Park boys’ soccer played against Washburn, a team with a record of 11-0-2 going into the game. Park ended the match with a draw after a game-tying goal and finished the regular season at 8-4-2, ultimately winning their conference on Oct. 1.
Head coach Anson Opara said the team played well as a unit instead of playing as individuals. He said everyone contributed by doing their own job.
“They played great. They actually played as a team unit, which is something we’ve been working on, instead of (as) a team of individuals,” Opara said. “Everybody had roles, and everybody did it collectively— it’s a really nice team tie.”
Junior Owen Anklam said the game was the best they’d played all season despite the draw and playing against a tough Washburn team.
“That was the best game we played all season,” Anklam said. “We really came together and moved the ball well against a great team too.”
Senior Lars Hagstrom said there were multiple star players who helped lead to the team’s tie. He said junior Owen Anklam and senior Gael Miteo both contributed to the win with their points on the board.
“Owen and Gael both scored for us—Owen saved us at the end,” Hagstrom said. “Christian played really well too even though he gave away a penalty, he defended really good.”
Anklam said his last-minute header wouldn’t have happened without an assist from his teammate. He said Johnny placed a great ball right to him under the time crunch.
“What a ball from Johnny with 25 seconds left,” Anklam said. “Usually, we shoot those with a lefty, but we didn’t have enough time so Johnny just whips it in and it was right on the silver platter for me.”
Hagstrom said Anklam’s late header was one of the best goals of the season for Park. He said Johnny’s cross was very impressive.
“It was one of the best goals of the season, he saved us in the last 25 seconds,” Hagstrom said. “It was an amazing header and an amazing cross from Johnny.”
Opara said even though Park finished the season strong, there are still adjustments to be made before playoffs start. He said the team needs to work on their end-of-the-game play.
“Situational play and sometimes just doing something a little bit smarter like playing the ball out of bounds instead of trying to dribble into three people or different situations like that,” Opara said. “How to close a game out. That’s about what we really need to look at.”
Hagstrom said staying composed throughout the game is something they need for playoffs. He said giving chances to the other team is unfortunate.
“We just keep doing what we’re doing right now but probably just stay composed in the back because we did give away a pen, which was pretty unlucky,” Hagstrom said.
Park boys’ soccer’s next game will be their first game of the playoffs against Bloomington Kennedy at 7 p.m. on Oct. 9. at Oriole Stadium.
