Impatient Rochelle Zell 'finally'
finds stride vs. Holy Trinity
After 26 scoreless minutes, Tigers find groove for 6-0 win
By Bobby Narang
DEERFIELD — Ten minutes into Wednesday’s season opener, Jesse Shapira hit a point of mental frustration.
The Rochelle Zell junior forward can run for hours and relies on his developing next-level skills and speed to cause havoc for opponents.
But Shapira, who scored 19 goals and collected six assists last season, was disappointed. After averaging a shot every two-and-a-half minutes at the beginning of the freshly minted campaign, he had yet to put one in the net against Holy Trinity.
In front a mostly pro-Rochelle Zell home crowd of 150-plus fans, Shapira took a few seconds to rest his body with 30 minutes left in the first half. Standing about 15 yards from the center of the field, Shapira bent over, grabbed his knees and let out a big breath while a teammate set up for a throw-in.
Two minutes earlier, he had consecutive close shots deflected by a Holy Trinity defender to cap off a chaotic and unsuccessful shooting sequence for the junior.
His teammates were in constant communication with him in the early going. They yelled his name or “keep shooting Jesse” to encourage their star player.
“I was definitely frustrated in the first 10 minutes and first half,” Shapira said. “I wanted a goal. I’ll admit that. I just couldn’t get it. I’ll keep working on my shot. I knew they would come.”
In the end, Shapira’s managed to do what he does best — score goals — after his teammates did the heavy lifting until his late, second half awakening.
Four different Tigers chipped in before Shapira tacked on the final two to complete Rochelle Zell’s 6-0 triumph over Holy Trinity in Chicago Prep Conference play.
Shapira got his tallies in a four-plus-minute span. He admitted the first goal was a relief, especially after many quality chances.
“The first goal felt really good,” Shapira said. “It was good to be back. This was a great statement win, a conference game. It’s definitely exciting to be a junior.
“Soccer is definitely the most fun sport here, but now I’m an upperclassman. I’ve done good stuff in the past, but I have to take it forward and be a leader.”
Shapira is a player to watch in Chicagoland this season. The third-year varsity player said he worked on different aspects of his game to become a well-rounded player for his final two seasons.
“I think it’s evident that I need to improve my shooting still. I spent a lot of time on my dribbling and looking up when I’m dribbling and can pass it to other people and learning to kick the ball differently right to a teammate’s foot,” Shapira said. “I still have stuff to work on.”
The Tigers eventually walked away with a signature victory in their opener, but the first 25-plus minutes was a battle of wills.
Rochelle Zell moved its scoreboard from the middle of the field to the far corner closer to the school to allow fans a better vantage point, but it failed to display any scoring until the 26th minute.
Holy Trinity played solid defense and kept the Tigers scoreless despite entering the season with a smaller roster and a new coach.
“I think we did pretty good, but we definitely have some conditioning issues that we need to work on; and our spacing needs to be better,” Holy Trinity coach Aldo Huitzil said. “Overall, it was pretty good. I liked our effort. I think skill-wise we matched up with them pretty well, but it’s a conditioning level. We don’t have it at top level, and it went down during the game.”
Rochelle Zell coach David Martinez said expectations are high for his team.
“Jesse is our guy and is quick on the ball,” Martinez said. “We tell him to keep going and get the next one if he misses. He got a lot of chances. We just have to capitalize on those chances as a team. We’re getting them, which is good. The energy is high. We have (nine) returning starters and new players.”
Martinez emphasized the solid play of goalie Jacob Weiss. The senior finished with four saves to earn the shutout.
“Our goalie Jacob is a second-year starter,” Martinez said. “He’s been training in the offseason and put in the work. Just having a strong goalkeeper changes everything. You can rely on them. They can come out and dive and put. It’s giving us the backbone we needed. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Rochelle Zell junior Ari Jankelowitz scored the first goal of the season, knocking in a shot off a deflection with 14 minutes left in the half.
With just under 30 seconds before intermission, junior Ben Rosenfeld scored to provide a comfortable lead at halftime.
