ALTON – When Alton and O'Fallon's scheduled Southwestern Conference soccer match was halted in the 20th minute back on Sept. 10, the Redbirds held a 1-0 lead thanks to a sixth-minute goal from Matt Bower. The match was being held at Gordon Moore Park.
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A couple of things changed in those nearly five weeks. The Redbirds moved into a new on-campus facility, Piasa Motor Fuels Field. And they had Eric Ferenbach playing for them; Ferenbach has been out since an ankle injury suffered against Jersey earlier this month.
While the new field drew rave reviews, the outcome wasn't as great for Alton as the Panthers scored three times in 10 minutes following the resumption of play and went on to take a 5-1 win Tuesday afternoon.
“We played pretty well (in AHS' win over Edwardsville), but we've taken a step back in the last week,” said Redbird coach Jay Robertson. “We've been having some breakdowns defensively that we need to fix. We've seen some good things, but we have some things that we need to repair.
“We know we can play when we're at the top of our game; we obviously need to get things fixed.”
The Panthers' first three goals came on similar plays all within a 10-minute span of the first half, including back-to-back goals in the 24th and 25th minutes from Jeffery Pratt and sophomore Jake Koenig. “We were on our heels,” Robertson said. “We've got to get back to attacking more. Defensively and offensively, we've been on our heels our last three games and we've got to come back and start being more of the aggressor.”
O'Fallon coach Jason Turkington noted the difference between both his Panthers and the Redbirds in the time between the suspension and resumption of play. “They'd been playing so well early,” Turkington said. “Now they're playing without their best player (Ferenbach). It's unfortunate, but we took advantage of our opportunities.
“We've been playing well the last couple of weeks; we've won six of our last eight, and one of those losses was at (St. Louis University High) on their Senior Night.”
Turkington felt the restart – after five weeks and on a different field – made the match unusual. “Every circumstance was different,” Turkington said. “We were in a feeling-out process then, they probably were too, but they were having some good results. It's a big factor not having Ferenbach playing; they've got good talent and a great coaching staff, but you take out a guy like that, there's only so much you can do.”
The Panthers' third goal in the first-half blitz came from senior Jake Koenig in the 34th minute, and he scored again in the 44th minute when a miscue in the Redbird end led to a fourth goal. The sophomore Koenig finished the scoring in the 45th minute when he lifted a ball into the Redbird goal.
The loss, the Redbirds' fourth straight, sent AHS to 9-8-3 on the season, 2-3 in the SWC; Alton will host SWC champion Collinsville Thursday evening at Piasa Field in their league and regular-season finale before traveling to Quincy for a semifinal match of the IHSA Class 3A Quincy Regional at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
