'2nd half team' Oswego E. tops Plainfield N.
Inspired Wolves roll to 5-1 win for injured coach
By Dave Owen
OSWEGO – Tuesday was a day for doctors, then domination.
The Oswego East injury list before and during Tuesday’s match with Plainfield North knew no limits.
Standout midfielder Kyle Blasingame missed the match, Manuel Magana exited early in the first half with a toe injury, and head coach Steve Szymanski faced the most serious ailment of all -- a torn hamstring suffered in practice Monday that will require surgery later this week and end his season.
“The hamstring tore from the bone – I’ll be out of school (on medical leave) until Thanksgiving,” said Szymanski, who will be replaced as head coach for the rest of the season by assistant Patrick Molinari. “For six weeks I won’t even be able to move my leg.”
In his final game of the year, the Wolves players gave their popular coach a get-well present to remember -- a five-goal second half explosion that turned a 0-0 halftime tie with Plainfield North into a 5-1 Southwest Prairie Conference win for Oswego East (9-4-2, 4-0-0).
And keeping with the day’s painful theme, it was a key injury to the visiting Tigers (3-12-1, 1-3-0) seconds after the break that proved to be a turning point.
After making seven saves in a stellar first half, Plainfield North senior goalkeeper Brandon Fox exited the game 56 seconds into the second half. On a Tristan Stewart send to the box, Fox beat Oswego East’s Ryan Aten to the loose ball but suffered a leg injury in the ensuing collision that sidelined him the rest of the match.
Just over four minutes later, an Oswego East offense that had been on the attack but unable to break through found its mark and continued to roll with five goals in a 31-minute span.
“Their other keeper (Alex Noser) was doing good too,” Wolves forward Ford Frazer said. “Nothing really changed there. We just started finishing opportunities, and I think we just started to make that extra pass instead of being selfish.
“In the first half a lot of shots were good, but the keeper (Fox) made really nice saves, and we didn’t follow through. In the second half we followed through on a lot of them, and we came through.”
Frazer started the Wolves’ offensive inferno in the second half.
After combining with Michael Waclaw to block a Tigers clearing attempt at the left upper corner of the box, Frazer fielded the loose ball, dribbled in and powered a 12-yard shot inside the right post.
“I was just trying to fight through,” said Frazer, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “I know I have to be a game-changer for our team.
“We’ve been trying to just slow it down, work it around the field, pass it more and try to find it out wide. We got it wide and our intensity changed. We knew we had this win if we put our effort in. Putting all that effort in the first 10 minutes helped us get that extra edge.”
The goal that provided the 1-0 lead was Frazer’s sixth of 2017 and ended his recent scoring drought.
“I haven’t been able to do that lately,” he said, “so I was glad I was able to do it there, show my physicality and kind of motivate the team. And it sparked something on this field. I’m happy we got it rolling.”
Rolling like a tidal wave.
Just 51 seconds later, Oswego East goalkeeper Nate Huerter made a save on Kanon Woodill’s 50-yard free kick. Huerter’s ensuing long punt to Frazer beyond midfield set up a Waclaw left side attack.
Driving all the way to the end line, Waclaw tucked a 6-yard shot just inside the near post for a 2-0 Oswego East lead.
“The coaches just tell me to play fast,” Huerter said of his role in the quick counterattack. “I got the ball, played it up fast, and it worked out.
“Honestly we’re a second half team. The first half we played slow. In the second half we came out better, faster and worked harder.”
Plainfield North junior captain Brian Bertoni tried to sum up the sudden downturn in his team’s fortunes.
“Our goalie (Fox) really saved us in the first half with huge saves,” Bertoni said. “He really kept us in the game 0-0 at halftime, and then those really quick, easy goals the first few minutes of the second half just destroyed us.
“We tried to fight back, but it wasn’t enough. We played good soccer, connected a few balls and had some decent shots. Other days we maybe win the game.
“We just have to learn to play as a team. That’s been our problem all year,” Bertoni added. “Play as a team, go hard, compete the whole time you’re in, complete passes, and just work off the ball. That’s the way to win games.”
Down 2-0 on Tuesday, the Tigers responded with a 10-minute surge of increased offensive pressure.
Tigers junior Yousef Ismail tried to turn the momentum with two good chances. But his 20-yard shot off a Dilan Anweiler pass with 31:30 left was saved by Huerter. The Wolves keeper again made the grab on Ismail’s high 20-yard drive off a John Seeley pass with 27:45 to go.
