Oswego E. tops Plainfield S. on PKs
Wolves edge Cougars in Southwest Prairie thriller
By Chris Walker
OSWEGO – Owen Kiilsgaard was still taking it all in a good 15 minutes after it all happened.
He was shaking.
Kiilsgaard had just saved the game for Oswego East, a game that started a half-hour or so late because of a tornado warning. It then needed the two 10-minute overtime periods before the game went to a shootout.
The game needed penalties because Kiilsgaard had punched out the potential game-winner with 3:38 remaining in the second overtime.
Kiilsgaard had never participated in a penalty shootout ever before, although there was that one time that he thought he earned the opportunity to do it.
That was almost 10 years ago.
“I used to play for the Chicago Fire when I was eight, and my coach pulled me out of the PK shootout,” Kiilsgaard said. “I was in goal for the second half. He pulled me out and someone else came in, and he saved all of them. I got the chance today.”
Those wondering how much a coach’s actions can affect a young athlete need look no further than Kiilsgaard, who seemingly had that experience in the back of his mind as he saved the Wolves from what would’ve been a crushing loss on their home field.
“It’s his first year on varsity, and he’s kind of our guy who is getting better every day,” Wolves coach Steve Szymanski said. “As far as making good saves, he makes a lot of them. His stat lines aren’t going to be anywhere near other guys winning awards, but he keeps us in a lot of games.”
Like when Plainfield South's Carlos Sagols lined his potential go-ahead shot with 3:38 left to play in the second overtime. It looked destined for the corner of the net.
“That shot (Sagols) hit was going into the corner of the net, but (Kiilsgaard) got a fingertip on it,” Szymanski said. “He has to make a save like that, and that forced us into the PKs.”
Dimitri Huitron, Zach Seidel and Kellen Klosterman all made their shootout attempts for Oswego East through the first three rounds. Max Treptow and Sagols hit the first two for Plainfield South.
Then Kiilsgaard made a diving save to deny freshman David Sanchez and give the Wolves a 3-2 advantage with two rounds to go. Then Klosterman’s older brother Ethan stepped up next for the Wolves.
“I know (Kellen) gets more nervous about PKs then I do, so I’m like, if he ever missed, and I don’t expect him to miss, but in the case that he does miss, I have the confidence in myself to score and get us right back on track," Ethan Klosterman said.
This time, there was added pressure on Ethan Klosterman since the Cougars had just been stopped, but he didn’t allow that to affect him. Klosterman converted to give the Wolves a 4-2 advantage and applied make-it-or-go-home pressure on Plainfield South junior Miki Derka.
Kiilsgaard delivered again, denying Derka before being mobbed by his teammates, who sprinted towards him to celebrate the victory.
For his fearlessness and mental toughness to make three huge saves, one in the second overtime and two in the shootout, Kiilsgaard was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“I’m still shaking,” Kiilsgard said. “I was ready for this because we do these in practice sometimes, like before conference games. We did these yesterday, and I saved two in practice. I’ve just been good at them, and it’s mental toughness.”
After Plainfield South deposited its first two tries, Kiilsgaard could hear Oswego East assistant coach Patrick Molinari yelling from off in the distance.
“Coach Mo (Molinari) says it a lot,” Kiilsgaard said. “How mentally tough are you? After those first two that I missed, I got hard on myself and heard him say, ‘How mentally tough are you?’ and I saved the next two.”
As thrilling an experience as it is to be in net during a shootout, it’s equally emotionally draining for the shooters, especially after their time is up and they’re left standing around rooting on their teammates.
“It’s always kind of terrible knowing you can’t do anything once your turn is over, but at the same time, he’s an amazing goalkeeper and we have tons of faith in him to save PKs,” Ethan Klosterman said.
“He always saves at least two PKs in practice so we can expect to know he’s going to make two saves. Because he can read them really well. It’s just really nerve-wracking until your team gets an advantage. Once he makes the first save, it makes it a lot easier and more comfortable to watch.”
Making saves in a shootout isn’t the same as stopping shots in the run of play, although the goal, no pun intended, is the same.
Just look at defending Class AA state champion Crystal Lake South, who turned to reserve goalkeeper Oscar Estrada for shootout victories in last year's state semifinals and state title game.
