The Austin boys’ soccer team needed a confidence booster after scoring only one goal in its first three games and losing all three to tough experienced Big Nine competition.

Friday, September 10, 1999

The Austin boys’ soccer team needed a confidence booster after scoring only one goal in its first three games and losing all three to tough experienced Big Nine competition. They got the boost they needed Thursday at Wescott Field with a 4-0 win over the Owatonna Huskies.

"I was happy with the way we played the first three games," Austin coach David Graham said. "With a lot of new faces we played well. Going into this game I was expecting to come away with a victory. We are a little more experienced then Owatonna and our older players stepped up."

Austin took control of the game from the start scoring two goals in the first half on 15 shots. Freshman Mike Inthisane put Austin on the scoreboard 15 minutes into the game. Senior Vladimir Blagojevic set up Inthisane with a crossing pass from the left side of the penalty box. Inthisane came from the right side and hammered home the goal.

Goal two was scored by senior tri-captain Chris Lynch nine minutes later. Lynch sat out the first three games of the season and was on the bench at the start of this one. Once he got in, however, he made things happen. Moments before his goal he took a long shot from the right sideline that Owatonna goalkeeper Lyle Sellers barely tipped over the crossbar. He finally converted with an assist by Jim Reetz.

"Jimmie set me up at the top of the box with a nice pass," Lynch said. "I one-timed it and hit a rope straight to the net."

"It was good to have Lynch back," Graham said. "He is a good leader and made a big impact right away."

The Austin defense, led by Drew Oesterle and Erin Heimer, kept the Huskies at bay and the 2-0 score stood through the rest of the half.

Graham was happy with the effort in the first 40 minutes and wanted more of the same. He wasn’t content with just two goals. Neither was his team.

Goal three was the prettiest one of the night. Oesterle headed home a corner kick off the foot of Blagojevic. From the sidelines Graham told Oesterle to move forward as Blagojevic was setting up his kick from the right corner.

As Oesterle moved forward, Graham then shouted to him, "I want to see you get a head on the ball." He did.

"Vlado kicked it away from the goalie and Drew stepped up and put it home, perfectly," Graham said.

After assisting on two goals, Blagojevic then scored the final goal of the night. Throughout the game he had numerous opportunities to get a goal but Sellers was always up to the task. Moments before the goal he had his best opportunity when he quickly maneuvered past three defenders with some fancy footwork and hit a rocket towards the goal. Sellers, diving, got his left hand on the ball and deflected it away. On the goal Blagojevic took the ball deep in the left corner of the field. His left-footed sharp angled shot eluded Sellers and went in to the goal. An assist went to Lynch.

With Austin comfortably in the lead all that was left to decide was whether sophomore goalkeeper Shane Peterson would record his first varsity shutout. He made two big plays down the stretch. On a corner kick Owatonna got a great shot off that was destined for the upper left corner of the net but Peterson punched it away.

With less then two minutes left, an Owatonna player got another great look, but Peterson was once again up to the task: catching the blast and then surrounding the ball with his arms and body.

"After the first game, Shane has been solid," Graham said.

After the game Graham told his team that they have a good chance at also winning their next three games starting at La Crescent on Saturday. They then have two Big Nine road games next week. Tuesday they play Mankato East and on Thursday they tussle with Albert Lea.