William the conqueror: William Kalsto, a 6-foot-2 forward, takes to the air as Oswego shuts down Marmion. ‘I think that is my specialty.’

Oswego’s William Kalsto takes a sensible approach to the game.

In a sport predicated on exploiting physical mismatches, especially in the box, the 6-foot-2 senior forward puts his height to good use.

“I think that’s the best thing I bring to the team.” he said. “When the ball is in the air, I think that is my specialty.

“I try to win everything and then just play it off to my teammates — get into the box or try to score goals.”

Kalsto achieved his ideal form Wednesday afternoon, scoring a goal and adding an assist for the Panthers in a 2-0 nonconference victory over host Marmion in Aurora.

Oswego (7-8-7) ran its unbeaten streak to four games.

“At the beginning of the season, we struggled scoring goals,” Kalsto said. “Now, we are putting those away.”

Playing at the top of the Panthers’ formation, Kalsto brings balance and vision, as shown by his pass that senior midfielder Salvador Martinez finished off in the second half.

Kalsto also comes to the offensive side of the ball from a defensive background. He played center back as a sophomore starter during the pandemic spring season last year.

“I’m making my way up,” he said. “I think with my size, it is hard for defenders to go up against somebody like me with length and my body.”

Marmion (6-8-5), meanwhile, could not build off a recent stretch of games where the Cadets went 3-3-1.

Even though Marmion had the edge in possession, the final scoring sequence proved elusive as the Cadets suffered their fourth shutout of the season.

Senior midfielder Barry O’Neill expressed his displeasure but also pointed to the positive.

“It’s very frustrating,” he said. “It fits a pattern for a lot of our games this season where we have dominated possession and done a great job of building out of the back.

“We are just missing that final product. We have struggled with that. We have been practicing shooting a lot. We are struggling to finish, but everything else has been going pretty good.”

Still, Oswego’s defense has been its most consistent element. The Panthers recorded their seventh shutout and third in the last four games.

The back line has been bolstered by the return of senior defender Ian Laird, who missed a substantial part of the season with an injury.

“I think all of our guys on defense are really confident players,” Laird said. “Marmion had some good offensive players, but I think anybody you put up against us, we have the ability to stop them easily.”

That defense has been cohesive and symmetrical for Oswego, with many of the players understanding movement and placement.

Marmion rarely had time to get any shots off.

“I think all of us are pretty tight,” Laird said. “There is nobody that is separated from the team. I feel like last year there might have been more cliques.”

Martinez then put the game away by scoring off a pass slotted by Kalsto in the 50th minute.

“We are just trying to connect a lot more since we have been playing with each other in practice,” Martinez said. “My style is based on distributing the ball, playing simple and connecting passes.

“I like to move the ball up and down the field.”

The calendar means that every game takes on a heightened importance. Oswego had its regular season finale slated for Thursday at Plainfield South.

But for players like Kalsto, the moment is now, with the Panthers playing host Plainfield North in a Class 3A regional semifinal on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

“We have to know that we can’t ever give up,” Kalsto said. “After tomorrow, if we lose, we’re out. Since this is my senior year, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.