Rosenfeld, a second-year starter, equaled his sophomore output of one goal within the first 40 minutes of the new season.
“It was really happy to score, because I’ve been working all summer on playing and shooting with a personal trainer,” Rosenfield said. “It felt good to take a few shots and for one to go in. It feels good to have a leadership role this season, and this was a good start to the season.”
Senior Harrison Harkavy, who netted eight goals last season, recorded his first goal of 2022 in the 43rd minute. One minute before his tally, the senior had just missed on a chance.
Harkavy cherished his first goal of the season, celebrating all the way up the field, punctuated with a hip-bump with Weiss on the other end of the pitch.
“I was frustrated, but I knew I was going to bounce back,” Harkavy said. “I think a big part of soccer is when you make a mistake you can’t focus on the mistake, and you have to hustle back.
"It felt really good to score. That was pretty evident. It was great for the team to defend our field. It was a great day to play soccer. We want to get as many wins as we can. It’s a team game.
“I think I’m a better leader for my senior season. My skills communicating as a leader are better, being more vocal and positive.”
In the 53rd minute, junior forward Simon Levitan padded the lead to 4-0 with a nifty goal to give his team some breathing room before Shapira ended the scoring.
Starting lineups
Rochelle Zell
GK Jacob Weiss
D Coby Halpern
D Gabe Hirsch
D Ari Jankelowitz
D Jeremy Budin
M Ben Rosenfeld
M Harrison Harkavy
M Nitai Gorlin
F Jesse Shapira
F Oren Nochimowski
F Simon Levitan
Holy Trinity
No roster available
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Jesse Shapira, jr., F, Rochelle Zell
Scoring summary
First half
Rochelle Zell — Ari Jankelowitz (unassisted), 26’
Rochelle Zell — Ben Rosenfeld (Gorlin), 40’
Second half
Rochelle Zell — Harrison Harkavy (Shapira), 43’
Rochelle Zell — Simon Levitan (unassisted), 53’
Rochelle Zell — Jesse Shapira (unassisted), 63’
Rochelle Zell —Shapira (Budin), 67’
finds stride vs. Holy Trinity
After 26 scoreless minutes, Tigers find groove for 6-0 win
By Bobby Narang
DEERFIELD — Ten minutes into Wednesday’s season opener, Jesse Shapira hit a point of mental frustration.
The Rochelle Zell junior forward can run for hours and relies on his developing next-level skills and speed to cause havoc for opponents.
But Shapira, who scored 19 goals and collected six assists last season, was disappointed. After averaging a shot every two-and-a-half minutes at the beginning of the freshly minted campaign, he had yet to put one in the net against Holy Trinity.
In front a mostly pro-Rochelle Zell home crowd of 150-plus fans, Shapira took a few seconds to rest his body with 30 minutes left in the first half. Standing about 15 yards from the center of the field, Shapira bent over, grabbed his knees and let out a big breath while a teammate set up for a throw-in.
Two minutes earlier, he had consecutive close shots deflected by a Holy Trinity defender to cap off a chaotic and unsuccessful shooting sequence for the junior.
His teammates were in constant communication with him in the early going. They yelled his name or “keep shooting Jesse” to encourage their star player.
“I was definitely frustrated in the first 10 minutes and first half,” Shapira said. “I wanted a goal. I’ll admit that. I just couldn’t get it. I’ll keep working on my shot. I knew they would come.”
In the end, Shapira’s managed to do what he does best — score goals — after his teammates did the heavy lifting until his late, second half awakening.
Four different Tigers chipped in before Shapira tacked on the final two to complete Rochelle Zell’s 6-0 triumph over Holy Trinity in Chicago Prep Conference play.
Shapira got his tallies in a four-plus-minute span. He admitted the first goal was a relief, especially after many quality chances.
“The first goal felt really good,” Shapira said. “It was good to be back. This was a great statement win, a conference game. It’s definitely exciting to be a junior.
“Soccer is definitely the most fun sport here, but now I’m an upperclassman. I’ve done good stuff in the past, but I have to take it forward and be a leader.”
