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 After a tremendous spring exhibition season for Marquette, Adam Lysak (Milton) has continued his fine form.
The forward scored for the third consecutive match as the Madison 56ers completed a successful weekend trip to Minnesota with a 2-0 victory over the St. Paul Twin Stars in National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division play Sunday afternoon.
Three players making their first start for the club also played key roles as the 56ers (2-0-2 overall, 2-0-1 NPSL) followed up Saturday's weather-shortened 2-0 win over Minnesota Kings FC with a victory by the same scoreline in a game that was delayed 45 minutes because of rain in the opening minutes.
UW-Green Bay's Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa West) started up front with Lysak and scored on a sequence that included college teammate Anthony Santaga (Green Bay Notre Dame), while University of Wisconsin goalkeeper Max Jentsch (Hartland Arrowhead) posted a clean sheet in his 56ers debut.
"Right at the start of the second half, we took the game over," said Madison coach Jim Launder, whose team moved into first place in the Midwest ahead of the Milwaukee Bavarians – their match against Minnesota Kings FC was postponed.
Lysak's thundering header from 6 yards out off a corner kick by UW's Ryan Buda (Stevens Point) was the first strike.
"It was like a rocket," Launder said of the goal. "It's a narrow field, so Buda put a really hard corner in and then Lysak just nailed it with his head. He got across his man at the near post and just pumped it in.
"I thought he had a very good game. He worked really hard, got up and down the field. He deserved a goal."
Just a few minutes later, Santaga and midfielder Andrew Wiedabach (Mequon Homestead) put together a nice combination and worked their way upfield.
"Those two looked like they were going to break through, but somebody just nicked it in to Krenzien and he was wide open," Launder said. "He took his time, put a nice shot in the corner from 14 yards out.
"And then the game was kind of over."
Both teams had chances – Jentsch came up with a save on a quality opportunity by the Twin Stars (1-2-0), while UW-Parkside's Luke Klees (Madison Memorial) nearly scored and played in North Carolina's Carlos McCrary for another chance.
That was much of the story of the first half. Veteran midfielder Igor Stosic, a former NPSL Midwest MVP and three-time all-region selection, was central to the St. Paul attack – just as Launder expected.
"I told the guys about him, but they just weren't stopping him," Launder said. "I said, 'Hey this is a guy we don't want to let play it forward.' And so every dangerous chance they had in the first half, I think was a pass from him."
At halftime, Launder had Wiedabach drop into a more defensive role, freeing up Buda and Trevor Banks (Madison Memorial) to keep tabs on Stosic.
"That pretty much solved the situation," Launder said. "It was like, 'Oh yeah, maybe we should do what coach said.' But it took until halftime, which is a bit disappointing for me, because I like it when a team figures it out on the field."
From the touchline
Madison midfielder Keenan Newallo, nursing a shoulder injury, made the trip to the Twin Cities but didn't play. "I wasn't going to play him unless it was an absolute emergency. I got by without playing him, so that was good," Launder said. ... UW's Paul Yonga started as a holding midfielder for St. Paul, then moved to right back. "I thought he played quite well as a holding midfielder," Launder said. "But when they moved him right back, the game was kind of over so you couldn't tell how he did." ... The Twin Stars finished with 10 men after a late red card. ... The 56ers return home to play host to the Chicago Fire (0-1-0) on Saturday at Breese Stevens Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Fire lost to the Quad City Eagles 3-0 in their opener Saturday.
MADISON 56ERS LINEUP: Max Jentsch; David Kommavang (Derek Pitts 46), Henry Aiyenero, Colin Mani, Carl Schneider; Ryan Buda, Trevor Banks, Andrew Wiedabach (Robin Forslund 60); Anthony Santaga (Luke Klees 75); Sam Krenzien (Jed Hohlbein 70), Adam Lysak (Carlos McCrary 75). Substitutes not used: Ryan Onwukwe (GK), Keenan Newallo.
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