Blasingame dishes, Oswego E. collects win
Soph. distributes each assist in Wolves' 3-1 victory over Joliet W.
By Chris Walker
JOLIET -- Kyle Blasingame wasn't impressed with himself Thursday.
Apparently, the sophomore midfielder took for granted his three assists which helped Oswego East (8-3-2, 3-0-0) defeat host Joliet West 3-1 and extend the Tigers' win streak to seven games.
“I didn’t think that I played that great, but I thank my team for motivating me and keeping me going,” he said. “This was a good team we played, and they knew about us winning conference last year. So we knew it was going to be a grind.”
Blasingame helped lift the Wolves to a 1-0 lead at the break when he assisted Tristan Stewart with 8:33 left in the first half. That lead wouldn’t last for too long though as Joliet West jumped on the scoreboard just 3:30 into the second half when Leo Haro assisted Javier Gutierrez for the equalizer.
“They’re a great team and they kept motivating me to keep going,” Blasingame said. “This game was definitely a rush and one where we had to keep grinding. We don’t want our seniors to go out sad so our main focus is for it to be a good year for them. We’ve had some slow games, but we always seem to find a way to pull it out in the end.”
The Wolves certainly pulled this one out.
“We’ve been doing this recently and while it hasn’t necessarily been pretty, it just goes to show what kind of grind we have to deal with in this conference,” Wolves coach Steve Szymanski said. “You have to credit the guys because they’re finding the energy. They want to win and are doing whatever they can to achieve that.”
Joliet West made it difficult, bouncing back and fighting from start to finish.
“They stayed organized and connected really well,” Szymanski said. “They’re tough. They seem to be missing that one goal scorer that would really make them as good as anyone in the conference, but they still keep every game close. They find a way to stay in each game.”
Ryan Atan’s goal with 27 minutes remaining broke the 1-1 tie and Caleb Harris provided some insurance when he scored with 11:46 left.
“It’s a credit to our guys to keep battling and fighting like they did in the second half,” Szymanski said. “They’re banged up, and they’re tired, but they find a way to get it done. In year’s past it wasn’t always like that. But, they’re gritty guys.”
Blasingame, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match accolades for his performance, said that the bonus of wins like the one Thursday is when you realize you can find a way to win despite not playing at your best, although he admitted that ultimately not being near your best will catch up with a team, especially once the state series arrives.
“We’ve got to be better than this, and we know it,” he said. “(Michael) Waclaw said that good teams always find a way to win, and we’ve bought into that. but we know we have to be better. These last two games, we’ve not been at our best, but we are still winning. We just need to keep focusing and grinding it out. The harder we work the better our season will be.”
The Wolves cannot deny that an “X” has arrived on their backs. They were a single-digit win team a couple years ago but after winning conference last year, teams realize they’re legit, and they’re being targeted.
“I told our guys that you can’t expect to walk in somewhere and just win,” Szymanski said. “Everyone knows what we were now after last year with all-conference players and eight returning starters. It’s no surprise anymore and teams are going to give us their best shot. We need to be ready, whether we like it or not, and we need to play better.”
If not, the Wolves are going to see that winning streak come to an abrupt end. Joliet West certainly gave it a shot.
“I have all the respect for what they do and being conference champs. I thought we played them extremely well with a lot of heart and effort,” Tigers coach Patrick Korthauer said. “I thought we had great ball movement and defensive work, but we just didn’t get the finishes we needed in order to win this kind of game, but we’ll keep battling and try to get there.”
Past Tigers teams may have folded early, but this one battled despite surrendering late goals.
“We’re playing well against teams like this and seeing improvement, but we’re not doing enough to win,” Korthauer said. “But a lot of that has to do with (Oswego East). They moved the ball really well. I thought it was an evenly played game, and an exciting game, but they got the best of it. We’ll hopefully learn from it and continue to improve as the season goes on.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Nathan Huerter
D Joey Bavol
D Caleb Harris
D Mitchell Hlvacek
MF Kyle Blasingame
MF Dawson Johnson
MF Tristen Stewart
F Ryan Aten
F Ford Frazer
F Manuel Magana
F Michael Waclaw
Joliet West
GK Sebastian Mireles
D Oscar Haro
D Rodrigo Torres
D Raul Martinez
MF Gerardo Nicolas
MF Erik Vega
MF Jonathon Espinosa
MF Ethan Pranckus
F Leo Haro
F Javier Gutierrez
F Dominic Ranki
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Kyle Blasingame, so., MF, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
OE: Tristen Stewart (Kyle Blasingame), 31st
Second half
JW: Javier Guiterrez (Leo Haro), 45th
OE: Ryan Atan (Blasingame), 54th
OE: Caleb Harris (Blasingame) 69th
Soph. distributes each assist in Wolves' 3-1 victory over Joliet W.
