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Matchweek 24 Report: Records Set, Playoffs in Sight

By Tyler Vaughn, 08/27/18, 8:30AM CDT

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Energy FC (9th, 10-12-5, 35 pts) did what they were supposed to do and took care of business against Seattle Sounders FC 2 with a comfortable 3-0 win at home on Saturday night. Goals from Christian Volesky, Adam Jahn and Marco Bustos, as well as another pair of assists from Jose Barril, gave the Greens the points and propelled them into ninth place in the Western Conference – just two points off their next opponents, the eighth-place Swope Park Rangers.

With the victory, OKC extends the winning streak to four matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding only four in that span. The slow start to the season seems like a distant memory, as the team is hitting its stride and putting the rest of the conference on alert.

With the goal in the 28th minute, an emphatic header off a Barril corner kick, Volesky equaled a club record of scoring in four consecutive matches. Both Volesky and Barril are in a rich vein of form right now, with Barril breaking a couple of club records on the night as well – assists in a season (9) and all-time assists (12). One has to think that both players, as well as Alex Dixon, are on the shortlist for the USL Player of the Month for August.

Adam Jahn picked up his third goal since joining OKC. Although it came under somewhat fortunate circumstances, the Columbus Crew SC loanee deserved to get on the scoresheet after another impressive outing. Jahn is about as complete a center forward a team could want. He can play with his back to goal and hold the ball up, make runs in behind the defense and most importantly, finish. The ball might have taken a favorable bounce on Saturday, but Jahn still had to react quickly and put it away with a true poacher’s instinct.

Energy fans got to see Marco Bustos at home for the first time, and the 77th-minute substitute did not disappoint. The Canadian international had an immediate impact, helping set up and score his first goal for the club less than a minute after coming on. He continued to impress for the remainder of the match and hardly put a foot wrong. Though his two appearances have been minimal in terms of minutes played, he looks to be a cut above most attackers in the league, and one can imagine him being a very influential player for OKC for the remainder of 2018 and hopefully 2019 as well.

Although attacking players tend to receive most of the plaudits, enough can’t be said about the performance of the defense at the moment. Drew Beckie, Atiba Harris and Cody Laurendi form the base of an incredibly strong spine, and it looks like they’ve played together for years, such is the comfort and confidence they exude. Whether it’s Kyle Hyland, Richard Dixon, Christian Ibeagha or Shawn McLaws at the fullback positions, with Justin Chavez or Philip Rasmussen anchoring the midfield, the defense has quality in quantity.

Laurendi looks like he hasn’t missed a beat since returning from injury. In four matches, he has kept two clean sheets and only conceded four goals. While not called upon too often against S2, Laurendi came up with two massive saves in the 14th minute to deny Shandon Hopeau. At that point, the match was scoreless and if either of those chances had gone in, it could have changed the outlook entirely.

Speaking afterwards, Volesky, who always gives credit to his teammates, heaped praise on Laurendi saying, “Team of the week performance... He kept us in the game. For him to make those saves, keep it out, and his distribution was first class. It’s a testament to his hard work.”

The keeper turned right around to applaud his teammates, “I think from the first to the last whistle, all 11 of us and the subs that came in – we did the business.”

He’s absolutely right, and that’s the attitude this team will have to have going forward: do the business and get results. While the win was nice, the focus immediately shifts to the next match – a trip to Kansas City to take on Swope Park Rangers.

In order to make the playoffs, everyone knew OKC would need some help from other teams in the chasing pack, and that’s exactly what’s happened in recent weeks. San Antonio FC (8th, 34 pts) and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (12th, 31 pts) both lost at the weekend, the former having lost four in a row and the latter having lost four of the last five. Those dropped points have allowed Energy FC to vault ahead of them in the standings.

Check back here on Thursday for a preview of the big match on Sunday at Children's Mercy Park, as the Greens look to potentially jump into a playoff spot for the first time this season.