Bremen earns 4th-straight Toyota trip
Transfer Ortiz contributes to 2-1 WC semi win over St. Laurence
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – Bruno Ortiz has heard plenty of stories about playing in the Windy City Ram Classic championship game at Toyota Park.
Ortiz, a junior forward, is in his first year at Bremen after transferring from Mansueto in Chicago. His teammates, who helped the Braves win the 32-team tournament last season, informed him all about the experience.
“They told me it’s a great atmosphere, and that it pushes you to play your best,” Ortiz said. “I really wanted to get to play in that game and show what I can do, show what my school can do.”
Ortiz helped make it happen, scoring in the first half Tuesday night as the Braves held off St. Laurence 2-1 in a semifinal at Reavis.
Bremen (4-0-0), an honorable mention member of the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will take on No. 25 Bolingbrook (4-1-0) in the championship match set for noon Monday at Toyota Park.
It’ll be the Braves fourth-straight appearance in the tournament’s final. They won the title in 2015, lost the championship game to Oak Lawn in 2016 and won it again last season, 1-0 over Argo.
“The guys are extremely excited to get back,” Bremen coach Tom Piotrowski said. “Each year it’s hard to make it there, especially with so many good teams in this tournament.”
Ortiz, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, has been a huge addition for the Braves. He also scored in wins over De La Salle and Marist in the first two rounds of the tournament.
His third goal of the season was set up Tuesday by teammate Donato Lagunas in the 23rd minute.
Lagunas, a senior midfielder, stole the ball from a St. Laurence defender and sent a cross toward the center of the box, where Ortiz headed it in on a dive.
Ortiz said his relentlessness in attacking headers was inspired both by watching his Bremen teammates in Saturday’s quarterfinal win over Bloom, and by Robin VanPersie’s memorable goal on a header for Netherlands against Spain in the 2014 World Cup.
“Our last game, I was watching how guys were completely laying out for headers, going all out,” Ortiz said. “It made me think of VanPersie’s goal. (Tuesday), when Donato played it in, I didn’t think I’d be able to reach it.
“I just thought about VanPersie’s goal again, and knew I had to fully extend myself. I did, and I was able to get my head on it and hit it over the goalie.”
Ortiz’s goal came shortly before lightning brought on a nearly hour-long delay.
When play resumed, both sides traded scoring chances.
Bremen got a great look five minutes into the second half when Lagunas set up Adrian Gallegos in front of the net. Gallegos ripped a low liner that St. Laurence goalkeeper Brendan McLaughlin dove to knock out.
St. Laurence’s Valente Lara then missed wide on a header, while Ivan Ovalle fired wide after a scramble in front of the net.
The Braves broke through for some insurance in the 61st minute.
Speedy freshman Diego Frausto got behind the St. Laurence defense and drew McLaughlin off of his line to break up the opportunity.
The ball deflected to Bremen’s Nery Sanchez, who calmly buried a shot into the open net from 15 yards for his first goal of the season.
“I was making a run and calling for the ball. But it didn’t go to me; it went to (Frausto), instead,” Sanchez said. “The goalie came out, it rebounded, and I was just in the right position and was able to score.
“I was glad I was able to do that for my team. I’m really trying to step up my game this year.”
Down 2-0, St. Laurence (4-1-0) did not go down without a fight.
Less than three minutes after Sanchez’s goal, the Vikings broke through on a corner kick.
Danny Garcia’s cross targeted the near post, where Luke Arthurs cut in to head it home, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 6:50 to go.
“When you get down 2-0, you can either shy away and say it’s their game or you can step up,” St. Laurence coach Kyle Boekeloo said. “Our guys have a lot of resolve. They’re not going to quit. They kept fighting until the end, it’s just unfortunate that it didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”
The Vikings could not mount a serious threat over the remaining 6:50 as Bremen locked down defensively to secure the win.
Andy Esparza made two saves for the Braves.
While Boekeloo was pleased his team fought until the end, he knows the Vikings can learn some lessons from their first loss of the season.
St. Laurence will take on Plainfield South in Saturday’s third place game.
“It’s just mental errors,” he said. “Their second goal was a miscommunication between one of our defenders and our goalie. The first goal, we lost the ball on the outside, and we didn’t mark up. They served it in and buried their opportunity. So, we’ve just got to clean up some of those things.
“We need to bounce back, move forward from this and be ready for that third place game.”
Bremen, meanwhile, has another championship game to prepare for.
“I’m excited for it, but I feel like there’s a little pressure on me, too,” Ortiz said. “I want to go out there and score more goals. I want to go to Toyota Park and help my school look good.”
Starting lineups
Bremen
GK: Andy Esparza
D: Diego Mejia
D: Aldo Lagunas
D: Miguel Camacho
D: Edgar Esparza
M: Donato Lagunas
M: Jose Guerrero
M: Nery Sanchez
M: Brandon Martinez
F: Adrian Gallegos
F: Bruno Ortiz
St. Laurence
GK: Brendan McLaughlin
D: Ruben Chacon
D: Julian Cardiel
D: Jesse Cardiel
M: Luke Arthurs
M: Valente Lara
M: Danny Garcia
M: Tony Moreno
M: Saul Camacho
F: Israel Contreras
F: Charlie Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Bruno Ortiz, jr., F, Bremen
Scoring summary
First half
Bremen: Bruno Ortiz (Donato Lagunas), 23rd minute
Second half
Bremen: Nery Sanchez (Diego Frausto), 61st minute
St. Laurence: Luke Arthurs (Danny Garcia), 64th minute
Transfer Ortiz contributes to 2-1 WC semi win over St. Laurence
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – Bruno Ortiz has heard plenty of stories about playing in the Windy City Ram Classic championship game at Toyota Park.