Shapira is a player to watch in Chicagoland this season. The third-year varsity player said he worked on different aspects of his game to become a well-rounded player for his final two seasons.
“I think it’s evident that I need to improve my shooting still. I spent a lot of time on my dribbling and looking up when I’m dribbling and can pass it to other people and learning to kick the ball differently right to a teammate’s foot,” Shapira said. “I still have stuff to work on.”
The Tigers eventually walked away with a signature victory in their opener, but the first 25-plus minutes was a battle of wills.
Rochelle Zell moved its scoreboard from the middle of the field to the far corner closer to the school to allow fans a better vantage point, but it failed to display any scoring until the 26th minute.
Holy Trinity played solid defense and kept the Tigers scoreless despite entering the season with a smaller roster and a new coach.
“I think we did pretty good, but we definitely have some conditioning issues that we need to work on; and our spacing needs to be better,” Holy Trinity coach Aldo Huitzil said. “Overall, it was pretty good. I liked our effort. I think skill-wise we matched up with them pretty well, but it’s a conditioning level. We don’t have it at top level, and it went down during the game.”
Rochelle Zell coach David Martinez said expectations are high for his team.
“Jesse is our guy and is quick on the ball,” Martinez said. “We tell him to keep going and get the next one if he misses. He got a lot of chances. We just have to capitalize on those chances as a team. We’re getting them, which is good. The energy is high. We have (nine) returning starters and new players.”
Martinez emphasized the solid play of goalie Jacob Weiss. The senior finished with four saves to earn the shutout.
“Our goalie Jacob is a second-year starter,” Martinez said. “He’s been training in the offseason and put in the work. Just having a strong goalkeeper changes everything. You can rely on them. They can come out and dive and put. It’s giving us the backbone we needed. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Rochelle Zell junior Ari Jankelowitz scored the first goal of the season, knocking in a shot off a deflection with 14 minutes left in the half.
With just under 30 seconds before intermission, junior Ben Rosenfeld scored to provide a comfortable lead at halftime.
Rosenfeld, a second-year starter, equaled his sophomore output of one goal within the first 40 minutes of the new season.
“It was really happy to score, because I’ve been working all summer on playing and shooting with a personal trainer,” Rosenfield said. “It felt good to take a few shots and for one to go in. It feels good to have a leadership role this season, and this was a good start to the season.”
Senior Harrison Harkavy, who netted eight goals last season, recorded his first goal of 2022 in the 43rd minute. One minute before his tally, the senior had just missed on a chance.
Harkavy cherished his first goal of the season, celebrating all the way up the field, punctuated with a hip-bump with Weiss on the other end of the pitch.
“I was frustrated, but I knew I was going to bounce back,” Harkavy said. “I think a big part of soccer is when you make a mistake you can’t focus on the mistake, and you have to hustle back.
"It felt really good to score. That was pretty evident. It was great for the team to defend our field. It was a great day to play soccer. We want to get as many wins as we can. It’s a team game.
“I think I’m a better leader for my senior season. My skills communicating as a leader are better, being more vocal and positive.”
In the 53rd minute, junior forward Simon Levitan padded the lead to 4-0 with a nifty goal to give his team some breathing room before Shapira ended the scoring.
Starting lineups
Rochelle Zell
GK Jacob Weiss
D Coby Halpern
D Gabe Hirsch
D Ari Jankelowitz
D Jeremy Budin
M Ben Rosenfeld
M Harrison Harkavy
M Nitai Gorlin
F Jesse Shapira
F Oren Nochimowski
F Simon Levitan
Holy Trinity
No roster available
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Jesse Shapira, jr., F, Rochelle Zell
Scoring summary
First half
Rochelle Zell — Ari Jankelowitz (unassisted), 26’
Rochelle Zell — Ben Rosenfeld (Gorlin), 40’
Second half
Rochelle Zell — Harrison Harkavy (Shapira), 43’
Rochelle Zell — Simon Levitan (unassisted), 53’
Rochelle Zell — Jesse Shapira (unassisted), 63’
Rochelle Zell —Shapira (Budin), 67’