Boys soccer: St. Edward knocks off Kaneland in PepsiCo Showdown
St. Edward scored any number of different ways, but score the Green Wave did.
A.J. Franklin had a hat trick and Josh Johansen added a goal and an assist as the Wave downed Kaneland, 5-2, in the PepsiCo Showdown boys soccer tournament at Greg True Field in Elgin Tuesday.
The Wave got a couple of fortuitous bounces, including a rebound of a penalty kick, but also scored some pretty goals, none more so than the goal that opened the second half scoring.
With the Wave clinging to a 3-2 lead in the 43rd minute, Alec Uscila raced upfield and hit Franklin in stride. Franklin fired in a laser beam from 20 yards out to give St. Edward some breathing room.
Johansen added a goal in the closing minutes, rolling a loose ball into the open net for the final margin.
St. Edward coach Tim Brieger thinks that the forward duo of Franklin and Johansen have the potential to rewrite the record books.
"Josh Johansen and A.J. Franklin, by the time they're done I'm pretty sure A.J.'s going to break the school record for scoring, and I'm pretty sure Josh is going to break A.J.'s record," Brieger said. "I think the pair of them is going to set St. Edward scoring records for a forward duo. I know Josh hasn't put up the goals this year, but he's right there. I love watching him play as a freshman.
"We've got some firepower, but we've got to be careful because we rely too much on it. Early in the first half, we just kept dumping it in and waiting for something to happen."
St. Edward got on the board first with a goal by Will Gaston off an assist by Chase Brieger. The shot, off a corner kick, deflected off the goalkeeper into the net.
Kaneland tied it on a penalty kick by Angel Escontrias.
Franklin then put the Wave ahead to stay with a shot from the deep corner. Johansen assisted. Franklin then scored on a PK of his own. After the initial shot was stopped, Franklin pounced on the rebound and drove it in.
It looked like the Wave would take a 2-goal lead into intermission, but Kaneland had other ideas. The Knights pushed up hard at the end of the half and it paid off when Brian Bartholomew knocked one in from close range.
But the young Knights just couldn't match the Wave's firepower. They had some good chances in front of the net, but couldn't convert enough of them.
"They (the Wave) took maybe 7 (shots) and scored 5. You know what, if I'm only taking seven and I'm scoring five, I'm a happy camper," said Kaneland coach Scott Parillo. "I don't know how many shots we took, but we took a heck of a lot more than five and they didn't go in."
The offensive display overshadowed St. Edward's defense, which more than held its own. Led by Isaac Nordan and Sebastian Mozdzen, the Wave back line made some great plays of its own and goalkeeper Evan Sajtar made some spectacular saves.