SOCCER SCHWOB MAKES GOOD 

 From Carpathia Club Donauschwaben

Forwarded By Renita K. Botsch and Ingrid Dorr

Talan's Persistence Powers Ike

By John Hetzler, Macomb Daily Sports Writer

          LAKE ORION — After concussions sidelined him from the sport he loved for more than a year, Nick Talan made sure to make the most of his return to the soccer field.  Playing in just his seventh game this season, Talan scored the game's first goal to spark Eisenhower to a 2-0 victory over Flushing on Tuesday in a Division 1 regional semifinal game at Lake Orion High School.

          "I worked my butt off to get back," said Talan, a senior who endured three months of physical therapy and missed the final two months of school last spring as he tried to recover from concussions suffered on the soccer field.  Now he has helped Eisenhower return to the regional championship game for the third time in five years.

          Senior Brent Schmid also scored late in the second half, and goalkeeper Kris Weiss picked up Ike's ninth shutout of the year as the Eagles improved to 18-2-2 overall and will take on Rochester Adams in the regional final on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Lake Orion.

          "It feels a lot better this year because when I was a sophomore I did not have as a big a role," said Schmid, who played on Eisenhower's regional championship team in 2007 and is now a co-captain for the Eagles. "It's such a fun group of boys to play with."

          Eisenhower overcame Flushing, the champions of the Big Nine who finished with a 13-4-2 overall record and had the program's best season in a decade, according to Raiders coach Kavoos Siavoshnia.

          "It wasn't one of our best games," Siavoshnia said. "At the same time, we made some mistakes, and they hurt us.
          "We played a very solid team, both tactically and technically," Siavoshnia said. "But I enjoyed the competition, and the boys did, too."

          Talan broke up a scoreless game when he scored with eight minutes and 19 seconds left in the first half.  Talan took a pass from junior forward Joey Tinnion and got the ball past Flushing goalkeeper Josh McIntosh. Talan's initial shot hit the post, but he fired the rebound into an empty net to give Eisenhower a 1-0 lead.

          "I thought I was going to get wrecked," Talan said. "He (the goalie) was trying to hold me down. But I wasn't going to let him."

          "He's one of the kids who will work his butt off on the field," Schmid said. "His goals may not be the prettiest, but he works his butt off."

          Talan's persistence put Ike ahead at halftime, and Eagles coach Josh VanHouten urged his team to keep pushing in the second half.

          "That goal really got the momentum on our side," VanHouten said. "I told the guys to play like it was 0-0."

          Eisenhower's defense held up as Flushing tried to tie the game, and Schmid gave the Eagles some breathing room with his blast from 25 yards with 4:05 left in the game.

          "It was just instinct," Schmid said. "I hoped for the best, and the best happened."

          Eisenhower celebrated after the final horn sounded, and Talan - who received a yellow card and had to sit out the final 7:37 of the game - was one of the happiest players.  He said he had moments he doubted if he would ever receive another chance to play soccer, a sport he had played since the age of 4.

          "There were always those moments, but I did my best to come over it," said Talan, who wore protective head gear during the game. "I worked together with my family and doctors. They helped me push to get over it.

          "It's great to be back on the field with my buddies. It's great. We're just blessed to be back here."