Barger barges in, Naperville N. rallies to win
Freshman keys late game-winning play vs. Oswego in 3-2 win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- Most of the players who can be expected to lift Naperville North to victory are seniors.
Indeed, one of them, Ty Konrad, scored the tying and winning goals Tuesday in the Huskies surprisingly stressful 3-2 victory over Oswego in a Best of the West Tournament opener.
But even Konrad readily admitted the credit should go to defender Alex Barger, the only freshman on Naperville North’s roster.
It was Barger who took matters into his own hands and seized the day in the 77th minute, beating several Oswego defenders to the left endline before rifling a cross in front to Konrad, who deflected the ball into the net with 2:17 remaining.
“That is unbelievable,” Konrad said of Barger’s play. “It does not get much better than that.
“He dices four of five guys. They all had to step to him, which leaves me open for an easy goal.
“He did all the work. He deserves credit for it.”
Just making the varsity team as a freshman marks Barger as a future star. But the fact that he immediately cracked the starting lineup speaks to how important he already is to the Huskies’ drive for a fourth-straight state championship.
“I’m happy for him, because he’s been fighting and battling back there,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “It’s tough for a freshman.
“We need him to be special for us. He’s got some tools that not many guys have.
“He scraps, and he’s so gifted physically. He’s also good with the ball, as you saw.
“What a great way to get your first varsity assist in a game-winning fashion.”
The Huskies (1-1-2) had to rally twice to hold off winless Oswego, which mustered only five shots but scored on two of them, one in the early minutes of each half.
Konrad pulled the hosts even at 2-2 when he converted a penalty kick with 8:25 left after the Panthers (0-2-1) were called for a handball on the goal line.
But with tournament rules dictating a penalty kick shootout if regulation ended in a tie, the Huskies were desperate to crack the win column in the run of play. Barger understood the urgency.
“I got the ball; I took a touch forward. I was like, ‘I’m just going to take them; let’s see what happens,’” Barger said. “I took one (defender), so I was like, ‘This didn’t work last time, but maybe I’ll pass it.’ Then I took (the next defender) on, and I look up and I see Ty is at the front post, slotted it in, he finishes it.”
It was only the second goal the Huskies have scored in the run of play this season. Of their other five, three have come on penalty kicks, one was an own goal and the other was Zach Smith’s 20-yard free kick at the 13:02 mark of the first half which required him to thread the needle between the left post and lunging Oswego goalkeeper Kade Gutierrez.
“We got bailed out again today by restarts,” Jim Konrad noted. “Two of the goals are on restarts and the third one was just a great effort from a scramble from Alex to keep fighting and find his way through the crowd and then Ty making the right run at the right time.
“Alex pretty much kicked it so hard it hit Ty in the foot, and it went in. Ty was quick enough to get his foot on it and redirect it.”
While the Huskies are far from pleased with their slow start, the emergence of Barger has been a pleasant surprise. No one is more surprised than Barger.
“(Making varsity) definitely surprised me,” Barger said. “I heard rumors but you can never assume. You can never believe what people are saying is true, so I just tried to do my best in tryouts.
“It is a great accomplishment. It’s crazy coming to a team that’s won three state championships. It’s an awesome team.
“I’m really amazed to play with kids like these. Ty has great speed, is a great player.”
Ty Konrad is pleased that Barger has held his own in the early going.
“He always brings the hustle,” the Ohio State-bound senior striker said. “He always puts his heart on the line. It’s good to see.
“He’s fast; he’s good on the ball and plays good balls in. He has a good soccer IQ.”
Ty Konrad knows what it’s like to be a freshman on varsity as he was a starter three years ago. But he had three fellow rookies – Ali Khorfan, Cesar Recendez and Jason Barba – with him. All are still on the team.
“(Being surrounded by seniors) is really great,” Barger said. “It’s a great fit. I feel like it’s pushing me, because I’m not with other freshmen.
“I’m with older players, and they are a lot better. It just pushes me to do my best and work hard every day.”
The Huskies now sit at no. 3 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 after holding the top spot for most of the weeks dating back to 2016. A 2-1 loss to new number one Morton on Saturday was the squad's first loss in 48-consecutive games.
Naperville North knows it will have to be a lot better if it is to return to the state finals. Defensive lapses led to two more goals as the Panthers took full advantage of their opportunities.
Sophomore Daniel Avila scored on the first shot of the game when he sprinted into the left side of the box and slotted a shot inside the right post at the 36:24 mark.