By Chris Walker
JOLIET -- Kyle Blasingame wasn't impressed with himself Thursday.
Apparently, the sophomore midfielder took for granted his three assists which helped Oswego East (8-3-2, 3-0-0) defeat host Joliet West 3-1 and extend the Tigers' win streak to seven games.
“I didn’t think that I played that great, but I thank my team for motivating me and keeping me going,” he said. “This was a good team we played, and they knew about us winning conference last year. So we knew it was going to be a grind.”
Blasingame helped lift the Wolves to a 1-0 lead at the break when he assisted Tristan Stewart with 8:33 left in the first half. That lead wouldn’t last for too long though as Joliet West jumped on the scoreboard just 3:30 into the second half when Leo Haro assisted Javier Gutierrez for the equalizer.
“They’re a great team and they kept motivating me to keep going,” Blasingame said. “This game was definitely a rush and one where we had to keep grinding. We don’t want our seniors to go out sad so our main focus is for it to be a good year for them. We’ve had some slow games, but we always seem to find a way to pull it out in the end.”
The Wolves certainly pulled this one out.
“We’ve been doing this recently and while it hasn’t necessarily been pretty, it just goes to show what kind of grind we have to deal with in this conference,” Wolves coach Steve Szymanski said. “You have to credit the guys because they’re finding the energy. They want to win and are doing whatever they can to achieve that.”
Joliet West made it difficult, bouncing back and fighting from start to finish.
“They stayed organized and connected really well,” Szymanski said. “They’re tough. They seem to be missing that one goal scorer that would really make them as good as anyone in the conference, but they still keep every game close. They find a way to stay in each game.”
Ryan Atan’s goal with 27 minutes remaining broke the 1-1 tie and Caleb Harris provided some insurance when he scored with 11:46 left.
“It’s a credit to our guys to keep battling and fighting like they did in the second half,” Szymanski said. “They’re banged up, and they’re tired, but they find a way to get it done. In year’s past it wasn’t always like that. But, they’re gritty guys.”
Blasingame, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match accolades for his performance, said that the bonus of wins like the one Thursday is when you realize you can find a way to win despite not playing at your best, although he admitted that ultimately not being near your best will catch up with a team, especially once the state series arrives.
“We’ve got to be better than this, and we know it,” he said. “(Michael) Waclaw said that good teams always find a way to win, and we’ve bought into that. but we know we have to be better. These last two games, we’ve not been at our best, but we are still winning. We just need to keep focusing and grinding it out. The harder we work the better our season will be.”
The Wolves cannot deny that an “X” has arrived on their backs. They were a single-digit win team a couple years ago but after winning conference last year, teams realize they’re legit, and they’re being targeted.
“I told our guys that you can’t expect to walk in somewhere and just win,” Szymanski said. “Everyone knows what we were now after last year with all-conference players and eight returning starters. It’s no surprise anymore and teams are going to give us their best shot. We need to be ready, whether we like it or not, and we need to play better.”
If not, the Wolves are going to see that winning streak come to an abrupt end. Joliet West certainly gave it a shot.
“I have all the respect for what they do and being conference champs. I thought we played them extremely well with a lot of heart and effort,” Tigers coach Patrick Korthauer said. “I thought we had great ball movement and defensive work, but we just didn’t get the finishes we needed in order to win this kind of game, but we’ll keep battling and try to get there.”
Past Tigers teams may have folded early, but this one battled despite surrendering late goals.
“We’re playing well against teams like this and seeing improvement, but we’re not doing enough to win,” Korthauer said. “But a lot of that has to do with (Oswego East). They moved the ball really well. I thought it was an evenly played game, and an exciting game, but they got the best of it. We’ll hopefully learn from it and continue to improve as the season goes on.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Nathan Huerter
D Joey Bavol
D Caleb Harris
D Mitchell Hlvacek
MF Kyle Blasingame
MF Dawson Johnson
MF Tristen Stewart
F Ryan Aten
F Ford Frazer
F Manuel Magana
F Michael Waclaw
Joliet West
GK Sebastian Mireles
D Oscar Haro
D Rodrigo Torres
D Raul Martinez
MF Gerardo Nicolas
MF Erik Vega
MF Jonathon Espinosa
MF Ethan Pranckus
F Leo Haro
F Javier Gutierrez
F Dominic Ranki
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Kyle Blasingame, so., MF, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
OE: Tristen Stewart (Kyle Blasingame), 31st
Second half
JW: Javier Guiterrez (Leo Haro), 45th
OE: Ryan Atan (Blasingame), 54th
OE: Caleb Harris (Blasingame) 69th