3-peat! Lockport tops Shepard
for Windy City Ram Classic title
Porters score 3 times in the 2nd half to take 4-1 win
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – The players on Lockport were not alive for either time Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to three-consecutive NBA championships in the 1990s and made “three-peat” a popular term in the area and the sports world.
Now, though, the Porters have a three-peat of their own.
Lockport broke open a tight game with three goals in the second half Thursday night to run away with a 4-1 win over Shepard in the Windy City Ram Classic championship game at Reavis.
The 32-team tournament celebrated its 20th edition and Lockport (5-0-0) was not about to part with its championship status this year.
“I think we’re going to celebrate a lot on the bus,” senior defender Ryan Pavelka said. “I’m just so happy.”
Pavelka’s defensive dominance and much-needed first half goal earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
Senior midfielder Sean Flannery, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime to top St. Laurence in Tuesday’s semifinal, came through again with two goals. Ismael Gomez also scored for the Porters.
Zach Soltysiak scored for Shepard (4-2-0).
After the Porters missed on several scoring chances during an opening 30 minutes in which they dominated possession but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard, Pavelka broke through in the 32nd minute of the 35-minute half.
Pavelka crashed through the right side of the box and headed home Nick Skiba’s corner kick. It was Pavelka’s first goal since his sophomore year.
“It was a good corner kick by Nick,” Pavelka said. “As a team, we were struggling to put balls away in the first half. We had some shots wide and some right at the goalie. I was just happy I could start the spark and score.
“Once we get that first goal, more will come. The other team will panic a little bit. It’s just a pressure reliever for us.”
Lockport coach Chris Beal was relieved to see his team break through before the halftime break.
“The ball movement, the way we passed and moved and played as a team, it was really good to see,” Beal said. “I thought we played really well in the first half. We just couldn’t put one in the back of the net.
“The problem with those games is that’s when you can start to lose confidence, the other team goes and gets the ball when you’re out of your rhythm and then all of a sudden you end up losing a game you shouldn’t lose.
“I knew once we got that goal, we’d get a rise of confidence going into the second half.”
The Porters took charge with two goals early after the intermission. Flannery scored both just over four minutes apart.
The first strike was a beauty. In the 38th minute, Nathan Blazewski made a strong run down the right side and played a ball into the box, where Flannery was able to volley it in from 10 yards.
In the 42nd minute, Flannery stole the ball from a defender in the box, dribbled around him and scored from just in front of the net.
After Tuesday’s win, Flannery talked about not being a flashy player and needing to score gritty goals. Thursday, he showed some flash.
That sparked a fun conversation between him and assistant coach Todd Elkei.
“I talked about not being that guy,” Flannery said. “My coach goes, ‘So you’re not that guy, right, Sean?’ I said, ‘I guess I am.’”
Beal said the Porters were able to open things up and have fun once they had the lead.
“Ryan’s goal absolutely took the pressure off,” Beal said. “Once you’re up, you can kind of relax more mentally and then you can play the game more freely. Our ball movement, combination play was there, and guys were kind of playing spontaneously because they were relaxed. It was fun to see.
Shepard went 45 minutes without recording a shot attempt as the Lockport backline of Pavelka, Daniel Szkodon, Dominic Williams and Tyler Malczewski shut down any bids toward the goal.
The Astros, though, did not go down without a fight.
Aidan Breslin got Shepard’s first shot on goal, taking a pass from Soltysiak and getting behind the defense. Lockport goalkeeper Luke Cibula charged out to close off Breslin’s space, and his shot in tight confines was saved.
Soltysiak broke through, though, in the 65th minute to break the shutout.
He played a pass to Damyan Villanueva, who ripped a shot from 15 yards off the left post. Soltysiak was there to tap in the rebound to cut the deficit to 3-1.
“You’re playing for pride at that point,” Soltysiak said. “You have to keep battling. You don’t want to give up.”
Soltysiak said his team could take a lot away from competing against the Porters, who ended the Astros season last year by a 2-0 tally in a Class 3A regional final. Lockport went on to finish third in the state.
“We have to practice more,” Soltysiak said. “We have to play as a team. You can see that Lockport’s chemistry is really good. I think we have chemistry off the field, but when it comes to game time, I think that’s when we lack it the most. So that’s something we have to work on.”
All things considered, it was a fine tournament for Shepard, which knocked off a strong Lincoln-Way Central team in an opening-round shootout and caught fire from there. The Astros topped Thornton (co-op), Washington and Reavis to reach the final.
That came after a season-opening loss to Plainfield Central prior to the tournament.
“I think it’s really good,” Soltysiak said of the tournament experience.
“We started slow against Plainfield Central. That’s a game we want to take back and wish we could play again. But we played well in this tournament. Me personally, I started slow, didn’t score in the first two games but I eventually got it going in this tournament.
“I hope we can carry on and win conference this year.”
Lockport, meanwhile, hopes the tournament championship is the start of another huge season.
“This always such a fun tournament to play in, and it’s a big success to get a win,” Beal said. “Everyone’s happy.”