Estrada was in net for shootout wins over Gibault and then over Notre Dame (Peoria) in the championship after he twice sat and watched 100 minutes of soccer.
Kiilsgaard showed he could make saves early, later and at the end.
“The biggest difference is it’s just him (the shooter) and you,” Kiilsgaard said. “Normally you have a center back in front you and you know someone is behind him trying to get to the ball or you have someone else, but (in a shootout) you’re on an island and everyone is just watching.”
While he was thrilled to rise to the occasion to save the victory, Kiilsgaard didn’t hold back in saying that the game shouldn’t have come down to a shootout.
“We didn’t play hard enough,” he said. “We should’ve won in the 80 minutes. They were playing a man down and that’s no excuse for us. We had no excuses. Everybody was tired, everybody was playing in the same conditions. I think we just weren’t willing to put the effort in for the 80 minutes.”
As exciting as a shootout can be, it’s always a rough way for the players to have to decide a game.
“That’s something we had talked about during a preseason coaches meeting, and I’m pretty confident we’re going to change that for next year,” Plainfield South coach Bryant Williams said.
“To have two teams come out and battle for 100 minutes of soccer, it really stinks to have one team lose and take a loss in this when the teams are as equally matched as we were. And I’d say the same thing if we came out ahead in the PKs and would say the same thing to Steve (Szymanski) over there. It’s a terrible way to have to end the game when two teams have battled so hard for 100 minutes. But it is what it is, and we have to move on.”
Oswego East took the lead after halftime when Huitron forwarded a beautifully placed ball to Dacarlos Parodis-Yu, who finished it with 33:31 left to play to give the Wolves the advantage. However, it didn't last long.
Plainfield South responded with the equalizer at 32:11 when Sagols scored on a pass from Derka.
“It was a great finish,” Kiilsgaard said. “Chest, volley and bottom corner. I mean, I was close to it, but no one’s saving that.”
“We felt really motivated after getting scored on,” Sagols said. “We wanted to win this so badly, and we tried to play our (butts) off, but it’s soccer. We felt we deserved to win, but the other team got the upper hand on us.”
Sagols said the Cougars were able to make things uncomfortable for the Wolves after drawing even.
“We came out very good in the second half,” he said. “We pressured a lot, and we made them feel uncomfortable on their pitch. That’s the best thing you can do as an away team – make them uncomfortable and see how it turns out.”
Derka, Sagols, Treptow, Josue Jimenez and Fabian Alvarado had the best scoring opportunities for the Cougars. Huiton, Ethan Klosterman, Andre Casas, Carter Boberg and freshman newcomer Ben Paranidharan, playing in his first varsity game, were most dangerous for the Wolves.
Back-to-back yellow cards with 19:22 left in regulation forced the Cougars to have to play a man down, but the Wolves were unable to take advantage.
“I was really happy with the boys and how they responded so quick, and when they did, I thought maybe we could carry that momentum on and get that second goal,” Williams said. “But, of course, when we got the two yellows resulting in the red it really slowed down our momentum and we had to go from attacking to survival mode and we let them hang around with us then.”
Eventually, Williams changed things up to try to give the Cougars a better chance of scoring the go-ahead goal.
“We changed up the offense a little bit and instead of one striker, we went back to two and went with three in the midfield,” he said. “I’m proud with how the boys played and any time it’s Oswego East it’s two evenly-matched programs, and we’ve played some really close games.
"(Szymanski) does a great job with his boys. You know they will be ready to play and brings a lot of enthusiasm. He’s one of the guys in this league that all the coaches respect, and he’s one of the guys near the top for me who I have ton of respect for, and for what he’s done for their program, and when you come and play on the grass you’ve got to bring it when you play these guys.”
Szymanski has been harping on his guys about giving a full effort from start to finish. He acknowledged that such an effort was far better Thursday than it was Tuesday at Oswego.
He’s also wondering when the Wolves are going to stop surrendering goals right after they’ve scored one, or immediately after they’ve already yielded one.
“I think that’s the third time now that it’s happened this year,” he said. “It’s something that has got to be better. We played a lot harder than Tuesday. We went in hard for tackles, and some guys are a little banged up, but they still went out there and battled. The funny thing is I was talking to (Williams) before the game and said we’re going to go to OT and it’s going to get dark.”