Oswego scored on the first shot of the second half, too. This time the Panthers counterattacked on a 3-on-2 break, and Avila crossed from the left side of the box. The ball missed the middle man but went to Martin Imbronjev, who settled it and beat Barba with a left-footed shot inside the right post to put the Panthers up 2-1 with 35:15 to go.
“We’ve got to get better,” Jim Konrad said. “Oswego is good.
“They did a great job of taking advantage of some beautiful plays, but it was our mistakes.
“We needed some luck, and we got it today. We have to do a better job of keeping our composure and doing the little things right, and we failed at that today. The boys have to do a better job if we’re going to put a good season together.”
Talent is not the issue. Rather, technical issues have held the team back, especially on nuts-and-bolts plays that often go unseen by fans.
“That’s typically wh,at we’re good at,” Jim Konrad said. “We’re not a pretty team, ever, but we usually lock down on the little things and we’re just struggling to find our way.”
That’s why this comeback win was important to the players.
“As far as team morale, I felt like we really needed this, because we started off the season kind of tough,” Ty Konrad said. “So as far as emotionally, everyone needed that.”
The Huskies got it because they were able to turn it up a notch over the final 20 minutes.
“Not only did we want it more, but we were all on the same page,” Ty Konrad said. “I think that was the key.
“Working hard is only (going to take you so far). You’ve got to work smart, too, so everyone’s got to be on the same page.”
Jim Konrad, Ty’s uncle, thinks the Huskies will stay on the same page.
“We’re just going to have to get better, and we will,” Jim Konrad said. “I have complete confidence in the boys that they all want to be successful.”
Starting lineups
Oswego
GK Kade Gutierrez
D Joseph Pagone
D Collin Moran
D Mason McCaw
D Maxwell Glover
M Steven Udy
M Samuel Mathew
M Luis Garcia
M Anthony Falcone
M Jael Chavez
F Daniel Avila
Naperville North
GK Jason Barba
D Evan Thompson
D Alex Barger
D Christian Romano
D Myles Barry
M Nata Rojas
M Cesar Recendez
M Zach Smith
M Josh Kaufman
F Keegan Flaherty
F Ty Konrad
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ty Konrad, sr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
Oswego – Daniel Avila 36:24
Naperville North – Zach Smith 13:02
Second half
Oswego – Martin Imbronjev (Avila) 35:15
Naperville North – Ty Konrad (PK) 8:25
Naperville North – Konrad (Alex Barger) 2:17
Freshman keys late game-winning play vs. Oswego in 3-2 win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- Most of the players who can be expected to lift Naperville North to victory are seniors.
Indeed, one of them, Ty Konrad, scored the tying and winning goals Tuesday in the Huskies surprisingly stressful 3-2 victory over Oswego in a Best of the West Tournament opener.
But even Konrad readily admitted the credit should go to defender Alex Barger, the only freshman on Naperville North’s roster.
It was Barger who took matters into his own hands and seized the day in the 77th minute, beating several Oswego defenders to the left endline before rifling a cross in front to Konrad, who deflected the ball into the net with 2:17 remaining.
“That is unbelievable,” Konrad said of Barger’s play. “It does not get much better than that.
“He dices four of five guys. They all had to step to him, which leaves me open for an easy goal.
“He did all the work. He deserves credit for it.”
Just making the varsity team as a freshman marks Barger as a future star. But the fact that he immediately cracked the starting lineup speaks to how important he already is to the Huskies’ drive for a fourth-straight state championship.
“I’m happy for him, because he’s been fighting and battling back there,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “It’s tough for a freshman.
“We need him to be special for us. He’s got some tools that not many guys have.
“He scraps, and he’s so gifted physically. He’s also good with the ball, as you saw.
“What a great way to get your first varsity assist in a game-winning fashion.”
The Huskies (1-1-2) had to rally twice to hold off winless Oswego, which mustered only five shots but scored on two of them, one in the early minutes of each half.
Konrad pulled the hosts even at 2-2 when he converted a penalty kick with 8:25 left after the Panthers (0-2-1) were called for a handball on the goal line.
But with tournament rules dictating a penalty kick shootout if regulation ended in a tie, the Huskies were desperate to crack the win column in the run of play. Barger understood the urgency.
“I got the ball; I took a touch forward. I was like, ‘I’m just going to take them; let’s see what happens,’” Barger said. “I took one (defender), so I was like, ‘This didn’t work last time, but maybe I’ll pass it.’ Then I took (the next defender) on, and I look up and I see Ty is at the front post, slotted it in, he finishes it.”
It was only the second goal the Huskies have scored in the run of play this season. Of their other five, three have come on penalty kicks, one was an own goal and the other was Zach Smith’s 20-yard free kick at the 13:02 mark of the first half which required him to thread the needle between the left post and lunging Oswego goalkeeper Kade Gutierrez.
