Kennedy goalkeeper Nathan Althoff stared Washington All-American Austin Bergstrom squarely in the eye Tuesday night in the final round of their dramatic PK Shootout at Kingston Stadium.

He never blinked.

Althoff made a diving stop on Bergstrom's left-footed boot to give No.2 Kennedy a 3-2 victory over No.5 Washington under the lights.

"I just had a feeling where he was going to go," said Althoff. "I went with it and it worked."

Needless to say, Althoff knew he was staring at an All-American when Bergstrom lined up for his free shot from just 12 yards away.

"That makes it extra special," he said.

The Cougars (6-0) and Warriors (3-2) battled to a 2-2 tie in regulation. Neither team scored in overtime or double-overtime, so after 100 minutes of non-stop action the Metro showdown came down to the PK Shootout at the south end of the stadium.

Each team would get five free shots on goal to decide the match.

Evan Fisher went first and scored for Washington, but Mitch Bobbin answered for Kennedy and it was 1-1 after the first round. Then came the first breakthrough for the Cougars.

Althoff made a save against Mike Eken, and J.J. Reinhart scored for Kennedy to give the Cougars a 2-1 edge after the second round.

Kimu Kasha found the net for Washington, but Reid Botkin countered for Kennedy and the Cougars took a 3-2 lead after the third round.

Jacob Bjornsen scored for the Warriors, but Killian Magee responded for Kennedy and the Cougars had a 4-3 edge going into the final round.

Bergstrom needed to score for Washington to keep his team alive, but Althoff played a hunch and knocked the ball away.

"The funny thing is, at the beginning of the year - the first time we went through penalty kicks in practice - he was just abysmal," said Kennedy co-coach Steve Robertson. "He couldn't stop anything.

"But the nice thing about it, the kid just works and works and works."

Kennedy grabbed a 1-0 lead with 28:15 left in the first half on a goal by Bobbin on a penalty kick. Jack Sundermann knotted the game, 1-1, with a tally with 4:29 left in the half for Washington.

Sameeullah Jung gave gave Kennedy a 2-1 lead with 16:04 remaining in the second half, but Boris Licona-Moreno scored for Washington with 14:04 remaining to make it 2-2.

Bergstrom had several good scoring chances in the first overtime, including a blast that was deflected off the crossbar, but the first overtime and second overtime were scoreless.

Kennedy won its fifth straight game against a highly ranked opponent and will get more of the same in the rugged Mississippi Valley Conference this season.

Prairie and Kennedy are ranked 1-2 in Class 3A, and Wahlert and Xavier are ranked 1-2 in Class 2A.

Washington, Iowa City High, Iowa City West and Linn-Mar are also in the rankings.

"The strength of soccer has shifted from Des Moines to the eastern half of the state," said Robertson. "It's brutal. You turn around and you never get a break. It's ranked team, ranked team, ranked team.

"As coaches, you want them to be tested, you want to know, 'How good are we?' Each time you ask the question, 'Are we as good as we think?,' we pick it up another level. And that was what you saw tonight."

Althoff enjoys the competition in goal.

"Soccer is just amazing in this half of the state," he said. "We have great club teams, great feeder programs. We're fortunate to have this quality of soccer."

Althoff likes being ranked No.2, but knows it comes with a burden.

"It's awesome, but we have a big target on our back," he said. "We had some mistakes tonight that will cost us later on in the season, but we're feeling pretty good about this one."

Washington defeated Iowa City West when the Trojans were ranked No.1 in the state and they've also defeated Wahlert, but now the Warriors have lost to top-ranked Prairie and No.2 Kennedy in a demanding stretch of games.