Szymanski isn’t a professional prognosticator but he played one Thursday.
“Both teams came in struggling a little bit and we’re not happy with where we’re at, but it’s always a tough battle with them,” he said. “They always play hard. I thought our guys played a lot harder, which was good to see, but our communication still needs to be better. We’ll have two guys going for a ball and then no one will go for a ball. The guys need to communicate better.”
Still, Szymanski saw progress, and not just because the Wolves were victorious.
“I think we’re going in the right direction, but we don’t want to have to be in OT games,” he said. “But we’ll take them anyway we can. We knew when we went into OT, (Kiilsgaard) was going to save two so our guys just had to focus on making their shots like they do everyday in practice.”
The game stretched out to likely take the most time for a match this season for either team. Although start time was 4:30 p.m., the game didn’t begin until 5:03 due to a tornado warning. After 80 minutes of regulation, 20 minutes of overtime and the shootout, there was just enough daylight to complete the shootout.
That’s still better than last year. That game started on Sept. 25 but wasn’t finished until Oct. 11. How’d that happen? You’ll just have to go back into the Chicagoland Soccer archives and read about it.
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK Robert Coetzee
D Fabian Alvarado
D Thomas Garner
D Rocco Rizzi
D Tyler Whitmire
D Zachary Kolb
MF Josue Jimenez
MF Carlos Sagols
MF Duval Verdin, Jr.
F Maxwell Treptow
F Miki Derka
Oswego East
GK Owen Kiilsgaard
D Cael Cummings
D Ryan D’Adamo
D John Danison
D Zach Seidel
MF Grant Glorioso
MF Dimitri Huitron
MF Ethan Klosterman
MF Kellen Klosterman
MF Sahil Sethi
F Dacarlos Parodis-Yu
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Owen Kiilsgaard, jr., GK, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Oswego East – Dacarlos Parodis-Yu (Dimitri Huitron) 33:31
Plainfield South – Carlos Sagols (Miki Derka) 32:11
First OT
No scoring
Second OT
No scoring
OE wins PKs 4-2
Wolves edge Cougars in Southwest Prairie thriller
By Chris Walker
OSWEGO – Owen Kiilsgaard was still taking it all in a good 15 minutes after it all happened.
He was shaking.
Kiilsgaard had just saved the game for Oswego East, a game that started a half-hour or so late because of a tornado warning. It then needed the two 10-minute overtime periods before the game went to a shootout.
The game needed penalties because Kiilsgaard had punched out the potential game-winner with 3:38 remaining in the second overtime.
Kiilsgaard had never participated in a penalty shootout ever before, although there was that one time that he thought he earned the opportunity to do it.
That was almost 10 years ago.
“I used to play for the Chicago Fire when I was eight, and my coach pulled me out of the PK shootout,” Kiilsgaard said. “I was in goal for the second half. He pulled me out and someone else came in, and he saved all of them. I got the chance today.”
Those wondering how much a coach’s actions can affect a young athlete need look no further than Kiilsgaard, who seemingly had that experience in the back of his mind as he saved the Wolves from what would’ve been a crushing loss on their home field.
“It’s his first year on varsity, and he’s kind of our guy who is getting better every day,” Wolves coach Steve Szymanski said. “As far as making good saves, he makes a lot of them. His stat lines aren’t going to be anywhere near other guys winning awards, but he keeps us in a lot of games.”
Like when Plainfield South's Carlos Sagols lined his potential go-ahead shot with 3:38 left to play in the second overtime. It looked destined for the corner of the net.
“That shot (Sagols) hit was going into the corner of the net, but (Kiilsgaard) got a fingertip on it,” Szymanski said. “He has to make a save like that, and that forced us into the PKs.”
Dimitri Huitron, Zach Seidel and Kellen Klosterman all made their shootout attempts for Oswego East through the first three rounds. Max Treptow and Sagols hit the first two for Plainfield South.
Then Kiilsgaard made a diving save to deny freshman David Sanchez and give the Wolves a 3-2 advantage with two rounds to go. Then Klosterman’s older brother Ethan stepped up next for the Wolves.