Huerter faced a series of rapid-fire tests. He dove on a Shea Bechtel cross to the crease with 24:30 left. Then 40 seconds later, passes from Anweiler and Bechtel set up a Bertoni 15-yarder that went just over the crossbar.
With 21:15 to go, a Ryley Burich corner kick for Plainfield North was denied on a Mitch Hlavacek header and Frazer clear. The Tigers were at it again after an Oliver Fisher corner kick three minutes later, but Nolan Laczynski's initial blocked shot and ensuing Huerter save on Bertoni’s header on goal (off a Burich cross) ended another threat.
Szymanski answered the Plainfield North surge with four substitutions with 17:40 left, and the results were immediate.
On a Hlavacek 35-yard free kick with 16:16 left, Noser made the initial save, but Juan Manrique hustled for the loose ball near the crease. His goal made the lead 3-0, and added to a growing list of Wolves heroes.
“Juan Manrique stepped up and got his first varsity goal which was really nice, and it was a hustle goal,” Szymanski said. “He’s not a forward, but he was up there in the right spot and just put it in.
“I thought Ford came around. He’s been struggling a little bit and putting pressure on himself to score. Michael, ... he’s been playing well for us. Tristan (Stewart) has been great for us all year, and Gabe (Jones, who scored the fifth Wolves goal) came off the bench and did a nice job.
“It was nice to see those guys step up,” Szymanski added, “and we only had four or five subs with all the guys banged up. Manuel Magana has been probably our best player all year, and he went out. Not having him, hurt, but I think everyone stepped up.”
Down 3-0, Plainfield North also stepped up the heat.
After Xavier Pacheco replaced Huerter as Oswego East’s goalkeeper with 16:16 left, he was immediately tested with a low save on an Adan Juarez shot.
Then after Plainfield North got a nice foot block from Patrick Elster at the near post after a Laczynski corner kick with 12 minutes left, Bertoni initiated a counterrattack 15 seconds later.
His send from inside midfield sprung Juarez in on the right side. Juarez went down in the box and was awarded a penalty kick. He converted to cut the deficit to 3-1 with 11:27 left.
“I was going to take it on myself,” Bertoni said, “then I saw him (Juarez) out wide so I just bent it in. I hoped he would win it, and luckily he did. He went down, and got the PK.”
In a week of bad breaks that began with a 2-1 loss to Batavia and continued with his own serious injury, Szymanski was anything but relaxed.
“A lot of times you give up a goal, and you’re still up two,” he said. “But two’s the worst lead in soccer.”
But Oswego East didn’t let soccer cliches or a brief downturn ruin its great second half.
A Wolves blitz with 8:15 left resulted in Noser’s initial save on a Waclaw shot, followed by Fisher’s block off the goal line of Joey Bavol’s rebound.
Then after Manrique nicely denied a Bertoni drive into the Oswego East box with 7:45 left, the Wolves closed the match in style.
Off a pass from Johnson, Waclaw nicely sidestepped defenders and drove a low 15-yard shot off the right post. Johnson was there for the point blank rebound putaway, and the lead was 4-1 with 5:25 to go.
After Frazer was barely denied a second goal on a diving save by Noser, Jones added an offensive twist to his energetic second half play.
Winning a loose ball left of the net with 3:17 left, Jones sidestepped a defender and lined an 8-yarder inside the near post to cap the scoring.
“I was just trying to get to the ball and help my team,” said Jones. “I saw a chance over in the corner to make a couple cuts, and I saw the goalkeeper had a little space (inside the near post) so I just placed it. I’m just trying to score some goals and make some nice passes.”
Before scoring his second goal of the season, Jones had made an instant impression off the bench with 26 minutes left by making back-to-back midfield steals.
“I think we’re just a second half team,” Jones said. “Our star players and our bench players just turn it on in the second half.
“One of our players Dawson likes to tell us, every time us bench players come on, we have to have the same intensity as the starters come on with,” Jones said. “That’s how we kind of explode in the second half.”
Jones also noted an added inspiration to finish strong on Tuesday.
“It really helps with our coaches too,” Jones said. “We really tried to put this game on the line for our coach (Szymanski), who just got an injury. We’re going to miss him.”
The Wolves continue to respond to all tests, whether it be injuries to players and coaches or tough losses.
“I was happy with how we finished up today,” Szymanski said. “I thought in the first half we kind of were going through the motions. We just played better as a team in the second half.
