'As cool as they come'

October 26, 2008 BY PAUL JOHNSON Special to the Beacon News

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MAPLE PARK -- Oswego midfielder Sean Totsch is at his best on set plays -- and in pressure situations.

So it comes at little surprise that Totsch was front and center as the Panthers topped Kaneland 4-2 for the Class 2A Kaneland Regional title. With the score tied at 2-2, Totsch scored on a penalty kick and a free kick in the second half to help the Panthers recover from blowing an early two-goal lead and advance to the Class 2A Rochelle Sectional Tuesday.

"When they put away that second goal to tie it, you just have to keep pushing to get that other goal," Totsch said. "You can't let it bring you down. That's my third free kick (for a goal) this year, so it's going pretty well for me there."

The Panthers will face Rock Island Alleman -- a 1-0 winner over Geneseo Friday -- in the sectional semifinals Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Rochelle.

Totsch buried the penalty kick that proved to be the game-winner with 13:55 left, putting it right where Kaneland goalie J.P. Minogue was standing before he dove at the last second. When with 8:52 left, Totsch put the game away by bending a direct kick off the post and in.

"Once we had that PK from Sean, he's as cool as they come," Oswego coach Travis Carlisle said. "Then he stepped over that free kick. They're scrappy. We didn't keep as tight a grip on the game as we normally do. At 2-2, you get a little worried."

After allowing two goals in the first 13 minutes, Kaneland (10-13-1 overall) started its comeback. With 11:34 left in the first half, Santiago Tovar buried a penalty kick to cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1 at the break. Then with 29:51 left in the game, Kevin Durrenberger punched in a loose ball in the box to suddenly tie the game at 2-2.

"That's the hard thing, when you give up those early goals and you fight back and you get it tied," Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. "We cut it to 2-1 and we had the wind at our backs (in the second half). They had the advantage in the first half. Just get it back, and we did. Unfortunately, we just came up short."

Oswego (13-8-1) dominated play early and looked like it was going to win going away, much like it did in its 11-0 semifinal win over Aurora Central Catholic. At the 28:53 mark of the first half, Ryan Stransky converted a feed from the midfield for a goal to open the scoring. A mere 1:46 later, Joey Charielle served a pass in the box to Totsch, who scored the first of his three goals for a 2-0 lead.

"I loved the way we came out," Carlisle said. "I thought we got a little complacent. But I thought we did a good job of stemming them and getting back at them."

The Panthers will enjoy the win for a night, but they hope for more celebrations in the next two weeks.

"We just have to put this past us and move on because there's a lot left in the season," Totsch said. "Tomorrow is another day. We just have to stay focused and not worry about who we're playing and worry about ourselves."