“We got bailed out again today by restarts,” Jim Konrad noted. “Two of the goals are on restarts and the third one was just a great effort from a scramble from Alex to keep fighting and find his way through the crowd and then Ty making the right run at the right time.
“Alex pretty much kicked it so hard it hit Ty in the foot, and it went in. Ty was quick enough to get his foot on it and redirect it.”
While the Huskies are far from pleased with their slow start, the emergence of Barger has been a pleasant surprise. No one is more surprised than Barger.
“(Making varsity) definitely surprised me,” Barger said. “I heard rumors but you can never assume. You can never believe what people are saying is true, so I just tried to do my best in tryouts.
“It is a great accomplishment. It’s crazy coming to a team that’s won three state championships. It’s an awesome team.
“I’m really amazed to play with kids like these. Ty has great speed, is a great player.”
Ty Konrad is pleased that Barger has held his own in the early going.
“He always brings the hustle,” the Ohio State-bound senior striker said. “He always puts his heart on the line. It’s good to see.
“He’s fast; he’s good on the ball and plays good balls in. He has a good soccer IQ.”
Ty Konrad knows what it’s like to be a freshman on varsity as he was a starter three years ago. But he had three fellow rookies – Ali Khorfan, Cesar Recendez and Jason Barba – with him. All are still on the team.
“(Being surrounded by seniors) is really great,” Barger said. “It’s a great fit. I feel like it’s pushing me, because I’m not with other freshmen.
“I’m with older players, and they are a lot better. It just pushes me to do my best and work hard every day.”
The Huskies now sit at no. 3 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 after holding the top spot for most of the weeks dating back to 2016. A 2-1 loss to new number one Morton on Saturday was the squad's first loss in 48-consecutive games.
Naperville North knows it will have to be a lot better if it is to return to the state finals. Defensive lapses led to two more goals as the Panthers took full advantage of their opportunities.
Sophomore Daniel Avila scored on the first shot of the game when he sprinted into the left side of the box and slotted a shot inside the right post at the 36:24 mark.
Oswego scored on the first shot of the second half, too. This time the Panthers counterattacked on a 3-on-2 break, and Avila crossed from the left side of the box. The ball missed the middle man but went to Martin Imbronjev, who settled it and beat Barba with a left-footed shot inside the right post to put the Panthers up 2-1 with 35:15 to go.
“We’ve got to get better,” Jim Konrad said. “Oswego is good.
“They did a great job of taking advantage of some beautiful plays, but it was our mistakes.
“We needed some luck, and we got it today. We have to do a better job of keeping our composure and doing the little things right, and we failed at that today. The boys have to do a better job if we’re going to put a good season together.”
Talent is not the issue. Rather, technical issues have held the team back, especially on nuts-and-bolts plays that often go unseen by fans.
“That’s typically wh,at we’re good at,” Jim Konrad said. “We’re not a pretty team, ever, but we usually lock down on the little things and we’re just struggling to find our way.”
That’s why this comeback win was important to the players.
“As far as team morale, I felt like we really needed this, because we started off the season kind of tough,” Ty Konrad said. “So as far as emotionally, everyone needed that.”
The Huskies got it because they were able to turn it up a notch over the final 20 minutes.
“Not only did we want it more, but we were all on the same page,” Ty Konrad said. “I think that was the key.
“Working hard is only (going to take you so far). You’ve got to work smart, too, so everyone’s got to be on the same page.”
Jim Konrad, Ty’s uncle, thinks the Huskies will stay on the same page.
“We’re just going to have to get better, and we will,” Jim Konrad said. “I have complete confidence in the boys that they all want to be successful.”
Starting lineups
Oswego
GK Kade Gutierrez
D Joseph Pagone
D Collin Moran
D Mason McCaw
D Maxwell Glover
M Steven Udy
M Samuel Mathew
M Luis Garcia
M Anthony Falcone
M Jael Chavez
F Daniel Avila
Naperville North
GK Jason Barba
D Evan Thompson
D Alex Barger
D Christian Romano
D Myles Barry
M Nata Rojas
M Cesar Recendez
M Zach Smith
M Josh Kaufman
F Keegan Flaherty
F Ty Konrad
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ty Konrad, sr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
Oswego – Daniel Avila 36:24
Naperville North – Zach Smith 13:02
Second half
Oswego – Martin Imbronjev (Avila) 35:15
Naperville North – Ty Konrad (PK) 8:25
Naperville North – Konrad (Alex Barger) 2:17