“I know (Kellen) gets more nervous about PKs then I do, so I’m like, if he ever missed, and I don’t expect him to miss, but in the case that he does miss, I have the confidence in myself to score and get us right back on track," Ethan Klosterman said.
This time, there was added pressure on Ethan Klosterman since the Cougars had just been stopped, but he didn’t allow that to affect him. Klosterman converted to give the Wolves a 4-2 advantage and applied make-it-or-go-home pressure on Plainfield South junior Miki Derka.
Kiilsgaard delivered again, denying Derka before being mobbed by his teammates, who sprinted towards him to celebrate the victory.
For his fearlessness and mental toughness to make three huge saves, one in the second overtime and two in the shootout, Kiilsgaard was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“I’m still shaking,” Kiilsgard said. “I was ready for this because we do these in practice sometimes, like before conference games. We did these yesterday, and I saved two in practice. I’ve just been good at them, and it’s mental toughness.”
After Plainfield South deposited its first two tries, Kiilsgaard could hear Oswego East assistant coach Patrick Molinari yelling from off in the distance.
“Coach Mo (Molinari) says it a lot,” Kiilsgaard said. “How mentally tough are you? After those first two that I missed, I got hard on myself and heard him say, ‘How mentally tough are you?’ and I saved the next two.”
As thrilling an experience as it is to be in net during a shootout, it’s equally emotionally draining for the shooters, especially after their time is up and they’re left standing around rooting on their teammates.
“It’s always kind of terrible knowing you can’t do anything once your turn is over, but at the same time, he’s an amazing goalkeeper and we have tons of faith in him to save PKs,” Ethan Klosterman said.
“He always saves at least two PKs in practice so we can expect to know he’s going to make two saves. Because he can read them really well. It’s just really nerve-wracking until your team gets an advantage. Once he makes the first save, it makes it a lot easier and more comfortable to watch.”
Making saves in a shootout isn’t the same as stopping shots in the run of play, although the goal, no pun intended, is the same.
Just look at defending Class AA state champion Crystal Lake South, who turned to reserve goalkeeper Oscar Estrada for shootout victories in last year's state semifinals and state title game.
Estrada was in net for shootout wins over Gibault and then over Notre Dame (Peoria) in the championship after he twice sat and watched 100 minutes of soccer.
Kiilsgaard showed he could make saves early, later and at the end.
“The biggest difference is it’s just him (the shooter) and you,” Kiilsgaard said. “Normally you have a center back in front you and you know someone is behind him trying to get to the ball or you have someone else, but (in a shootout) you’re on an island and everyone is just watching.”
While he was thrilled to rise to the occasion to save the victory, Kiilsgaard didn’t hold back in saying that the game shouldn’t have come down to a shootout.
“We didn’t play hard enough,” he said. “We should’ve won in the 80 minutes. They were playing a man down and that’s no excuse for us. We had no excuses. Everybody was tired, everybody was playing in the same conditions. I think we just weren’t willing to put the effort in for the 80 minutes.”
As exciting as a shootout can be, it’s always a rough way for the players to have to decide a game.
“That’s something we had talked about during a preseason coaches meeting, and I’m pretty confident we’re going to change that for next year,” Plainfield South coach Bryant Williams said.
“To have two teams come out and battle for 100 minutes of soccer, it really stinks to have one team lose and take a loss in this when the teams are as equally matched as we were. And I’d say the same thing if we came out ahead in the PKs and would say the same thing to Steve (Szymanski) over there. It’s a terrible way to have to end the game when two teams have battled so hard for 100 minutes. But it is what it is, and we have to move on.”
Oswego East took the lead after halftime when Huitron forwarded a beautifully placed ball to Dacarlos Parodis-Yu, who finished it with 33:31 left to play to give the Wolves the advantage. However, it didn't last long.
Plainfield South responded with the equalizer at 32:11 when Sagols scored on a pass from Derka.
“It was a great finish,” Kiilsgaard said. “Chest, volley and bottom corner. I mean, I was close to it, but no one’s saving that.”
“We felt really motivated after getting scored on,” Sagols said. “We wanted to win this so badly, and we tried to play our (butts) off, but it’s soccer. We felt we deserved to win, but the other team got the upper hand on us.”
Sagols said the Cougars were able to make things uncomfortable for the Wolves after drawing even.
