For the Antigo Times

On Thursday afternoon, the Robins boys soccer team had their second game of the season, visiting Wausau Newman Catholic High School where they secured a 5-2 victory.

The Robins opened the first half very strong, dominating possession and collecting 4 shots on goal and 4 additional shots in the first 10 minutes alone. But the Cardinals scored first in the 13th minute, with a breakaway goal from number 7, Kim Seunghyun, with a shot on the ground in the far left corner of the net. That first goal left Antigo momentarily stunned. Then in the 22nd minute Seunghyun would collect a second goal for Newman with another breakaway and a very difficult top shelf shot. For the remainder of the first half, the Robins held Newman off and began to collect themselves but still didn’t find much offensive success.

The second half opened with Antigo coming out even stronger than the first half opening. However it would still take 20 minute for the Robins to find the net. Antigo sophomore, Zander Aros, collected a breakaway goal, putting the Robins on the scoreboard and on their way to a comeback. Energized by Aros’ goal, Antigo stepped up and organized their offensive attack. In the 25th minute, junior Noah Samolinski scored, tying the match 2-2. Samolinski then went even further and continued on an amazing scoring streak, adding goals at 28 minutes, a penalty kick goal at 32 minutes, and one last goal at 42 minutes.

“We saw some amazing team work tonight. The guys communicated better than I’ve ever seen, leading to some great combination play, constantly keeping Newman on their toes. It’s very commendable to note that they dug themselves out of a 0-2 halftime deficit, and went on to a decisive 5-2 victory. I couldn’t be more proud of these young men tonight, and I’m thankful to see them as energized as they were,” Coach Ben Wilhelm said.

In addition to Samolinski’s 4 goals, he also collected an additional 3 shots on goal and 5 more shots. Aros also had one more shot on goal and 6 shots. And Brody Bunnell also contributed 3 shots on goal and 3 additional shots. Numerous other Robins contributed to the offensive success. Antigo goal keeper Ben Lewandowski had 10 saves in the match, reflecting excellent defense from a backline of Ryan Fay, Cullen Williams, Brandon Lucht, Fernando Flores Martinez, and numerous other players.

The Robins, 1-1 on their season thus far, will continue play this Saturday against Gresham and Clintonville, two similarly matched teams, in tournament play.