Phetchanpheng buries Lincoln-Way East
Oswego East’s dual talent splits times in goal and forward
By Chris Walker
HINSDALE – Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski wishes he could clone Sean Phetchanpheng.
That would be the only way to be able to play him as goalkeeper and forward at the same time.
For now, Szymanski will have to figure out the best way to utilize the 5-foot-9 senior.
Phetchanpheng was selected as Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match following Tuesday’s Hinsdale Central tournament game against Lincoln-Way East. He scored twice in the second half after playing goalkeeper in the first half to help the Wolves rally to a 4-2 victory.
“I wish I could clone Sean and have him in goal too,” Szymanski joked. “He’s tough. He’s one of those special players. He makes great saves to keep us in games, and today he scored a couple.”
Phetchanpheng has already scored 5 goals.
“He’s played three of our six halves in net,” Szymanski said. “He’s really been producing in his time out there.”
So, does Phetchanpheng prefer being in net or on the attack?
“Anywhere I can help, I’m happy,” he said. “I have no preference.”
The opponent and pace of a match will usually factor into the whereabouts of Phetchanpheng.
“We usually go into the game and (we go by) the other team’s record. If it’s a harder team, I’ll start in goal, and we’ll see how it goes from there,” he said. “If we’re having a little trouble on defense, I’ll usually stay in goal for the second half. If we would need more help on the attack, I’ll go out there then.”
Oswego East (2-1) needed some offensive help as the Wolves fell behind 2-1 at halftime.
Blake Tempel got the Griffins (1-1) on the scoreboard first, scoring a little more than five minutes into the contest.
A little luck and being in the right place at the right time helped the Wolves draw even with 16:46 left in the first half. Michael Waclaw’s shot caromed off a Lincoln-Way East player and right into the path of sophomore Mike Bozett, who deposited it into the back of the net to make it 1-1.
Lincoln-Way East recaptured the lead with just 1:05 left before halftime as Tempel once again punished the Wolves. This time, the standout senior had his back turned sideways to the goal before he lofted a high, arcing shot out of the reach of Phetchanpheng and just into the right corner of the net.
Jake Leonard moved to goal in the second half, giving Phetchanpheng and his fresh legs an opportunity to run wild for the final 40 minutes.
“I thought we were all right until the 60th minute and then we just ran out of gas,” Lincoln-Way East coach Ryan Decker said. “Let’s be honest, that No. 9 kid (Phetchanpheng) was nice and fresh in the second half and, wow, he’s an athlete and then some. We just didn’t have an answer for him.”
Oswego East had several opportunities to net the equalizer in the second half but didn’t draw even until more than midway through the half. Helping matters was the fact that they were creating opportunities, while tightening defensively to disallow the Griffins from lengthening their lead.
“We got better as the game went on,” Oswego East senior defender James Jones said. “In the second half people came out and did their job no matter what. They kept a good attitude. If (Lincoln-Way East) got close to scoring and we had to make a save, we did so and kept encouraging each other.”
Jesus Esquivel pounced on Victor Cuevas’ corner kicker with 18:22 remaining and was able to find just a big enough opening to send in the equalizer.
“I just was trying to help the team out,” Cuevas said. “Jesus called for it. We’ve got good chemistry, and we could feel ourselves click.”
The Wolves clicked the rest of the way.
A beautifully placed long pass from Jones to Phetchanpheng resulted in the game winner with exactly 11 minutes remaining.
Phetchanpheng simply outran a pair of defenders and only had Powell to beat.
“You can always trust Sean,” Jones said. “You just boot it, and he’ll catch up to it.”
The Wolves tacked on an additional goal with 50 seconds left when freshman Tristan Stewart sent a cross to Phetchanpheng.
While Phetchanpheng is going to get a lot of attention in his final high school season, a trio of freshmen (Stewart, Waclaw, Ryan Aten) are also making quite their mark in their first year out of middle school.
“We’re young and balanced,” Szymanski said. “All these freshmen are doing good things for us. They’re a little undersized, but so what? I don’t expect them to be bodybuilders.”
If the freshmen continue to mesh with the returnees and Leonard can play well in goal, the Wolves could be in for a lot of fun this fall, especially if Phetchanpheng is able to continue on the attack.
“Jacob (Leonard) did a great job (in goal). He’s coming along and getting better,” Szymanski said. “He made that one mistake, but he was able to recover. He’s a baseball player, and you could see it by that save. If he gets better, we’ll be able to do more with Sean and have more firepower.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way East
G Luke Powell
D Brandon Carydon
D Liam Elsden
D Trevor Mansmith
M Sean Gavin
M George Georgacopolous
M Nick Jenig
M Blake Tempel
M Austin Wegforth
F David Cedillo
F Frank Dicosola
Oswego East
G Sean Phetchanpheng
F Mike Bozett
F Michael Waclaw
M Ryan Aten
M Victor Cuevas
M Jesus Cepeda
M Austin Patsch
M Tristen Stewart
D Arnold Arevalo
D Cristian Cepeda
D James Jones
Man of the Match: Sean Phetchanpheng, Oswego East, GK-F
Referees: Manuel Hernandez, Joe Keller and Andrew Sok
Oswego East’s dual talent splits times in goal and forward
By Chris Walker
HINSDALE – Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski wishes he could clone Sean Phetchanpheng.
