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Sports

St. Dominic Edges Duchesne For District Title

Conor Baker comes up big in overtime.

ST. CHARLES - sophomore forward Conor Baker has an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time.    

That skill helped the Crusaders prolong their season on Thursday night.     

Baker scored off a rebound at 11:55 of sudden death overtime to lift St. Dominic to a thrilling 1-0 win over rival Duchesne in the championship game of the Class 2 District 7 Tournament at .    

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St. Dominic, which improved to 15-9-1 with its fourth win in a row, will play host to Hannibal (12-13) or Moberly (18-7) in a sectional contest on Tuesday.    

The Crusaders have Baker to thank for their advancement into the Sweet Sixteen. He popped the ball into the open net after Duchesne keeper Dominic Johns made a miraculous save of a shot by senior Alexander Imperiale. The ball deflected off the fingertips of Johns and right to the foot of Baker, who was standing all alone at the right side of the net.    

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"I knew I'd better not miss," Baker said. "I didn't have time to think about it. I just did it."     

Baker's fifth goal of the season triggered a massive celebration and put an end to a well-played match between Catholic school rivals. Each team hit the post with an open net during regulation.    

The 91-plus minute affair featured solid play at both ends of the pitch. Baker just happened to be in a perfect spot with the contest on the line.    

"We don't have just one go-to guy," explained St. Dominic Coach Greg Koehler. "But (Baker) certainly has a way of coming through when we need him." 

Imperiale thought he had scored the game-winner. But he was relieved to see the ball roll right to Baker.    

"I knew (Baker) was coming in on the side, so I figured if I missed he would be there," Imperiale said. "I was so happy when I saw him put it in."   

Duchesne, which ends the season 9-14-1, more than held its own. St. Dominic won the regular season meeting between the teams 3-1 and entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. But the Pioneers turned in one of their strongest efforts of the season before falling just short.   

"We battled hard, I can't say enough about the effort," noted Duchesne Coach Dave Thurmer. "It's one thing to lose and play bad. But I thought we played pretty well."   

The Pioneers, who won the state title in 1994 and 2003, finished with a losing record for the first time in 24 years.   

"At least we got better as the season went along," said Thurmer.   

Duchesne had several opportunities to score but St. Dominic senior goalie Travis Abt was equal to the task posting his seventh shutout. Duchesne midfielders Shane Strunk and Nathan Spiess came up empty with back-to-back chances late in the opening 40-minute half. Jake Stone and Adam Wiesler kept the pressure on in the second half.   

St. Dominic put plenty of pressure on Johns as well. Brendan McDonough, Imperiale and Baker played key roles in the attack..   

The Crusaders turned in a solid performance defensively. Alex Brown, Jeff Etter, Daniel McAteer and Brett Vogel played well on the back line.   

The win puts St. Dominic in position for a possible trip to the state tournament. The Crusaders will be a solid choice to win next Tuesday's sectional contest.   

"We feel like we can go all the way," said Imperiale. "We didn't have the greatest regular season and lost a couple times when we shouldn't have. But I think we're heading in the right direction now."

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