Esquivel's three goals help Indians get past Oswego

By Bill Scheibe

 

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As he battled a pair of Oswego players for the soccer ball on the sideline, Minooka’s Mo Esquivel attempted to fire up his teammates by saying, “they’re getting mad … they’re getting mad.”

Esquivel just got even.

The senior forward scored three consecutive goals in the second half Monday afternoon, igniting the host Indians to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Oswego in Southwest Prairie Conference action.

“We definitely looked like we were losing it during the first half,” Esquivel said after his natural hat-trick performance. “But we realized we had to pull it together, keep our heads and be the bigger team.”

And the better team.

After being outshot 14-1 by Oswego (5-5, 1-1) in the first half, Minooka (7-4-1, 2-0) made amends in the final 40 minutes, beginning with Esquivel’s shot that curved around the far-right post with 26:23 left.

On a long throw-in from senior forward Matt Blackmore, Esquivel netted the equalizer at 18:22 and followed with the winner off a long kick by senior goalkeeper Ayhan Ozgen with only 6:42 to play.

The turnaround, however, occurred in the Indians’ locker room at halftime. A cross from Esquivel that Blackmore blasted wide right with 6:51 remaining stood as their only shot near the net in the first half.

“It comes down to things between coaches and teammates,” Minooka coach Chris Brolley said. “You have to get things done, and you don’t want to leave with that taste in your mouth. It was bad. We knew we had nothing to lose, being down 2-0 at the half, and not playing the way we wanted to play.”

“Honestly, I think we’re a second-half team,” Blackmore said. “We can take it into halftime, get together and talk about our mistakes and how to pick it up, and I think we can improve. We can play harder in the first half. If we can do that, we’re going to go places, and we’re looking for a conference title right now.”

That title seemed to be the oasis in the desert for Minooka in the first half as senior midfielder/forward Curtis Grysiewicz scored twice – on a one-timer and a breakaway – to give Oswego the 2-0 advantage.

With nine corner kicks in the first half, the Panthers were in a prime position. And a mere 4:27 in, a service by senior midfielder Felipe Duran bounced around the box to Grysiewicz, who boomed his shot into the lower-left corner. He also fought off the defense and punched home his break-in at 2:34 left.

While nasty weather held off until the game ended, the stormy SPC rivalry featured five yellow cards. Grysiewicz received one after his second goal and did not return until midway through the second half.

“You have to calm down, and I had to take a second to calm down,” Brolley said of the physical affair. “The same time, I wanted them to represent themselves well. We didn’t in the first half; we fixed that.”

The Mr. Fix It Award went to Esquivel, whose biggest goal was arguably his first. Senior Craig Phillips, who played forward, midfielder and defender, worked the ball deep toward the end line. Although Oswego tried to clear, Esquivel converted from the top of the box with a beautiful Beckham shot.

“The first one brought our intensity back up,” Esquivel said. “I think that made our team realize, ‘We’re still in this game. Let’s go. Let’s keep attacking.’ Down 2-0, we could see that we had nothing to lose.”

“It was huge – huge,” Brolley said. “We were sitting on the bench and you could see it. It was curling, it was curling, and it snuck back in. You could sense that goal changed everything. That sparked us.”

The kick that got Minooka into another gear happened 8:06 later. Esquivel patiently waited for the best bounce off Blackmore’s throw-in, burying his shot into the near-side left corner for the 2-2 deadlock.

“Perfect,” Blackmore said. “It was perfect. I saw him standing there behind the line, he got open a little bit, and I knew I had to throw it over their heads, obviously. I just went for it and it worked out. I’ve played on teams with Mo forever, and it’s nice to play with somebody that you know like that.”

“It was a perfect ball,” Esquivel nodded. “They couldn’t clear it away and I was there ready to finish.”

Ready, willing and able for the winner was Esquivel, who finessed a one-touch shot over the Oswego goalkeeper that was initiated, incredibly, on the long-ball offering from the leg of Ozgen (10 saves).

“We come back down here, we get a big save by Ayhan, and then we get that opportunity,” Brolley said. “Mo put the ball in the back of the net and it was pretty cool. It was an unbelievable finish for us.”

“I mean, it was a good bounce,” Esquivel said. “The bounce was to my favor and their defense wasn’t ready for it. The keeper was coming out, I had a little flick I could put on the ball, and I put it away.”

With Esquivel’s goal, Minooka put away the numbers, which featured edges of total shots (19-10), shots on goal (12-5) and corner kicks (12-1) that favored Oswego. But for the Indians, it was Mo the merrier.

Why get mad when you can get even?

“Mo deserved it,” Blackmore said. “He’s a tough player, and that’s what we need to experience as a program – all that stuff. We were able to get through it together, with Mo’s help, and it’s really good.”