Bremen tops Bolingbrook
for 3rd Windy City Ram Classic title
Braves win 2nd-consecutive honor with 2-1 victory
By Steve Millar
BRIDGEVIEW – The opening minute of Sunday’s Windy City Ram Classic championship game was stunning.
The end result was one that won’t shock anyone familiar with the tournament: another trophy for Bremen.
Junior forward Bruno Ortiz scored just 43 seconds into the match for the Braves, who went on to a 2-1 win over Bolingbrook at Toyota Park.
Bremen (11-3-1) won the 32-team tournament for the second-straight season and third time in four years. It was the program's fourth-consecutive final.
The Braves had long anticipated the championship game after the semifinals were played Aug. 31. The final was originally set for Sept. 2 but was rescheduled due to rain.
“This is my first year playing in this tournament,” said Ortiz, who transferred to Bremen from Mansueto at the start of the school year. “I scored in every game of the tournament. That’s pretty crazy. I’m just thankful to be a part of this team and to have teammates who help me score.”
Senior midfielder Brandon Martinez, the Windy City Ram Classic Most Valuable Player and Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, helped Ortiz strike the early blow with the first of his two assists.
Martinez got the ball on the left wing shortly after the kickoff and played a quick pass to Ortiz, who had some open space in the center of the box and fired a quick shot past goalkeeper Oscar Leon to put the stunned Raiders (10-6-0) in an early 1-0 hole.
“I wasn’t expecting that to happen so quick,” Ortiz said. “You have to sacrifice everything you’ve got in a game like this, give it everything you have. We were ready to do that at the start.”
Ortiz’s 10th goal of the season left Bremen coach Tom Piotrowski wondering if he could believe what he just saw.
“It was awesome,” he said. “It took a little bit for me to even process my excitement when it happened. That gave us momentum right off the bat.”
In the 32nd minute, reserve forward Adrian Gallegos received another perfectly-placed pass from Martinez along the left side of the box and finished beautifully, ripping a shot under the crossbar and just inside the near post.
“The (defender) was leaning off me a little bit, and I knew I was quicker than him,” Gallegos said. “I knew I’d beat him to the ball, and I just took a quick touch and shot it into the top corner. It felt great to score on this field.”
Piotrowski was eager to get Gallegos on the field to provide a spark with his enthusiasm.
“Adrian was telling me how excited he was to play here at Toyota Park,” Piotrowski said. “I wanted to put someone in who was excited and wanted to give everything they had. So I put him in there and he made it happen.”
Of course, it didn’t happen without some help from Martinez, who proudly hoisted his Most Valuable Player plaque after the match.
“It feels great,” he said. “This is my third time in a row playing in this championship game, for the school our fourth, and it’s great to bring back this trophy again. It means even more to me this year, because I’m a captain and a leader of the team.”
Bolingbrook, which had just one shot on goal in the first half, battled back over the final 35 minutes.
Alfredo Jaimes got the Raiders on the board with 26:10 to go.
The senior forward took a pass from Mauricio Bahena in front of the net. He was robbed on a terrific save from Bremen goalkeeper Andy Esparza, but Jaimes poked in the rebound to make it 2-1.
“I was wide open. I asked for the ball, and I went in,” Jaimes said. “(Esparza) made a great save. I just had to stay with it and tap it back in.”
Like Gallegos and Ortiz, Jaimes said it was a special feeling to score on a Major League Soccer field.
“I felt like a pro just stepping out here,” he said. “Maybe one day I will be. That’s my dream. It was a dream come true to play here, and I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and give it my all.”
Bolingbrook spent most of the remaining time in its offensive third, but a tenacious Bremen defense didn’t allow another shot on goal until the final minute.
That’s when Cristian Guzman got in on goal off a Jesus Perez pass only to be denied by Esparza with 55 seconds to go.
“We got more physical in the second half,” Jaimes said. “We kept on pushing and never gave up. We gave it our all.
