Nochimowski's goal explosion helps
Rochelle Zell roll past Christian Liberty
Soph nets 5 in 10-1 win over young, shorthanded Chargers
By Bobby Narang
DEERFIELD — Rochelle Zell sophomore forward Oren Nochimowski tried to explain his sudden burst of goals in the Tigers’ season-opener Monday.
By his own admission, he could’t recall his total number of goals last season.
Senior co-captain Zach Rosen tried to interject to answer the simple question for Nochimowski.
“I don’t know if Oren even scored last year, but now he’s our leading scorer,” Rosen said, smiling.
If the season-opening match is a good indication, Nochimowski and the Tigers are set for a big campaign. The second-year varsity player scored a career-high five goals in a 10-1 nonconference rout over Christian Liberty.
Nochimowski scored early and often, sparking the Tigers (1-0-0) to a memorable victory. He admitted that he was shocked at his performance.
“I didn’t know it was going to be a special day. I just came out and played my hardest, and my teammates made it very easy for me,” he said. “It felt great. When you get goal after goal, it gives you a big boost in confidence and hopefully will help me down the line this year.”
Rochelle Zell coach David Martinez said Nochimowski is slated to be an integral player for the Tigers this season after playing mainly a reserve role in the condensed spring season.
“I’m surprised how well he did today, but Oren is a great kid and has great character, and he does whatever we ask of him,” Martinez said. “The best part of all of it is we’ve been working on finishing for the last week and a half. He saw the ball well, and his teammates did the work. He also created some chances and slotted it into the corner every single time. If he can do that constantly, he’s going to have a great season.
"It’s amazing to see that, just his confidence rise up. Last year Oren would play minutes for us when we needed somebody to fill in at forward. Now with him being one of the starting forwards, he’s shining from the start. I’m hoping that continues and know that’s what he’s capable of.”
From the outset, visiting Christian Liberty struggled to keep up with the deep and talented Tigers. The Chargers, who compete in the Northeastern Athletic Conference, only brought 11 players. That forced every player to endure 80 minutes of soccer without any rest.
“We’re young and have no seniors and are starting five freshmen, so they’re going to have to figure it out,” Christian Liberty coach Jed Bennett said. “We have to improve on possession and not stabbing at the ball. We’re young, and only bringing back three starters. Once we get a couple of guys back, it will get better for us.”
The Tigers took advantage of the Chargers’ youth and lack of depth to score three goals in the first seven minutes. Nochimowski scored on a short tap-in in the seventh minute to start his flurry of goals. He finished with four first half goals that added to an insurmountable 6-1 edge at halftime.
Nochimowski credited his memorable showing to gaining more experience and working on his game during the offseason.
“I think I’ve gained more confidence,” Nochimowski said. “Last year was a weird season, everything was just off. I feel this season, just being able to come to practice every day, has really helped build my confidence. I’m hoping to help us win as many games as we can this year.”
Junior goalie Tanner Aiello played the whole game in the net for the Christian Liberty. His play was solid considering the number of available opportunities for the Tigers.
Aiello tallied 10 saves in the first half, including three saves in a 10-second span at the midway point. He finished with 13 saves and got a reprieve of sorts by playing the second half in the shaded area of the field.
A strong player with a good build, Aiello was all over the net, diving for balls from all directions and relying on his quick feet and hands in an attempt to keep his team in the game.
“(Tanner) is very athletic and is going to keep us in games a lot, and he will play in the field for us once we get back a couple of guys,” Bennett said.
Sophomore forward Alex Bautista is adapting to a bigger role on the young Christian Liberty squad. He scored the Chargers’ lone goal, knocking in a penalty kick to cut the deficit to 4-1 with 12:14 left in the opening half.
“Last year I learned it was a lot easier since we had a lot of seniors who were good leaders,” Bautista said. “This year we have a young team, so it’s a process of learning and getting stronger. It felt good to score (today).
“Usually, the goal keeper looks at your eyes, so I shot it the other way. It felt good. I knew the score was going to be something like this because we’re such a young team. We’re learning. But at least we started shooting more at the end of the game. But we have to score more goals.”
Bautista said he’s worked on becoming a well-rounded player to handle the heavy uptick in minutes this season.
"I’m better this year because of my endurance and feel I can last more in games, and that’s good because we don’t have many subs,” he said. “I’m also playing as a team. Last year I dribbled through people, but this year I have to play as a team.”
Rochelle Zell closed out the game with six-unanswered goals, including two by reserve Jordan Melman. Rochelle Zell goalie Jacob Weiss tallied two saves in the victory.
Sophomore forward Jesse Shapira said the nine-goal victory was a good start to the season. He scored his team’s second goal off an assist from junior midfielder Harrison Harkavy.