Ortiz, a junior forward, is in his first year at Bremen after transferring from Mansueto in Chicago. His teammates, who helped the Braves win the 32-team tournament last season, informed him all about the experience.
“They told me it’s a great atmosphere, and that it pushes you to play your best,” Ortiz said. “I really wanted to get to play in that game and show what I can do, show what my school can do.”
Ortiz helped make it happen, scoring in the first half Tuesday night as the Braves held off St. Laurence 2-1 in a semifinal at Reavis.
Bremen (4-0-0), an honorable mention member of the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, will take on No. 25 Bolingbrook (4-1-0) in the championship match set for noon Monday at Toyota Park.
It’ll be the Braves fourth-straight appearance in the tournament’s final. They won the title in 2015, lost the championship game to Oak Lawn in 2016 and won it again last season, 1-0 over Argo.
“The guys are extremely excited to get back,” Bremen coach Tom Piotrowski said. “Each year it’s hard to make it there, especially with so many good teams in this tournament.”
Ortiz, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, has been a huge addition for the Braves. He also scored in wins over De La Salle and Marist in the first two rounds of the tournament.
His third goal of the season was set up Tuesday by teammate Donato Lagunas in the 23rd minute.
Lagunas, a senior midfielder, stole the ball from a St. Laurence defender and sent a cross toward the center of the box, where Ortiz headed it in on a dive.
Ortiz said his relentlessness in attacking headers was inspired both by watching his Bremen teammates in Saturday’s quarterfinal win over Bloom, and by Robin VanPersie’s memorable goal on a header for Netherlands against Spain in the 2014 World Cup.
“Our last game, I was watching how guys were completely laying out for headers, going all out,” Ortiz said. “It made me think of VanPersie’s goal. (Tuesday), when Donato played it in, I didn’t think I’d be able to reach it.
“I just thought about VanPersie’s goal again, and knew I had to fully extend myself. I did, and I was able to get my head on it and hit it over the goalie.”
Ortiz’s goal came shortly before lightning brought on a nearly hour-long delay.
When play resumed, both sides traded scoring chances.
Bremen got a great look five minutes into the second half when Lagunas set up Adrian Gallegos in front of the net. Gallegos ripped a low liner that St. Laurence goalkeeper Brendan McLaughlin dove to knock out.
St. Laurence’s Valente Lara then missed wide on a header, while Ivan Ovalle fired wide after a scramble in front of the net.
The Braves broke through for some insurance in the 61st minute.
Speedy freshman Diego Frausto got behind the St. Laurence defense and drew McLaughlin off of his line to break up the opportunity.
The ball deflected to Bremen’s Nery Sanchez, who calmly buried a shot into the open net from 15 yards for his first goal of the season.
“I was making a run and calling for the ball. But it didn’t go to me; it went to (Frausto), instead,” Sanchez said. “The goalie came out, it rebounded, and I was just in the right position and was able to score.
“I was glad I was able to do that for my team. I’m really trying to step up my game this year.”
Down 2-0, St. Laurence (4-1-0) did not go down without a fight.
Less than three minutes after Sanchez’s goal, the Vikings broke through on a corner kick.
Danny Garcia’s cross targeted the near post, where Luke Arthurs cut in to head it home, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 6:50 to go.
“When you get down 2-0, you can either shy away and say it’s their game or you can step up,” St. Laurence coach Kyle Boekeloo said. “Our guys have a lot of resolve. They’re not going to quit. They kept fighting until the end, it’s just unfortunate that it didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”
The Vikings could not mount a serious threat over the remaining 6:50 as Bremen locked down defensively to secure the win.
Andy Esparza made two saves for the Braves.
While Boekeloo was pleased his team fought until the end, he knows the Vikings can learn some lessons from their first loss of the season.
St. Laurence will take on Plainfield South in Saturday’s third place game.
“It’s just mental errors,” he said. “Their second goal was a miscommunication between one of our defenders and our goalie. The first goal, we lost the ball on the outside, and we didn’t mark up. They served it in and buried their opportunity. So, we’ve just got to clean up some of those things.
“We need to bounce back, move forward from this and be ready for that third place game.”
Bremen, meanwhile, has another championship game to prepare for.
“I’m excited for it, but I feel like there’s a little pressure on me, too,” Ortiz said. “I want to go out there and score more goals. I want to go to Toyota Park and help my school look good.”
Starting lineups
Bremen
GK: Andy Esparza
D: Diego Mejia
D: Aldo Lagunas
D: Miguel Camacho
D: Edgar Esparza
M: Donato Lagunas
M: Jose Guerrero
M: Nery Sanchez
M: Brandon Martinez
F: Adrian Gallegos
F: Bruno Ortiz
St. Laurence
GK: Brendan McLaughlin
D: Ruben Chacon
D: Julian Cardiel
D: Jesse Cardiel
M: Luke Arthurs
M: Valente Lara
M: Danny Garcia
M: Tony Moreno
M: Saul Camacho
F: Israel Contreras
F: Charlie Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Bruno Ortiz, jr., F, Bremen
Scoring summary
First half
Bremen: Bruno Ortiz (Donato Lagunas), 23rd minute
Second half
Bremen: Nery Sanchez (Diego Frausto), 61st minute
St. Laurence: Luke Arthurs (Danny Garcia), 64th minute