Milwaukee School of Engineering Freshman, Logan Andryk, Makes Early Season Impact

Apparently, the word is out.  The opposition is getting the scouting reports, and no one is being surprised by the exploits of Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) freshmen soccer standout Logan Andryk (Hartland, Wis. / Marquette H.S.).  In eight games, Andryk has four goals and three assists for the 5-3 Raiders.  In the Aurora University match, he was shadowed for the entire game.  In fact, Andryk's mark was so tight that Head MSOE Head Coach Jimmy Banks was surprised the Spartan player did not join the Raider bench at halftime.  "Logan (Andryk) is drawing attention and deservedly so.  Teams will be focusing on him, but this is a positive for our team," said Coach Banks.  "Against Aurora, Jordan Werner (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Montini Catholic) had more space and scored two goals. Logan's challenge is to adjust his game to that of a marked man."

Who better to advise MSOE's young playmaking prodigy than, US National Team Alumnus, Coach Jimmy Banks.  Banks played left defender for the National side, but for the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Banks was the attacking midfielder; where he was equally adept at pulling the strings of the attack as he was at scoring goals and getting assists.  Coach Banks thinks his talented freshman has much to improve on, especially as the focal point of the Raider attack," Logan has excellent technique and inexhaustible energy, but his decision making can get much better.  He can improve on making those around him better."

While Andryk play makes and shows up on the stat sheet for points, the missing stat on the box score is havoc; as in 'havoc created.'  Andryk is a wrecking ball on the fritz.  His tackles are reminiscent of collisions, or the collisions are reminiscent of tackles.  Either way, they often end with something on the ground and something flying through the air.  Coach Banks on Andryk's defending, "I expected Logan to be a threatening player on the offensive side, but I didn't know how valuable he would be on the defensive side, winning tackles to start the attack."  

A highly touted youth player, Andryk was a Wisconsin High School All-State selection, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel First Team All-Area selection, and participated in FC Milwaukee's United States Soccer Development Academy team for three seasons.  Despite his weighty credentials, Andryk chose MSOE over Division 1 opportunities for the school's BioMolecular Engineering degree and the small school experience.  "The main reason I chose to attend MSOE was for its outstanding academic reputation… I really liked the chance to receive a degree in BioMolecular Engineering from MSOE. I also chose MSOE over other schools because of its size. The small size of the school allows me to develop a personal relationship with my teachers, and provides me with an opportunity to really get to know many of my classmates. Being able to play soccer at the collegiate level for a great team and a great coach was an added bonus. I really like Coach Jimmy Banks and the guys on the team, and the soccer experience is fantastic."   

Entering the season, Andryk felt like he could have an impact on games, but was more concerned about maintaining his level of play.  "My main goal was to help the team win as much as possible. I thought I could come in and have some impact on the field to help the team, but I definitely did not expect to be doing as well as I have been. I can only hope to keep this pace up for the rest of the season."

With ten games remaining in the season, Andryk will definitely be a player to watch.