“We have a lot of confidence and just need to put it to good use,” he said. “Last year on varsity helped me, playing with the seniors and using what they taught me last year and put to use this year
“I’m very excited, even though it seems like we just finished last season, but we’re all excited to get back in the rhythm and help us get wins.”
Rosen, one of five seniors on the roster, tallied the opening goal of the second half to increase the lead to 7-1. He said he’s ready for the challenge of leading the team and helping continue to build chemistry for the long season.
“Basically everybody else did the work on my goal, I just had to tap in,” Rosen said. “This whole team is unselfish, always looking for the cross. Everyone is happy for each other, just wants to win. We lost about four or five seniors from last year. We have a few new guys, but all just came together.
“We have no egos and all have gone to school with each other for a few years. It’s pretty weird to be a senior captain. In past years, I could mess around a little, but now everyone is looking at me.”
Martinez said his team played hard throughout the game, taking advantage of their depth.
“The boys are working hard, want to play hard every game, and they did it today,” he said. We’re just trying to build off this win. We play our first conference game on Wednesday, Holy Trinity. We’re conference returning champions, so there’s a target on our backs.”
Starting lineups
Christian Liberty
GK Tanner Aiello
D Josh Schuster
D Josh Daniel
D Ben Chantry
D Nate Policha
M Micah Wanga
M Danny Reyes
M Hudson DeRidder
M Marcel Policha
F Alex Bautista
F Nathanael Seon
Rochelle Zell
GK Jacob Weiss
D Coby Halpern
D Gabe Hirsch
D Shomri Mlotek
D Jeremy Budin
M Ben Rosenfeld
M Matan Lieberman
M Zach Rosen
M Harrison Harkavy
F Oren Nochimowski
F Jesse Shapira
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Oren Nochimowski, so., F, Rochelle Zell
Scoring summary
First half
RZ — Matan Lieberman (Jesse Shapira), 37 minutes remaining
RZ — Jesse Shapira (Harrison Harkavy), 34 minutes remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (unassisted), 33:01 remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (Nitai Gorlin), 23:12 remaining
CL — Alex Bautista (penalty kick), 12:14 remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (unassisted), 9:16 remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (unassisted), 7:25 remaining
Second half
RZ — Zach Rosen (Nochimowski), 37:05 remaining
RZ — Nochimowski (unassisted), 28:49 remaining
RZ — Jordan Melman (unassisted), 6:01 remaining
RZ — Jordan Melman (unassisted), 5:00 remaining.
Rochelle Zell roll past Christian Liberty
Soph nets 5 in 10-1 win over young, shorthanded Chargers
By Bobby Narang
DEERFIELD — Rochelle Zell sophomore forward Oren Nochimowski tried to explain his sudden burst of goals in the Tigers’ season-opener Monday.
By his own admission, he could’t recall his total number of goals last season.
Senior co-captain Zach Rosen tried to interject to answer the simple question for Nochimowski.
“I don’t know if Oren even scored last year, but now he’s our leading scorer,” Rosen said, smiling.
If the season-opening match is a good indication, Nochimowski and the Tigers are set for a big campaign. The second-year varsity player scored a career-high five goals in a 10-1 nonconference rout over Christian Liberty.
Nochimowski scored early and often, sparking the Tigers (1-0-0) to a memorable victory. He admitted that he was shocked at his performance.
“I didn’t know it was going to be a special day. I just came out and played my hardest, and my teammates made it very easy for me,” he said. “It felt great. When you get goal after goal, it gives you a big boost in confidence and hopefully will help me down the line this year.”
Rochelle Zell coach David Martinez said Nochimowski is slated to be an integral player for the Tigers this season after playing mainly a reserve role in the condensed spring season.
“I’m surprised how well he did today, but Oren is a great kid and has great character, and he does whatever we ask of him,” Martinez said. “The best part of all of it is we’ve been working on finishing for the last week and a half. He saw the ball well, and his teammates did the work. He also created some chances and slotted it into the corner every single time. If he can do that constantly, he’s going to have a great season.
"It’s amazing to see that, just his confidence rise up. Last year Oren would play minutes for us when we needed somebody to fill in at forward. Now with him being one of the starting forwards, he’s shining from the start. I’m hoping that continues and know that’s what he’s capable of.”
From the outset, visiting Christian Liberty struggled to keep up with the deep and talented Tigers. The Chargers, who compete in the Northeastern Athletic Conference, only brought 11 players. That forced every player to endure 80 minutes of soccer without any rest.
“We’re young and have no seniors and are starting five freshmen, so they’re going to have to figure it out,” Christian Liberty coach Jed Bennett said. “We have to improve on possession and not stabbing at the ball. We’re young, and only bringing back three starters. Once we get a couple of guys back, it will get better for us.”