That would be the only way to be able to play him as goalkeeper and forward at the same time.
For now, Szymanski will have to figure out the best way to utilize the 5-foot-9 senior.
Phetchanpheng was selected as Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match following Tuesday’s Hinsdale Central tournament game against Lincoln-Way East. He scored twice in the second half after playing goalkeeper in the first half to help the Wolves rally to a 4-2 victory.
“I wish I could clone Sean and have him in goal too,” Szymanski joked. “He’s tough. He’s one of those special players. He makes great saves to keep us in games, and today he scored a couple.”
Phetchanpheng has already scored 5 goals.
“He’s played three of our six halves in net,” Szymanski said. “He’s really been producing in his time out there.”
So, does Phetchanpheng prefer being in net or on the attack?
“Anywhere I can help, I’m happy,” he said. “I have no preference.”
The opponent and pace of a match will usually factor into the whereabouts of Phetchanpheng.
“We usually go into the game and (we go by) the other team’s record. If it’s a harder team, I’ll start in goal, and we’ll see how it goes from there,” he said. “If we’re having a little trouble on defense, I’ll usually stay in goal for the second half. If we would need more help on the attack, I’ll go out there then.”
Oswego East (2-1) needed some offensive help as the Wolves fell behind 2-1 at halftime.
Blake Tempel got the Griffins (1-1) on the scoreboard first, scoring a little more than five minutes into the contest.
A little luck and being in the right place at the right time helped the Wolves draw even with 16:46 left in the first half. Michael Waclaw’s shot caromed off a Lincoln-Way East player and right into the path of sophomore Mike Bozett, who deposited it into the back of the net to make it 1-1.
Lincoln-Way East recaptured the lead with just 1:05 left before halftime as Tempel once again punished the Wolves. This time, the standout senior had his back turned sideways to the goal before he lofted a high, arcing shot out of the reach of Phetchanpheng and just into the right corner of the net.
Jake Leonard moved to goal in the second half, giving Phetchanpheng and his fresh legs an opportunity to run wild for the final 40 minutes.
“I thought we were all right until the 60th minute and then we just ran out of gas,” Lincoln-Way East coach Ryan Decker said. “Let’s be honest, that No. 9 kid (Phetchanpheng) was nice and fresh in the second half and, wow, he’s an athlete and then some. We just didn’t have an answer for him.”
Oswego East had several opportunities to net the equalizer in the second half but didn’t draw even until more than midway through the half. Helping matters was the fact that they were creating opportunities, while tightening defensively to disallow the Griffins from lengthening their lead.
“We got better as the game went on,” Oswego East senior defender James Jones said. “In the second half people came out and did their job no matter what. They kept a good attitude. If (Lincoln-Way East) got close to scoring and we had to make a save, we did so and kept encouraging each other.”
Jesus Esquivel pounced on Victor Cuevas’ corner kicker with 18:22 remaining and was able to find just a big enough opening to send in the equalizer.
“I just was trying to help the team out,” Cuevas said. “Jesus called for it. We’ve got good chemistry, and we could feel ourselves click.”
The Wolves clicked the rest of the way.
A beautifully placed long pass from Jones to Phetchanpheng resulted in the game winner with exactly 11 minutes remaining.
Phetchanpheng simply outran a pair of defenders and only had Powell to beat.
“You can always trust Sean,” Jones said. “You just boot it, and he’ll catch up to it.”
The Wolves tacked on an additional goal with 50 seconds left when freshman Tristan Stewart sent a cross to Phetchanpheng.
While Phetchanpheng is going to get a lot of attention in his final high school season, a trio of freshmen (Stewart, Waclaw, Ryan Aten) are also making quite their mark in their first year out of middle school.
“We’re young and balanced,” Szymanski said. “All these freshmen are doing good things for us. They’re a little undersized, but so what? I don’t expect them to be bodybuilders.”
If the freshmen continue to mesh with the returnees and Leonard can play well in goal, the Wolves could be in for a lot of fun this fall, especially if Phetchanpheng is able to continue on the attack.
“Jacob (Leonard) did a great job (in goal). He’s coming along and getting better,” Szymanski said. “He made that one mistake, but he was able to recover. He’s a baseball player, and you could see it by that save. If he gets better, we’ll be able to do more with Sean and have more firepower.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way East
G Luke Powell
D Brandon Carydon
D Liam Elsden
D Trevor Mansmith
M Sean Gavin
M George Georgacopolous
M Nick Jenig
M Blake Tempel
M Austin Wegforth
F David Cedillo
F Frank Dicosola
Oswego East
G Sean Phetchanpheng
F Mike Bozett
F Michael Waclaw
M Ryan Aten
M Victor Cuevas
M Jesus Cepeda
M Austin Patsch
M Tristen Stewart
D Arnold Arevalo
D Cristian Cepeda
D James Jones
Man of the Match: Sean Phetchanpheng, Oswego East, GK-F
Referees: Manuel Hernandez, Joe Keller and Andrew Sok