“We had a bad loss against Batavia. With guys being hurt and us not being ready to play, they kind of snuck up on us. (Batavia coach) Mark (Gianfrancesco) always does a good job -- they’re in every game. I knew it was going to be a battle, but sometimes a loss in the middle of the season when you’re not playing great helps get you motivated.”
Motivation will be plentiful again Thursday, as the Wolves face fellow conference unbeaten Oswego.
“They (Oswego) are playing really well,” Szymanski said. “They started off slow, but now their offense is coming together with two kids up-top who are tough.
“I tell our kids every year throw out the records, it’s a rivalry game. Go out and have fun, and hopefully we defend well, finish our opportunities and come out on top. That’s the key, limit our mistakes and finish chances.
“In the first half (Tuesday) we had so many shots on goal and didn’t finish one,” Szymanski added. “I don’t know if we’re going to get that many against Oswego. When we get those, we have to take advantage.”
A second half splurge like Tuesday’s will fuel the Wolves.
“It’s definitely going to keep us going,” Frazer said. “We had a little rough patch the last couple of games, but this is definitely going to be a game-changer that changes our attitudes and motivation. We’re going to try to keep on this winning until the playoffs and just try to win out the season.
“We want to win this conference, and we have a big game Thursday. So hopefully this keeps us going to play a full 80 minutes Thursday, with putting it all on the field.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK Brandon Fox
D Alex Ryan
D Kanon Woodill
D Oliver Fisher
D Jared Osborne
M Yousef Ismail
M John Seeley
M Ryley Burich
M Patrick Elster
F Brian Bertoni
F Shea Bechtel
Oswego East
GK Nate Huerter
D Mitch Hlavacek
D Dawson Johnson
D Joey Bavol
D Caleb Harris
M Nolan Laczynski
M Tristan Stewart
M Ryan Aten
M Manuel Magana
F Ford Frazer
F Michael Waclaw
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ford Frazer, jr., F, Oswego East
Scoring summary
2nd HALF: OE – Frazer (Waclaw); OE – Waclaw (Huerter, Frazer); OE – Manrique (Hlavacek); PN – Juarez (penalty kick); OE – Johnson (Waclaw);
OE – Jones (unassisted)
Inspired Wolves roll to 5-1 win for injured coach
By Dave Owen
OSWEGO – Tuesday was a day for doctors, then domination.
The Oswego East injury list before and during Tuesday’s match with Plainfield North knew no limits.
Standout midfielder Kyle Blasingame missed the match, Manuel Magana exited early in the first half with a toe injury, and head coach Steve Szymanski faced the most serious ailment of all -- a torn hamstring suffered in practice Monday that will require surgery later this week and end his season.
“The hamstring tore from the bone – I’ll be out of school (on medical leave) until Thanksgiving,” said Szymanski, who will be replaced as head coach for the rest of the season by assistant Patrick Molinari. “For six weeks I won’t even be able to move my leg.”
In his final game of the year, the Wolves players gave their popular coach a get-well present to remember -- a five-goal second half explosion that turned a 0-0 halftime tie with Plainfield North into a 5-1 Southwest Prairie Conference win for Oswego East (9-4-2, 4-0-0).
And keeping with the day’s painful theme, it was a key injury to the visiting Tigers (3-12-1, 1-3-0) seconds after the break that proved to be a turning point.
After making seven saves in a stellar first half, Plainfield North senior goalkeeper Brandon Fox exited the game 56 seconds into the second half. On a Tristan Stewart send to the box, Fox beat Oswego East’s Ryan Aten to the loose ball but suffered a leg injury in the ensuing collision that sidelined him the rest of the match.
Just over four minutes later, an Oswego East offense that had been on the attack but unable to break through found its mark and continued to roll with five goals in a 31-minute span.
“Their other keeper (Alex Noser) was doing good too,” Wolves forward Ford Frazer said. “Nothing really changed there. We just started finishing opportunities, and I think we just started to make that extra pass instead of being selfish.
“In the first half a lot of shots were good, but the keeper (Fox) made really nice saves, and we didn’t follow through. In the second half we followed through on a lot of them, and we came through.”
Frazer started the Wolves’ offensive inferno in the second half.
After combining with Michael Waclaw to block a Tigers clearing attempt at the left upper corner of the box, Frazer fielded the loose ball, dribbled in and powered a 12-yard shot inside the right post.
