The wins are adding up for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School soccer team.
With no signs of them slowing down either.
The Spartans have won three consecutive matches going into Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. Illini Prairie Conference match at rival Unity in Tolono.
SJO (7-2-1) has won its first two Illini Prairie matches, too, of the season after beating Chillicothe IVC this past Saturday at home and also defeating Olympia 5-1 in a home match in St. Joseph last Thursday.
All of the winning has come before the Spartans have even hit the halfway point of their schedule. SJO still has 11 matches remaining in the regular season. Here’s what has transpired on the field during the past two-plus weeks for the Spartans:
Trio of Spartans record goals against Grey Ghosts
SJO celebrated senior day with its 3-0 home win against Chillicothe IVC this past Saturday.
Senior Jackson Greer scored the first goal for SJO, off an assist from sophomore Collin Thomey, before Thomey added a goal of his own to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead at halftime. Senior Aiden Cromwell assisted on Thomey’s goal.
Sophomore Alex Accossta registered the Spartans’ third goal in the second half, with seniors Hunter Ketchum (six saves) and Carter Mabry (two saves) combining on the shutout.
Late goals spark win against Olympia
A flurry of second-half goals propelled the Spartans to a 5-1 home win against Olympia this past Thursday.
With the match tied at 1 at halftime, junior Spencer Wilson scored the first two goals in the second half to stake SJO to a 3-1 lead.
Freshman Jacek Slowikowski and freshman Zach Harper added insurance goals for SJO in the second half. Fellow freshman Ryker Lockhart had SJO’s first goal of the match.
Sophomore Logan Mills registered two assists, with Greer and Thomey also providing assists.
Cromwell leads win at Blue Ridge
Cromwell scored two goals, while senior Will Page, Acosta and Slowikowski each added a goal for SJO in its 5-2 nonconference road win against Blue Ridge in Farmer City on Sept. 12.
The Spartans led 3-2 at halftime before Cromwell scored his second goal of the match in the second half and Slowikowski tallied the final Spartans’ goal.
Thomey, Mills and Harper each provided assists. Ketchum made three saves in net, while Mabry finished with two saves.
Bunnies shut out Spartans
SJO fell behind host Fisher/Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 2-0 in the first half and the score remained that way the rest of the nonconference match in Fisher, ending a three-match win streak for the Spartans.
Ketchum ended up making 18 saves for SJO.
SJO rallies for Labor Day win
The Spartans ran their win streak to three following a 4-1 home nonconference win against Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin on Sept. 5.
SJO trailed 1-0 at halftime before its offense woke up in the second half. Greer, freshman Ryker Lockhart, Slowikowski and Ketchum (on a penalty kick) each scored a goal for the Spartans.
Cromwell recorded two assists and Greer had one assist, with Ketchum making seven saves.
SJO tops Cornjerkers
A close, tense match saw SJO produced a nonconference home win, defeating Hoopeston Area 1-0 on Sept. 1.
Lockhart provided the match’s lone goal with a second-half tally against the Cornjerkers. Ketchum finished with 12 saves to preserve the shutout.
Greer shines in win against Schlarman
SJO built a 3-0 halftime lead in an Aug. 29 nonconference match at Schlarman and didn’t let up in an eventual 5-1 victory.
Greer scored two first-half goals and Lockhart added another one, with Acosta, Mills and Wilson each handing out an assist, before Thomey and Mills scored goals in the second half.
Ketchum (four saves) and Mabry (three saves) combined on goalkeeping duties for the Spartans.
What’s next
Three road trips for the Spartans this week. After Tuesday’s match at Unity, SJO will head to Champaign to play Illini Prairie foe St. Thomas More at 4:30 p.m. Thursday before wrapping up the week with a 9 a.m. nonconference road match against Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Westville this Saturday.
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