“Even though we lost this, we just have to keep our heads up, keep working hard and good stuff will happen for us.”
Bolingbrook coach Jamie Clemmons was pleased with his team’s second half effort, but didn’t like the way the Raiders responded to the opening-minute goal by the Braves.
“I thought our spirit and attitude was perfect at the start, but after that goal it took us a long time to get ourselves back together,” he said. “We haven’t played a whole game of good soccer. It’s usually a tale of two halves for us, like it was (Sunday).”
The loss was the third straight for Bolingbrook, following shutout defeats to Stagg and Andrew.
“We finally scored a goal,” Clemmons said. “It’d been three games since we scored one, so that was nice. It just took us a little too long to get it going. I think in the second half some guys stepped up and decided they wanted to start playing.
“Bremen got it done, though. They’re a talented team.”
In the end, the Braves proved yet again to be a worthy champion.
“You have to beat out 31 other teams to win this,” Piotrowski said. “It’s never easy; so it’s really exciting every time we do it.”
Starting lineups
Bolingbrook
GK: Oscar Leon
D: Juan Salas
D: Paolo Mondini
D: Joe Balas
D: Ajay Vohra
M: Cristian Osornio
M: Mauricio Bahena
M: Alfredo Jaimes
M: Jared Buabeng
sF: Julian Pacheco
F: Cristian Guzman
Bremen
GK: Andy Esparza
D: Diego Mejia
D: Aldo Lagunas
D: Miguel Camacho
D: Edgar Esparza
M: Jose Guerrero
M: Alexis Chavez
M: Nery Sanchez
M: Brandon Martinez
F: Diego Frausto
F: Bruno Ortiz
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Brandon Martinez, sr., M, Bremen
Scoring summary
First half
Bremen: Bruno Ortiz (Brandon Martinez), 1st minute
Bremen: Adrian Gallegos (Brandon Martinez), 32nd minute
Second half
Bolingbrook: Alfredo Jaimes (unassisted), 44th minute
for 3rd Windy City Ram Classic title
Braves win 2nd-consecutive honor with 2-1 victory
By Steve Millar
BRIDGEVIEW – The opening minute of Sunday’s Windy City Ram Classic championship game was stunning.
The end result was one that won’t shock anyone familiar with the tournament: another trophy for Bremen.
Junior forward Bruno Ortiz scored just 43 seconds into the match for the Braves, who went on to a 2-1 win over Bolingbrook at Toyota Park.
Bremen (11-3-1) won the 32-team tournament for the second-straight season and third time in four years. It was the program's fourth-consecutive final.
The Braves had long anticipated the championship game after the semifinals were played Aug. 31. The final was originally set for Sept. 2 but was rescheduled due to rain.
“This is my first year playing in this tournament,” said Ortiz, who transferred to Bremen from Mansueto at the start of the school year. “I scored in every game of the tournament. That’s pretty crazy. I’m just thankful to be a part of this team and to have teammates who help me score.”
Senior midfielder Brandon Martinez, the Windy City Ram Classic Most Valuable Player and Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, helped Ortiz strike the early blow with the first of his two assists.
Martinez got the ball on the left wing shortly after the kickoff and played a quick pass to Ortiz, who had some open space in the center of the box and fired a quick shot past goalkeeper Oscar Leon to put the stunned Raiders (10-6-0) in an early 1-0 hole.
“I wasn’t expecting that to happen so quick,” Ortiz said. “You have to sacrifice everything you’ve got in a game like this, give it everything you have. We were ready to do that at the start.”
Ortiz’s 10th goal of the season left Bremen coach Tom Piotrowski wondering if he could believe what he just saw.
“It was awesome,” he said. “It took a little bit for me to even process my excitement when it happened. That gave us momentum right off the bat.”
In the 32nd minute, reserve forward Adrian Gallegos received another perfectly-placed pass from Martinez along the left side of the box and finished beautifully, ripping a shot under the crossbar and just inside the near post.