“I was just trying to fight through,” said Frazer, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “I know I have to be a game-changer for our team.
“We’ve been trying to just slow it down, work it around the field, pass it more and try to find it out wide. We got it wide and our intensity changed. We knew we had this win if we put our effort in. Putting all that effort in the first 10 minutes helped us get that extra edge.”
The goal that provided the 1-0 lead was Frazer’s sixth of 2017 and ended his recent scoring drought.
“I haven’t been able to do that lately,” he said, “so I was glad I was able to do it there, show my physicality and kind of motivate the team. And it sparked something on this field. I’m happy we got it rolling.”
Rolling like a tidal wave.
Just 51 seconds later, Oswego East goalkeeper Nate Huerter made a save on Kanon Woodill’s 50-yard free kick. Huerter’s ensuing long punt to Frazer beyond midfield set up a Waclaw left side attack.
Driving all the way to the end line, Waclaw tucked a 6-yard shot just inside the near post for a 2-0 Oswego East lead.
“The coaches just tell me to play fast,” Huerter said of his role in the quick counterattack. “I got the ball, played it up fast, and it worked out.
“Honestly we’re a second half team. The first half we played slow. In the second half we came out better, faster and worked harder.”
Plainfield North junior captain Brian Bertoni tried to sum up the sudden downturn in his team’s fortunes.
“Our goalie (Fox) really saved us in the first half with huge saves,” Bertoni said. “He really kept us in the game 0-0 at halftime, and then those really quick, easy goals the first few minutes of the second half just destroyed us.
“We tried to fight back, but it wasn’t enough. We played good soccer, connected a few balls and had some decent shots. Other days we maybe win the game.
“We just have to learn to play as a team. That’s been our problem all year,” Bertoni added. “Play as a team, go hard, compete the whole time you’re in, complete passes, and just work off the ball. That’s the way to win games.”
Down 2-0 on Tuesday, the Tigers responded with a 10-minute surge of increased offensive pressure.
Tigers junior Yousef Ismail tried to turn the momentum with two good chances. But his 20-yard shot off a Dilan Anweiler pass with 31:30 left was saved by Huerter. The Wolves keeper again made the grab on Ismail’s high 20-yard drive off a John Seeley pass with 27:45 to go.
Huerter faced a series of rapid-fire tests. He dove on a Shea Bechtel cross to the crease with 24:30 left. Then 40 seconds later, passes from Anweiler and Bechtel set up a Bertoni 15-yarder that went just over the crossbar.
With 21:15 to go, a Ryley Burich corner kick for Plainfield North was denied on a Mitch Hlavacek header and Frazer clear. The Tigers were at it again after an Oliver Fisher corner kick three minutes later, but Nolan Laczynski's initial blocked shot and ensuing Huerter save on Bertoni’s header on goal (off a Burich cross) ended another threat.
Szymanski answered the Plainfield North surge with four substitutions with 17:40 left, and the results were immediate.
On a Hlavacek 35-yard free kick with 16:16 left, Noser made the initial save, but Juan Manrique hustled for the loose ball near the crease. His goal made the lead 3-0, and added to a growing list of Wolves heroes.
“Juan Manrique stepped up and got his first varsity goal which was really nice, and it was a hustle goal,” Szymanski said. “He’s not a forward, but he was up there in the right spot and just put it in.
“I thought Ford came around. He’s been struggling a little bit and putting pressure on himself to score. Michael, ... he’s been playing well for us. Tristan (Stewart) has been great for us all year, and Gabe (Jones, who scored the fifth Wolves goal) came off the bench and did a nice job.
“It was nice to see those guys step up,” Szymanski added, “and we only had four or five subs with all the guys banged up. Manuel Magana has been probably our best player all year, and he went out. Not having him, hurt, but I think everyone stepped up.”
Down 3-0, Plainfield North also stepped up the heat.
After Xavier Pacheco replaced Huerter as Oswego East’s goalkeeper with 16:16 left, he was immediately tested with a low save on an Adan Juarez shot.
Then after Plainfield North got a nice foot block from Patrick Elster at the near post after a Laczynski corner kick with 12 minutes left, Bertoni initiated a counterrattack 15 seconds later.
His send from inside midfield sprung Juarez in on the right side. Juarez went down in the box and was awarded a penalty kick. He converted to cut the deficit to 3-1 with 11:27 left.
“I was going to take it on myself,” Bertoni said, “then I saw him (Juarez) out wide so I just bent it in. I hoped he would win it, and luckily he did. He went down, and got the PK.”
