Indians rally to edge Wolves in 2OT in SPC opener

By Curt Herron

 

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A year ago, Minooka experienced the disappointment of dropping four matches which went into overtime.

That's why it was so important for the Indians to get a win when they faced extra time in Tuesday's Southwest Prairie Conference opener with Oswego East.

After tying things on a goal with seven minutes left in regulation, Minooka finally saw its fortunes change midway through the second overtime period.

Matt Blackmore collected his first score of the season after putting in a rebound of his own deflected attempt into an open net in the 95th minute.

That goal put the final touches on host Minooka's 2-1 win over the Wolves, who lost their SPC opener 4-3 on penalties to Plainfield South a week ago.

"It feels really good to get that first conference win," Blackmore said. "My whole career I've basically played with Joe (Koenig) and we have a connection, so he always sees me. When I saw the open space, I took it and then I saw the open net.

"We're looking to do well this season and hope to get a lot of more wins like this one. We have key players in the middle like Craig (Phillips) and Joe and they're really keeping us together. I like how we boost each other during the hard times."

Joe Koenig got the equalizer in the 73rd minute for Minooka (3-3-1, 1-0), which had been unsuccessful in connecting on several good opportunities.

East (1-4-1, 0-2) got a score from Danny Madrigal in the 20th minute but couldn't add to its lead and failed to follow up on a win over Brother Rice.

"They were first to all of the balls and dominated the midfield in the second half, especially the last 20 minutes," East coach Steve Szymanski said. "We weren't able to connect and basically were just kicking the ball and hoping to run onto it.

"I think our guys are in condition, but today was obviously a test to that since the weather was tough. And an hour before the game I found out that I had two regulars who weren't playing and that really hurt because we don't play a lot of guys.

"I thought we missed a lot of opportunities in the second half, especially early, when we had three point-blank shots. When you get opportunities like that you have to take advantage. The biggest thing we have to do is play all 80 minutes hard."

Prior to the initial overtime, Szymanski looked for a spark by moving keeper Sean Phetchanpheng to forward and defender Madrigal back to the net.

Phetchanpheng had a short try deflected by keeper Ayhan Ozgen and a bit later, a Danny Ruiz free kick was headed away by Craig Phillips.

That set up the second OT and midway through it, Madrigal came out of the net to stop a Blackmore shot but the senior put in the rebound effort.

"It was big to come back and win this," Minooka coach Chris Brolley said. "It was a dogfight out there at the end and both teams were battling and it really could have gone either way.

"You don't anyone to come in here and beat us. To go down a goal in our first conference game is tough to take but this team keeps showing resiliency by bouncing back from the bad times.

"Our back line did a good job of defending today with AJ (Bever) back there and Craig replacing him when he got hurt. And our wings, Johnny Perez and Giacomo Raimondi, also played well.

"And Matt getting the winning goal couldn't have happened to a better guy. I remind the guys about losing four matches in overtime last year so this is a great start in that direction."

The Indians went with Pat Fox, Juan Rojas, Nick Miller and Mauro Medina along with Bever and Phillips playing in front of keeper Ozgen.

Minooka had the better of possession during the final half but needed most of that time in order to get something positive to show for it.

The hosts started the second half with a liner from Sergio Reyes that was punched away by Phetchanpheng, who then stopped a try by Mo Esquivel.

After East's Nathaniel Paisley was denied on a close attempt, a Reyes free kick was deflected by the keeper shortly before the half's midpoint.

During the final 10 minutes of regulation, Ruiz and Esquivel exchanged attempts before the hosts finally managed to put one into the net.

Koenig worked his way past defenders and placed a shot just inside the post to even things with just seven minutes left in regulation play.

"We were all tired at the end but we kept pushing as hard as we could to try to get the win," Koenig said. "We were all working hard and playing our game and kind of dominating the game and eventually my goal came.

"I've played with Matt since I was little so it was great to see him score in overtime. I think this is a huge win for us and gives us confidence. We not only can play good soccer but I also love how we never give up."

The visitors responded with a close call a couple of minutes later when Ruiz just missed connecting when his try deflected off of the post.

Despite losing AJ Bever to injury for the late going, Minooka still had a chance to end it in regulation, but an Esquivel header was halted.

"We started good but then let the intensity go down a little and gave up a goal," Esquivel said. "But we kept them at 1-0 and then needed to pick it up in the last 10 minutes and that's when we got the goal to tie it.

"Last year we lost four overtime games so we knew that we needed to win this one because we want to win conference this year. We're all evenly-matched so games are going to be like this one where you have to play to the end.

"We're a good team but we know that we have to keep our heads in the game and play with our hearts. We have such good chemistry and know to pick each other up in order to finish a game strong."

Minooka had the best early opportunity, when Reyes had a short try cleared by Noel Zepeda and then saw his rebound stopped by Phetchanpheng.

Shortly before the midway mark of the opening half, Madrigal sent in a long free kick but the effort was eventually deflected away by Ozgen.

Madrigal was more successful on a subsequent try a bit later when a ball was deflected back to him and the junior connected on a long attempt.

As the half reached its final dozen minutes, Alex Torres was stopped on a short try and Koenig's free kick was hauled in by the Wolves keeper.

In the half's last five minutes, Koenig was denied on another long free kick and East's David Hernandez placed a close-range try over the net.

"It was a rough game," Phillips said. "The first five minutes we started out great but after that we were kind of slow. We could have done better in the second half but we knew what we needed to do.

"This was great since last year we lost all four times that we went to overtime and penalty kicks. I like how we always hustle and stay together as a team and also try not to get down on each other."

The Indians compete in the Bolingbrook Shootout this weekend while the Wolves host Lockport today and then travel to West Aurora on Saturday.