By Dennis Bowling
Beecher Coach Dawn Compton was hoping to get off to a strong start against a very competitive Manteno team, and it all started with senior Nate Diachenko on September 13.
A mere minute into the first half of the game, Diachenko scored a goal, which gave the Bobcats a momentum changing 1-0 lead. Beecher beat the Panthers, 4-0, in a non-conference win in Manteno.
With the win, Beecher is 10-3 overall and have won nine games in a row. The Bobcats junior Jimmy Kypuros, a keeper, recorded his sixth shutout of the season.
“We just want to come out and make a statement,” said Compton. “I was proud of our effort. We did very well on offense and defense.”
“We got out and scored early,” said Diachenko, “and were able to take control of the game.”
With 20 minutes to go in the first half, the Logan Wilkins passed the ball to Beecher teammate Wences Baumgartner, who gathered the ball and kicked it into the goal, past Panther keeper Logan Smith for a 2-0 advantage.
“Wences made a good run to the goal,” said Diachenko. “Logan (Wilkins) gave him a good pass.”
To begin the second half, the Bobcats didn’t exactly put their best foot forward and really struggled.
“We just needed to shake things up,” said Compton. “Gavin (Graham) did just that and gave us a nice spark off the bench.”
With 23 minutes to go in the second half, Diachenko kicked the ball toward the goal. Graham got the ball and kicked it past Smith for the third goal.
“Gavin always plays hard and tough,” added Diachenko. “He is very smart and will not back down from anyone.”
With 16 minutes left in the game, Graham, from the right side, kicked the ball into the goal, past Smith to make it 4-0. Then with ten minutes showing on the clock, a Diachenko hard kick caromed off of the cross bar and out of play.
The Bobcats Graham just wanted to help spark his team’s sluggish offense: “I just knew I was going to score. I never gave up and was not going to be underestimated. We were passing the ball and communicating very well.”
Beecher’s Kypuros, a true-team player, said: “It’s all about the team. My backline is very good, and we were able to win a lot of 50-50 balls. Nate was at the right place at the right time to score his goal. He is very athletic. Gavin (Graham) was just the next man up, but we were slow at the beginning of the second half.”
Diachenko praised his keeper Kypuros: “Jimmy did a great job. We trust him in the goal, plus we had a great team effort.”
Panther keeper Logan Smith summarized his team loss to the Bobcats by saying, “We didn’t play our best game, and we need to talk more.”
Manteno’s Justin Foster and Ted Schutters each had a great game.