Junior midfielder Grant Bauer found a little luck Tuesday and used a lot of skill to record a hat trick as the Kahoks easily bounced visiting Belleville West 4-1.
Grant Bauer dribbles past a Belleville West defender on Sept. 3. The Kahoks won 4-1 / Photo by Roger Starkey
Bauer scored the Kahoks’ (1-1-1) first goal after a Belleville West (3-1) defender slipped and fell. Bauer, who had taken a long pass from senior Cody Sanftleben, dribbled around the fallen defender and chipped the ball over the head of junior goalkeeper Nate Petrekovich.
The goal tied the score at one at the 23:02 mark of the first. Senior forward Howard Thomas opened the scoring when he sailed in from the top of the penalty box to knock in a header on a long throw-in from junior defender Matt Klosterman.
Bauer’s second goal, at the 32:04 mark, was a picture of patience. He took another long pass, dribbled around the diving goalie and attacked the net, beating a Belleville West defender to the far side. It was Bauer’s third goal of the season.
After senior forward Alex Lamoreaux took a loose ball and jammed it past Petrekovich to give Collinsville a comfortable 3-1 lead with 18:47, Bauer capped the scoring with another opportune bounce and skillful finish.
Senior defender Matt Recklein had willed his way through the Maroons defense when the ball was knocked free. The ball found Bauer, who found the back of the net to seal the Kahoks’ first victory of the season.
Collinsville Head Coach Myles Hensler did not expect such a comfortable margin of victory. “Conference games are usually tight. You don’t expect to win 4-1, especially with Belleville West playing as well as they are,” Hensler said. “Obviously, if we play them again down the road, it’s probably going to be a closer game than it was tonight.”
Belleville West won the Belleville East Invitational last weekend, knocking off Althoff 3-0 on the way to the title. Bauer’s late goal against Althoff on Aug. 28 salvaged a 3-3 draw for the Kahoks.
The Kahoks managed a 2-1 halftime advantage against Belleville West despite the Maroons dominating possession in the first half. In the second half, Collinsville gobbled up time with the ball on their feet and extended their lead.
“They were putting two in front of our goal keeper and having a big, tall guy run in and crash the net,” Hensler said. “(In the second half) we tried to minimize those runs in by getting two guys on their dangerous player.”
The Kahoks host Highland at 6:45 Wednesday at Kahok Stadium. The game will be streamed on kahoksports.com.
Goals: Belleville West – Howard Thomas, Assists – Matt Klosterman, Collinsville – Grant Bauer (3), Alex Lamoreaux, Assists – Brendan Rosenburg, Cody Sanftleben
