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newlenoxpatriot.com sports
The New Lenox Patriot | October 13, 2016 | 41
Athlete of the Week
10 Questions
with Taylor Miron
Taylor Miron is a junior for the
Lincoln-Way Central girls golf
team.
Who got you into golf?
A lot of people in my family
play golf. They all started
me, and I like to play with my
grandpa and my dad, especially
when I can. … I started around 6
or 7 [years old], and I got more
seriously into when I was about
12 or 13.
What’s the best part about
the sport?
The friends I’ve made through
golf have been really important
to me, so to go out, enjoy it and
play with people is what I like
the most.
Is it still an adjustment
coming over from Lincoln-
Way East?
School-wise, everybody has
been so friendly and accepting,
and even more so with the golf
girls. I fit in right in.
What’s it like being part
of one of the best teams in
the state?
I’ve become such a better
player through the last two
months, and all the girls I would
consider really close friends, so
I enjoy it.
What’s the best piece of
advice you’ve received
from a coach?
You can’t worry about the
other people you’re playing
with. If you just try to play the
course and your own game, it
usually produces the best results.
Do you have any pregame
superstitions?
On the driving range, the last
James Sanchez/22nd Century
Media
three balls I hit are always three
drives, because usually you’ll
start on a par 4, so the last three
shots should mimic your first
shot on the course.
Who do you look up to?
Golf-wise, I look up to my
grandpa, because he taught me
a lot about golf, and I really enjoy
playing with him.
Who is a professional
athlete or celebrity you’d
like to meet?
It would probably be Rory
McIlroy, because I enjoy watching
him play on the tour, and I’ve
always kind of liked him the best
compared to the other PGA professionals.
If you were stranded on
an island, what valuable
would you bring with you?
I would bring something that
plays music because I love music,
I play an instrument, and I
also dance.
What’s something most
people don’t know about
you?
I could break dance. People
are usually really surprised by
that.
Interview by Editor James Sanchez
Boys Soccer
West snaps losing skid with 3-0 win over Central
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
It wasn’t exactly the Senior Night
that Lincoln-Way West’s Danny
Flores envisioned, but it was the type
of performance the Warriors needed
with the postseason approaching.
Flores tallied one goal and one assist
and Conrad Bolster added a pair
of goals as the seniors had their best
games of the season in a 3-0 victory
over Lincoln-Way Central on Thursday,
Oct. 6.
Flores thought he found a home at
Central, where he spent the past two
years after attending Joliet Central as
a freshman. He earned all-conference
honors last year in what he called his
most successful and most fun year of
soccer. He was excited to finish high
school there, but redistricting after the
closure of Lincoln-Way North forced
him to attend West.
“My nerves were up because this
is my old school right here,” Flores
said. “It’s my old school, so I didn’t
want to beat up on them. They’re all
still my friends. I’m glad that we won
because we needed to win to get that
extra push.”
Flores’ role at West has been to set
up others for goals, and Thursday’s
goal was his first this season.
Bolster, who entered the game with
three goals on the season, recorded his
first two-goal game this year. He was
determined to lead the Warriors to a
win after they lost on Senior Night the
past two seasons.
He and the other two captains,
Jay Bumstead and Kyle Seymour,
held a team talk at the day before the
crosstown matchup after a 6-1 loss
to Bradley-Bourbonnais on Oct. 4. It
was West’s (6-7-3, 1-3) fourth consecutive
loss dating back to a 1-0 loss
to Huntley in the PepsiCo Showdown
Buddy’s Helpers Bracket championship
game on Sept. 25.
“We talked about coming together
as a team and playing as one instead
of trying to play as individuals trying
to score an amazing goal you’d see in
the World Cup,” Bolster said.
Central (5-8, 1-3) was without senior
center back and captain Sean
Curran as it lost for the fourth times
in five games.
The Knights were shut out for the
fourth time in five contests, scoring
Lincoln-Way West midfielder Ezequiel Medellin (left) and Lincoln-Way
Central’s Mitchell Allen battle for the ball Thursday, Oct. 6 during a
crosstown matchup in New Lenox. Photos by Bob Klein/22nd Century Media
Warriors midfielder Danny Flores corrals the ball while Knights Luke
Baumgartner (No. 5) and Breandon Brannigan (No. 18) collapse on him.
one goal in that span. Down 2-0 against
West, they had three shots on goal in
five minutes, including one by Sebastian
Esparza that went off the crossbar.
“It wears on you when you create
chances and don’t finish them,” said
Central coach Sean Fahey.
Bolster put West up 1-0 with 11:45
left in the first half. Flores stole the
ball near the right corner flag, raced
down the goal line and centered to
Bolster, who struck a ball that Central
goalkeeper Taylor Budzinski fumbled
and allowed to roll past the goal line.
The senior added a second goal 3:08
into the second half. He took a touch
at the right top of the box, saw the
back post open and drilled the ball past
Budzinski.
Flores’ goal came with 13:52 to
play – his first goal at West – came
on a header from a long throw-in
by junior Brock Krohe, one of five
former Central players on West.
“He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s technical,”
Fahey said of Flores, who he
coached for two years. “When he puts
his head down and looks to be dangerous
he can be.”
With Central and West mathematically
eliminated from winning the
SouthWest Suburban Red, the focus
is on being ready for regionals. Central
plays Andrew at 5 p.m. on Oct. 19
at Andrew. West plays Thornton at 7
p.m. on Oct. 18 at West.
“The chemistry, the trust is everything
right now,” West coach Jeff
Theiss said. “This group has to stay
humble. It’s about staying motivated
and focused and building off of this
moment.
“Our goal is to be peaking at the
end of October. I think we’re on the
right path.”