“We came out very good in the second half,” he said. “We pressured a lot, and we made them feel uncomfortable on their pitch. That’s the best thing you can do as an away team – make them uncomfortable and see how it turns out.”
Derka, Sagols, Treptow, Josue Jimenez and Fabian Alvarado had the best scoring opportunities for the Cougars. Huiton, Ethan Klosterman, Andre Casas, Carter Boberg and freshman newcomer Ben Paranidharan, playing in his first varsity game, were most dangerous for the Wolves.
Back-to-back yellow cards with 19:22 left in regulation forced the Cougars to have to play a man down, but the Wolves were unable to take advantage.
“I was really happy with the boys and how they responded so quick, and when they did, I thought maybe we could carry that momentum on and get that second goal,” Williams said. “But, of course, when we got the two yellows resulting in the red it really slowed down our momentum and we had to go from attacking to survival mode and we let them hang around with us then.”
Eventually, Williams changed things up to try to give the Cougars a better chance of scoring the go-ahead goal.
“We changed up the offense a little bit and instead of one striker, we went back to two and went with three in the midfield,” he said. “I’m proud with how the boys played and any time it’s Oswego East it’s two evenly-matched programs, and we’ve played some really close games.
"(Szymanski) does a great job with his boys. You know they will be ready to play and brings a lot of enthusiasm. He’s one of the guys in this league that all the coaches respect, and he’s one of the guys near the top for me who I have ton of respect for, and for what he’s done for their program, and when you come and play on the grass you’ve got to bring it when you play these guys.”
Szymanski has been harping on his guys about giving a full effort from start to finish. He acknowledged that such an effort was far better Thursday than it was Tuesday at Oswego.
He’s also wondering when the Wolves are going to stop surrendering goals right after they’ve scored one, or immediately after they’ve already yielded one.
“I think that’s the third time now that it’s happened this year,” he said. “It’s something that has got to be better. We played a lot harder than Tuesday. We went in hard for tackles, and some guys are a little banged up, but they still went out there and battled. The funny thing is I was talking to (Williams) before the game and said we’re going to go to OT and it’s going to get dark.”
Szymanski isn’t a professional prognosticator but he played one Thursday.
“Both teams came in struggling a little bit and we’re not happy with where we’re at, but it’s always a tough battle with them,” he said. “They always play hard. I thought our guys played a lot harder, which was good to see, but our communication still needs to be better. We’ll have two guys going for a ball and then no one will go for a ball. The guys need to communicate better.”
Still, Szymanski saw progress, and not just because the Wolves were victorious.
“I think we’re going in the right direction, but we don’t want to have to be in OT games,” he said. “But we’ll take them anyway we can. We knew when we went into OT, (Kiilsgaard) was going to save two so our guys just had to focus on making their shots like they do everyday in practice.”
The game stretched out to likely take the most time for a match this season for either team. Although start time was 4:30 p.m., the game didn’t begin until 5:03 due to a tornado warning. After 80 minutes of regulation, 20 minutes of overtime and the shootout, there was just enough daylight to complete the shootout.
That’s still better than last year. That game started on Sept. 25 but wasn’t finished until Oct. 11. How’d that happen? You’ll just have to go back into the Chicagoland Soccer archives and read about it.
Starting lineups
Plainfield South
GK Robert Coetzee
D Fabian Alvarado
D Thomas Garner
D Rocco Rizzi
D Tyler Whitmire
D Zachary Kolb
MF Josue Jimenez
MF Carlos Sagols
MF Duval Verdin, Jr.
F Maxwell Treptow
F Miki Derka
Oswego East
GK Owen Kiilsgaard
D Cael Cummings
D Ryan D’Adamo
D John Danison
D Zach Seidel
MF Grant Glorioso
MF Dimitri Huitron
MF Ethan Klosterman
MF Kellen Klosterman
MF Sahil Sethi
F Dacarlos Parodis-Yu
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Owen Kiilsgaard, jr., GK, Oswego East
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Oswego East – Dacarlos Parodis-Yu (Dimitri Huitron) 33:31
Plainfield South – Carlos Sagols (Miki Derka) 32:11
First OT
No scoring
Second OT
No scoring
OE wins PKs 4-2