick, Eli Tenenbaum and Dailyn Tate scored in the PK round for the winners.

The up-and-down contest featured some free-flowing soccer on both sides. Each squad had several strong runs of possession.

“This was a lot of work,” Melnick said. “Next time we want to close it out before overtime.”

Explained Aronberg, “They’re trying to take years off my life.”

Both teams scored in the first nine minutes. Connor Krell converted off a free kick just 3 minutes and 29 seconds into the contest to put the Rams up 1-0. Webster Groves junior Jonas Oesterlei tied the contest just more than five minutes later on a penalty kick.

The teams then battled through 101-plus minutes without a goal.

The Rams have won eight of their last 11 and carry plenty of momentum into the final eight.

“This group has something special, these kids have been resilient all year long,” Aronberg said. “They’ve had the mindset to be district champions from the get-go. Tonight, we played our game and I’m so proud of the effort.”