Posted: Jan. 25, 2010 |(0) Comments

The main story of the East team's 26-2 victory over the West in the second annual NOW Newspapers/Milwaukee Wave 2010 High School Senior All-Star Game Saturday night revolved around the players who weren't there.

Five soccer players from Brookfield - three from East and two from Central - declined the invitation to play and were not replaced. Saturday was the night of Central's senior ball, one of the biggest social events of the year for the seniors.

As a result, the West team was missing a first-team all-stater, a second-team all-stater and three honorable mention all-state players, and the East team had a four-player advantage in the game, played at the U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee.

"I'm sure the Brookfield East (and Central) kids would have made a big difference," said Miguel Gutierrez of Oak Creek, who had two goals and an assist for the winning East team. "They have great players."

The score was deceiving because the professional scoring system used by the Wave counts two points for most goals and three points for goals farther out, similar to a 3-point shot in basketball. As a result, if this was a regular high school game, the East would have won 12-1.

East scores early, often

The East team scored at the 21 minute, 3 seconds mark on a shot by Gutierrez from the left side and the rout was on. Robert Courtney of Whitefish Bay added a goal with an assist from Gutierrez at 15:40 and then back-to-back goals by Wauwatosa East teammates Jordan Stein (3-pointer) and Marty Schoen at 13:10 and 11:20 made it 9-0.

The East offense continued to pour it on, scoring six goals in the final 10 minutes, including the only other 3-pointer in the game by Schoen.

Tim Dahl of Muskego prevented a shutout when he drilled in a shot with a nice assist from Jose Alcaraz of West Allis Hale with 9:38 left to play.

Goalkeeper credits defense

While Gutierrez (two goals and an assist) and Schoen (two goals, including a 3-pointer) were the offensive stars, goalkeeper Jacob Bye of Whitnall could have been the East MVP, stopping several West shots.

"I had a good defense," said Bye, deflecting the credit like he did several shots on goal. "They stopped a lot of shots before they could happen. But mostly (my success) was because my defense helped me out so much."

The off-the-field experience fell into two categories for most players - playing with other talented players they usually banged heads with and playing on a professional, indoor soccer field.

Players have a ball

"It was a lot of fun," said Stein. "I know a lot of these guys through club. It was a lot of fun to get together and play one last time."

"It was a great team to play with," Bye said. "The guys are just great. I just loved being with them. They were fun to be around."

Gutierrez added he was happy to play with some familiar faces.

"It was really fun," he said. "You get to play with all the players who were your opponents back in high school. Now they're your teammates. It's an enjoyable way to end your high school season."

ALL-STAR SCORING

EAST 26, WEST 2

FIRST HALF: EAST: Miguel Gutierrez (Oak Creek) 21:03; Robert Courtney (Whitefish Bay), Gutierrez (Oak Creek) assist 15:40; Jordan Stein (Wauwatosa East) 13:10; Marty Schoen (Wauwatosa East) 11:20; Gabe Genovesi (Homestead) 10:35; Charlie Hoover (Whitefish Bay) 9:28; Ross Fieldbinder (Greendale) 7:52; Schoen (Tosa East) 5:54; Gutierrez (Oak Creek) 4:06; Chris Kartheiser (Shorewood) 2:59;

SECOND HALF: EAST: Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa West) 16:48; WEST: Tim Dahl (Muskego), Jose Alcaraz (West Allis Hale) assist 9:38; EAST: Nikolai Miksov (Whitnall) 1:13.

GOALS: Using the Milwaukee Wave professional scoring system, goals were worth two and three points. Stein and Schoen of Wauwatosa East scored 3-point goals, the rest were 2-pointers.