Wildcat Soccer Dominates Dominican

The boys soccer team took a firm step toward the playoffs Wednesday by defeating Dominican 3-0 in a Midwest Classic Conference North game at the Uihlein Soccer Complex.

Before the game, USM's head coach Jason Rienzi exhorted the team, “This a big game for us. It's a conference game so playing well can keep us in first place.  Take pride in the way you play the game. Play the way you face. Do a good job on set pieces.”

The Wildcats took inspiration from their coach's urgings. They came at the Knights like they were swinging a bag of oranges, and scored three early goals. Sophomore Ben Zwief scored the first two.

In the 10th minute, USM senior Josh Baker gained control of the ball on the left side. Baker sprinted down the side and nearing the goal line he turned toward the Dominican goal. Moving in Baker slotted a low pass like he was helping his fellow forward Zwief get a date. Zwief snappily did his own part by drilling a low shot in near the right post.

Zwief scored the next goal on a corner kick. Sophomore Isaac Schlenker lofted the ball toward the goal. On its descend it hit Zwief on the neck, switched direction and flew beyond the reach of the Knights' junior goalie Brandon Quin in the 15th minute.

Rienzi complimented Zwief on the goal. “It wasn't pretty but Ben got the ball in. It made their goalie start to wonder where our guys were gonna be. That set us up.  Zwief simply said, “I was in the right place, and it hit me.”

USM's third goal also came as the result of a set piece. During a scramble for the ball after Schlenker sent the ball into the area, sophomore Sam Bernstein got it and slid it to Baker who was moving in. As Quin searched desperately for the ball, Baker dove feet first and pinged it off the left post in the 26th minute.

Baker nearly made it 4-0 a few minutes later when he leaped and headed a pass from Bernstein toward the Dominican net. But the ball banged off the cross bar and sailed toward the clouds like birds taking flight.

Their early dominance over Dominican was an important dynamic in the Wildcats' playoff positioning.  The lead gave Rienzi and his assistant coach Patrick Flanagan a chance to rest the USM starters so they would be better for the approaching playoffs. It also gave the coaches a chance to sub in non-starters, giving them the  opportunity to prepare for the playoffs as well. The victory also put the Wildcats in position for a top seed in the top seed in the playoffs.

After the game Rienzi emphasized the value of the Wildcats play during the game, "We're peaking at the right time. This was an important win for us."

In the game the Wildcats out shot the Knights 14-11. The Knights did put most of their shots on frame, but the majority of the shots were from the outside thanks to the USM defense which kept the Knights away like a wide castle moat. One Dominican shot came on a late game breakaway, but USM's sophomore goalkeeper Jack Wells moved out and punched the shot away like a confident heavyweight boxer. Wells kept his shutout in tact by making eight saves. Quin made three saves.

USM is now 12-1-2 overall and 6-0 in the conference.