The Tigers took advantage of the Chargers’ youth and lack of depth to score three goals in the first seven minutes. Nochimowski scored on a short tap-in in the seventh minute to start his flurry of goals. He finished with four first half goals that added to an insurmountable 6-1 edge at halftime.
Nochimowski credited his memorable showing to gaining more experience and working on his game during the offseason.
“I think I’ve gained more confidence,” Nochimowski said. “Last year was a weird season, everything was just off. I feel this season, just being able to come to practice every day, has really helped build my confidence. I’m hoping to help us win as many games as we can this year.”
Junior goalie Tanner Aiello played the whole game in the net for the Christian Liberty. His play was solid considering the number of available opportunities for the Tigers.
Aiello tallied 10 saves in the first half, including three saves in a 10-second span at the midway point. He finished with 13 saves and got a reprieve of sorts by playing the second half in the shaded area of the field.
A strong player with a good build, Aiello was all over the net, diving for balls from all directions and relying on his quick feet and hands in an attempt to keep his team in the game.
“(Tanner) is very athletic and is going to keep us in games a lot, and he will play in the field for us once we get back a couple of guys,” Bennett said.
Sophomore forward Alex Bautista is adapting to a bigger role on the young Christian Liberty squad. He scored the Chargers’ lone goal, knocking in a penalty kick to cut the deficit to 4-1 with 12:14 left in the opening half.
“Last year I learned it was a lot easier since we had a lot of seniors who were good leaders,” Bautista said. “This year we have a young team, so it’s a process of learning and getting stronger. It felt good to score (today).
“Usually, the goal keeper looks at your eyes, so I shot it the other way. It felt good. I knew the score was going to be something like this because we’re such a young team. We’re learning. But at least we started shooting more at the end of the game. But we have to score more goals.”
Bautista said he’s worked on becoming a well-rounded player to handle the heavy uptick in minutes this season.
"I’m better this year because of my endurance and feel I can last more in games, and that’s good because we don’t have many subs,” he said. “I’m also playing as a team. Last year I dribbled through people, but this year I have to play as a team.”
Rochelle Zell closed out the game with six-unanswered goals, including two by reserve Jordan Melman. Rochelle Zell goalie Jacob Weiss tallied two saves in the victory.
Sophomore forward Jesse Shapira said the nine-goal victory was a good start to the season. He scored his team’s second goal off an assist from junior midfielder Harrison Harkavy.
“We have a lot of confidence and just need to put it to good use,” he said. “Last year on varsity helped me, playing with the seniors and using what they taught me last year and put to use this year
“I’m very excited, even though it seems like we just finished last season, but we’re all excited to get back in the rhythm and help us get wins.”
Rosen, one of five seniors on the roster, tallied the opening goal of the second half to increase the lead to 7-1. He said he’s ready for the challenge of leading the team and helping continue to build chemistry for the long season.
“Basically everybody else did the work on my goal, I just had to tap in,” Rosen said. “This whole team is unselfish, always looking for the cross. Everyone is happy for each other, just wants to win. We lost about four or five seniors from last year. We have a few new guys, but all just came together.
“We have no egos and all have gone to school with each other for a few years. It’s pretty weird to be a senior captain. In past years, I could mess around a little, but now everyone is looking at me.”
Martinez said his team played hard throughout the game, taking advantage of their depth.
“The boys are working hard, want to play hard every game, and they did it today,” he said. We’re just trying to build off this win. We play our first conference game on Wednesday, Holy Trinity. We’re conference returning champions, so there’s a target on our backs.”
Starting lineups
Christian Liberty
GK Tanner Aiello
D Josh Schuster
D Josh Daniel
D Ben Chantry
D Nate Policha
M Micah Wanga
M Danny Reyes
M Hudson DeRidder
M Marcel Policha
F Alex Bautista
F Nathanael Seon
Rochelle Zell
GK Jacob Weiss
D Coby Halpern
D Gabe Hirsch
D Shomri Mlotek
D Jeremy Budin
M Ben Rosenfeld
M Matan Lieberman
M Zach Rosen
M Harrison Harkavy
F Oren Nochimowski
F Jesse Shapira
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Oren Nochimowski, so., F, Rochelle Zell
Scoring summary
First half
RZ — Matan Lieberman (Jesse Shapira), 37 minutes remaining
RZ — Jesse Shapira (Harrison Harkavy), 34 minutes remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (unassisted), 33:01 remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (Nitai Gorlin), 23:12 remaining
CL — Alex Bautista (penalty kick), 12:14 remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (unassisted), 9:16 remaining
RZ — Oren Nochimowski (unassisted), 7:25 remaining
Second half
RZ — Zach Rosen (Nochimowski), 37:05 remaining
RZ — Nochimowski (unassisted), 28:49 remaining
RZ — Jordan Melman (unassisted), 6:01 remaining
RZ — Jordan Melman (unassisted), 5:00 remaining.