By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
It’s too early in the season to call any match a must-win situation, but it’s also nice to put the brakes on a mini losing streak.
And that’s just what the East Troy boys soccer team did Tuesday night.
The Trojans, who dropped a pair of matches last week, got back on track with a 3-1 Rock Valley Conference win at Jefferson.
With the win, the Trojans improved to 3-4-0 overall and 2-3 in the RVC.
First-year East Troy coach Mike Bottum said he adjusted his lineup a bit for the contest with the Eagles.
And those tweaks seemed to work, which he was pleased to see.
“It was extremely important (to get a win),” he said. “We’re back in (the conference race).”
The Trojans’ defense continues to make strides as well, Bottum said, led by Joey Stephan, Charlie Housh and newcomer Justin Krusenbaum.
“(Stephan and Housh) are coming together as far as defensive leaders,” Bottum said. “Justin Krusenbaum is a big surprise. It’s his first year playing soccer. He’s not real fast, but he’s very methodical. He doesn’t make mistakes. I’m very happy with that.”
Junior Kai Bottum scored both of East Troy’s goals in the first half to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead. East Troy added an insurance goal on a penalty kick by junior Brett Harper in the second half.
Goalie Kory Olshefski had seven saves in the net for East Troy.
The win came on the heels of a 2-0 loss Aug. 28 to McFarland and a 3-1 setback Aug. 30 to Evansville.
Harper scored East Troy’s only goal in the Evansville game off an assist from Kai Bottum.
East Troy returns to action this week when it travels to a tournament at Uihlein Soccer Park, Milwaukee, this weekend. The two-day event will give Mike Bottum a chance to play with his lineup and his team an opportunity to continue improving, he said.
“I want to experiment with a couple different formations up front and see what works for us,” he said. “Also, with Kai (Bottum) being our big guy, we have to figure out what to do if a team puts one or two defenders on him. We have to change up our attack a little bit.”
Following the weekend, East Troy hosts Big Foot next Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 11, for a 4:45 p.m. RVC contest.