“The (defender) was leaning off me a little bit, and I knew I was quicker than him,” Gallegos said. “I knew I’d beat him to the ball, and I just took a quick touch and shot it into the top corner. It felt great to score on this field.”
Piotrowski was eager to get Gallegos on the field to provide a spark with his enthusiasm.
“Adrian was telling me how excited he was to play here at Toyota Park,” Piotrowski said. “I wanted to put someone in who was excited and wanted to give everything they had. So I put him in there and he made it happen.”
Of course, it didn’t happen without some help from Martinez, who proudly hoisted his Most Valuable Player plaque after the match.
“It feels great,” he said. “This is my third time in a row playing in this championship game, for the school our fourth, and it’s great to bring back this trophy again. It means even more to me this year, because I’m a captain and a leader of the team.”
Bolingbrook, which had just one shot on goal in the first half, battled back over the final 35 minutes.
Alfredo Jaimes got the Raiders on the board with 26:10 to go.
The senior forward took a pass from Mauricio Bahena in front of the net. He was robbed on a terrific save from Bremen goalkeeper Andy Esparza, but Jaimes poked in the rebound to make it 2-1.
“I was wide open. I asked for the ball, and I went in,” Jaimes said. “(Esparza) made a great save. I just had to stay with it and tap it back in.”
Like Gallegos and Ortiz, Jaimes said it was a special feeling to score on a Major League Soccer field.
“I felt like a pro just stepping out here,” he said. “Maybe one day I will be. That’s my dream. It was a dream come true to play here, and I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and give it my all.”
Bolingbrook spent most of the remaining time in its offensive third, but a tenacious Bremen defense didn’t allow another shot on goal until the final minute.
That’s when Cristian Guzman got in on goal off a Jesus Perez pass only to be denied by Esparza with 55 seconds to go.
“We got more physical in the second half,” Jaimes said. “We kept on pushing and never gave up. We gave it our all.
“Even though we lost this, we just have to keep our heads up, keep working hard and good stuff will happen for us.”
Bolingbrook coach Jamie Clemmons was pleased with his team’s second half effort, but didn’t like the way the Raiders responded to the opening-minute goal by the Braves.
“I thought our spirit and attitude was perfect at the start, but after that goal it took us a long time to get ourselves back together,” he said. “We haven’t played a whole game of good soccer. It’s usually a tale of two halves for us, like it was (Sunday).”
The loss was the third straight for Bolingbrook, following shutout defeats to Stagg and Andrew.
“We finally scored a goal,” Clemmons said. “It’d been three games since we scored one, so that was nice. It just took us a little too long to get it going. I think in the second half some guys stepped up and decided they wanted to start playing.
“Bremen got it done, though. They’re a talented team.”
In the end, the Braves proved yet again to be a worthy champion.
“You have to beat out 31 other teams to win this,” Piotrowski said. “It’s never easy; so it’s really exciting every time we do it.”
Starting lineups
Bolingbrook
GK: Oscar Leon
D: Juan Salas
D: Paolo Mondini
D: Joe Balas
D: Ajay Vohra
M: Cristian Osornio
M: Mauricio Bahena
M: Alfredo Jaimes
M: Jared Buabeng
sF: Julian Pacheco
F: Cristian Guzman
Bremen
GK: Andy Esparza
D: Diego Mejia
D: Aldo Lagunas
D: Miguel Camacho
D: Edgar Esparza
M: Jose Guerrero
M: Alexis Chavez
M: Nery Sanchez
M: Brandon Martinez
F: Diego Frausto
F: Bruno Ortiz
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Brandon Martinez, sr., M, Bremen
Scoring summary
First half
Bremen: Bruno Ortiz (Brandon Martinez), 1st minute
Bremen: Adrian Gallegos (Brandon Martinez), 32nd minute
Second half
Bolingbrook: Alfredo Jaimes (unassisted), 44th minute