It’s not covered in all those how-to-play-soccer books, but apparently bowling can be a pretty effective preseason workout.
Just ask Lake Zurich’s Mike Retrum.
“We’re all pretty good bowlers,” Retrum said. “That’s about all we did this summer.”
The Bears rolled over eighth-ranked and previously unbeaten Carmel 4-0 Thursday at Lake Zurich. Retrum, who averages between 160 and 170 on the lanes, and Brian Lomas each came up with a goal and assist in the upset.
Many of Lake Zurich’s players would go over to the Brunswick Deer Park lanes after playing soccer during the summer. Retrum said it helped them to relax. It also has helped them to get out to a 7-2 record.
“They played great, they’re fast,” said Carmel coach Chris Mikrut, in his last season of coaching the Corsairs (11-1-1) before he gets married and moves out of state. “Every ball bounced right back to their guy. We couldn’t get any kind of possession going.”
So dominant were the Bears in their homecoming game that Carmel was stuck on the defensive end for most of the 80 minutes. Lake Zurich outshot the visitors 22-8 and was denied a fifth goal when Ryan Seeger’s attempt hit the post.
Lomas opened the scoring in the 20th minute on a deflection after Retrum’s free kick. Then it was Retrum’s turn–on another free kick from 18 yards after a Carmel foul. He found a hole in the wall of defenders for a 2-0 lead. Joe Jehl and Mike Sholts finished off the scoring for the Bears in this non-conference matchup.
Their statistics in this game weren’t the only thing seniors Retrum and Lomas have in common. When Lake Zurich coach Pete Ternes took over this program in 1999, he brought those two sophomores up to the varsity.
“What we were lacking when I came in were central midfielders,” Ternes said. “And those two are complete. I was basically looking for guys to receive the ball and knock it off. Receive the ball and knock it off. I wasn’t looking for goal scorers. I was looking for guys to get a ball from side to side.”
Whatever Ternes was looking for, it’s paying off this season. The Bears of the Fox Valley have two losses–to No. 2 and unbeaten Geneva 2-1 in overtime and to Barrington 1-0 on a 35-yard own goal.
“We knew we had a good bunch of guys and talked about playing possession and buying into the system that our coaches brought in here,” Retrum pointed out. “And it’s really paying off for us.”
