Boys soccer: Slow start costs Conant in loss to Boylan
Be a goldfish.
That's one of the mantras of Ted Lasso, the coach of the (fictional) AFC Richmond club of the English Premier League, in the eponymous hit TV series on Apple TV.
Basically, Ted's theory (as espoused by star Jason Sudeikis) is that a goldfish is the happiest animal on the planet, because it has a memory of just 10 seconds.
Monday night in Streamwood, the Conant boys soccer team was able, somewhat, to subscribe to that notion.
The Cougars were blitzed by 3 early goals from Rockford Boylan in the opening game of the Barrington Classic tourney, but shook it off to fight back and play the rest of the match on even footing.
Conant lost 4-1 at Millennium Field, but after the Titans took a 3-0 lead with just 14 minutes gone by, the Cougars settled in and actually had the better chances the rest of the way.
"Hats off to them," said Conant coach Jason Franco of Boylan. "We weren't ready for that level of quality possession, and their No. 10 in the middle (Taylor Sowell) is a special player. We haven't seen a player like him in two or three years."
"We played much better (in the second half)," added Franco, "and we can take that out of today. We were more in the game, but we've got a lot to learn. We've got a lot of young guys - only three seniors that play - so we've got to learn to find our way against good teams."
The Cougars actually had 6 shots on goal in the first 40 minutes, the best chance coming from one of those seniors, forward Sogo Arakawa.
Arakawa was able to take possession of a pass in the box, turn and fire a rocket from 20 yards away that just missed, clanging off the far post.
Franco said that he'll be counting on Arakawa this season.
"He's a very dynamic, very skillful player," said Franco of the senior, "and a high energy guy. Sogo is someone we can rely on to be a consistent offensive threat, and he's also a selfless player. He does whatever he can to help the team.
"Last year we had a ton of seniors, so he's gone from a 10 minute a match guy to a starter this year who's playing 60 minutes a game."
Boylan scored again in the second half, but Conant equalized that after junior AJ Baran was fouled in the box in the 68th minute.
Cougars junior Luis Dominguez converted the ensuing penally kick for the only Conant tally, and inspired 2nd half play from goalkeeper Varun Mittal, who made 3 spectacular diving saves, kept Boylan from extending the lead.
"I think they (Boylan) were a little more organized tonight," said Arakawa, who added that he's taking on "more responsibilities" this year as senior leader. "They passed the ball very well."