In a week of bad breaks that began with a 2-1 loss to Batavia and continued with his own serious injury, Szymanski was anything but relaxed.
“A lot of times you give up a goal, and you’re still up two,” he said. “But two’s the worst lead in soccer.”
But Oswego East didn’t let soccer cliches or a brief downturn ruin its great second half.
A Wolves blitz with 8:15 left resulted in Noser’s initial save on a Waclaw shot, followed by Fisher’s block off the goal line of Joey Bavol’s rebound.
Then after Manrique nicely denied a Bertoni drive into the Oswego East box with 7:45 left, the Wolves closed the match in style.
Off a pass from Johnson, Waclaw nicely sidestepped defenders and drove a low 15-yard shot off the right post. Johnson was there for the point blank rebound putaway, and the lead was 4-1 with 5:25 to go.
After Frazer was barely denied a second goal on a diving save by Noser, Jones added an offensive twist to his energetic second half play.
Winning a loose ball left of the net with 3:17 left, Jones sidestepped a defender and lined an 8-yarder inside the near post to cap the scoring.
“I was just trying to get to the ball and help my team,” said Jones. “I saw a chance over in the corner to make a couple cuts, and I saw the goalkeeper had a little space (inside the near post) so I just placed it. I’m just trying to score some goals and make some nice passes.”
Before scoring his second goal of the season, Jones had made an instant impression off the bench with 26 minutes left by making back-to-back midfield steals.
“I think we’re just a second half team,” Jones said. “Our star players and our bench players just turn it on in the second half.
“One of our players Dawson likes to tell us, every time us bench players come on, we have to have the same intensity as the starters come on with,” Jones said. “That’s how we kind of explode in the second half.”
Jones also noted an added inspiration to finish strong on Tuesday.
“It really helps with our coaches too,” Jones said. “We really tried to put this game on the line for our coach (Szymanski), who just got an injury. We’re going to miss him.”
The Wolves continue to respond to all tests, whether it be injuries to players and coaches or tough losses.
“I was happy with how we finished up today,” Szymanski said. “I thought in the first half we kind of were going through the motions. We just played better as a team in the second half.
“We had a bad loss against Batavia. With guys being hurt and us not being ready to play, they kind of snuck up on us. (Batavia coach) Mark (Gianfrancesco) always does a good job -- they’re in every game. I knew it was going to be a battle, but sometimes a loss in the middle of the season when you’re not playing great helps get you motivated.”
Motivation will be plentiful again Thursday, as the Wolves face fellow conference unbeaten Oswego.
“They (Oswego) are playing really well,” Szymanski said. “They started off slow, but now their offense is coming together with two kids up-top who are tough.
“I tell our kids every year throw out the records, it’s a rivalry game. Go out and have fun, and hopefully we defend well, finish our opportunities and come out on top. That’s the key, limit our mistakes and finish chances.
“In the first half (Tuesday) we had so many shots on goal and didn’t finish one,” Szymanski added. “I don’t know if we’re going to get that many against Oswego. When we get those, we have to take advantage.”
A second half splurge like Tuesday’s will fuel the Wolves.
“It’s definitely going to keep us going,” Frazer said. “We had a little rough patch the last couple of games, but this is definitely going to be a game-changer that changes our attitudes and motivation. We’re going to try to keep on this winning until the playoffs and just try to win out the season.
“We want to win this conference, and we have a big game Thursday. So hopefully this keeps us going to play a full 80 minutes Thursday, with putting it all on the field.”
Starting lineups
Plainfield North
GK Brandon Fox
D Alex Ryan
D Kanon Woodill
D Oliver Fisher
D Jared Osborne
M Yousef Ismail
M John Seeley
M Ryley Burich
M Patrick Elster
F Brian Bertoni
F Shea Bechtel
Oswego East
GK Nate Huerter
D Mitch Hlavacek
D Dawson Johnson
D Joey Bavol
D Caleb Harris
M Nolan Laczynski
M Tristan Stewart
M Ryan Aten
M Manuel Magana
F Ford Frazer
F Michael Waclaw
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ford Frazer, jr., F, Oswego East
Scoring summary
2nd HALF: OE – Frazer (Waclaw); OE – Waclaw (Huerter, Frazer); OE – Manrique (Hlavacek); PN – Juarez (penalty kick); OE – Johnson (Waclaw);
OE – Jones (unassisted)