Starting lineups
Shepard
GK: Gannon Marin
D: Zaid Jaber
D: Dimitri Latka
D: Ryan Plowman
D: Issac Guerrero
MF: Filip Zawodniak
MF: Carlos Martinez
MF: Bryan Gonzalez
MF: Chris Fernandez
MF: Aidan Breslin
F: Zach Soltysiak
Lockport
GK: Luke Cibula
D: Daniel Szkodon
D: Dominic Williams
D: Tyler Malczewski
D: Ryan Pavelka
MF: Ismael Gomez
MF: Danny Jimenez
MF: Nick Skiba
MF: Sean Flannery
F: Nathan Blazewski
F: Jake Skiba
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Ryan Pavelka, sr., D, Lockport
Scoring summary
First half
Lockport: Pavelka (N. Skiba), 32’
Second half
Lockport: Flannery (Blazewski), 38’
Lockport: Flannery (unassisted), 42’
Shepard: Soltysiak (Villanueva), 66’
Lockport: Gomez (Gutierrez), 69’
for Windy City Ram Classic title
Porters score 3 times in the 2nd half to take 4-1 win
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – The players on Lockport were not alive for either time Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to three-consecutive NBA championships in the 1990s and made “three-peat” a popular term in the area and the sports world.
Now, though, the Porters have a three-peat of their own.
Lockport broke open a tight game with three goals in the second half Thursday night to run away with a 4-1 win over Shepard in the Windy City Ram Classic championship game at Reavis.
The 32-team tournament celebrated its 20th edition and Lockport (5-0-0) was not about to part with its championship status this year.
“I think we’re going to celebrate a lot on the bus,” senior defender Ryan Pavelka said. “I’m just so happy.”
Pavelka’s defensive dominance and much-needed first half goal earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
Senior midfielder Sean Flannery, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime to top St. Laurence in Tuesday’s semifinal, came through again with two goals. Ismael Gomez also scored for the Porters.
Zach Soltysiak scored for Shepard (4-2-0).
After the Porters missed on several scoring chances during an opening 30 minutes in which they dominated possession but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard, Pavelka broke through in the 32nd minute of the 35-minute half.
Pavelka crashed through the right side of the box and headed home Nick Skiba’s corner kick. It was Pavelka’s first goal since his sophomore year.
“It was a good corner kick by Nick,” Pavelka said. “As a team, we were struggling to put balls away in the first half. We had some shots wide and some right at the goalie. I was just happy I could start the spark and score.
“Once we get that first goal, more will come. The other team will panic a little bit. It’s just a pressure reliever for us.”
Lockport coach Chris Beal was relieved to see his team break through before the halftime break.
“The ball movement, the way we passed and moved and played as a team, it was really good to see,” Beal said. “I thought we played really well in the first half. We just couldn’t put one in the back of the net.
“The problem with those games is that’s when you can start to lose confidence, the other team goes and gets the ball when you’re out of your rhythm and then all of a sudden you end up losing a game you shouldn’t lose.
“I knew once we got that goal, we’d get a rise of confidence going into the second half.”
The Porters took charge with two goals early after the intermission. Flannery scored both just over four minutes apart.
The first strike was a beauty. In the 38th minute, Nathan Blazewski made a strong run down the right side and played a ball into the box, where Flannery was able to volley it in from 10 yards.
In the 42nd minute, Flannery stole the ball from a defender in the box, dribbled around him and scored from just in front of the net.
After Tuesday’s win, Flannery talked about not being a flashy player and needing to score gritty goals. Thursday, he showed some flash.
That sparked a fun conversation between him and assistant coach Todd Elkei.
“I talked about not being that guy,” Flannery said. “My coach goes, ‘So you’re not that guy, right, Sean?’ I said, ‘I guess I am.’”
Beal said the Porters were able to open things up and have fun once they had the lead.
“Ryan’s goal absolutely took the pressure off,” Beal said. “Once you’re up, you can kind of relax more mentally and then you can play the game more freely. Our ball movement, combination play was there, and guys were kind of playing spontaneously because they were relaxed. It was fun to see.
Shepard went 45 minutes without recording a shot attempt as the Lockport backline of Pavelka, Daniel Szkodon, Dominic Williams and Tyler Malczewski shut down any bids toward the goal.
The Astros, though, did not go down without a fight.
Aidan Breslin got Shepard’s first shot on goal, taking a pass from Soltysiak and getting behind the defense. Lockport goalkeeper Luke Cibula charged out to close off Breslin’s space, and his shot in tight confines was saved.
Soltysiak broke through, though, in the 65th minute to break the shutout.
He played a pass to Damyan Villanueva, who ripped a shot from 15 yards off the left post. Soltysiak was there to tap in the rebound to cut the deficit to 3-1.
“You’re playing for pride at that point,” Soltysiak said. “You have to keep battling. You don’t want to give up.”
Soltysiak said his team could take a lot away from competing against the Porters, who ended the Astros season last year by a 2-0 tally in a Class 3A regional final. Lockport went on to finish third in the state.
“We have to practice more,” Soltysiak said. “We have to play as a team. You can see that Lockport’s chemistry is really good. I think we have chemistry off the field, but when it comes to game time, I think that’s when we lack it the most. So that’s something we have to work on.”
All things considered, it was a fine tournament for Shepard, which knocked off a strong Lincoln-Way Central team in an opening-round shootout and caught fire from there. The Astros topped Thornton (co-op), Washington and Reavis to reach the final.
That came after a season-opening loss to Plainfield Central prior to the tournament.
“I think it’s really good,” Soltysiak said of the tournament experience.
“We started slow against Plainfield Central. That’s a game we want to take back and wish we could play again. But we played well in this tournament. Me personally, I started slow, didn’t score in the first two games but I eventually got it going in this tournament.
“I hope we can carry on and win conference this year.”
Lockport, meanwhile, hopes the tournament championship is the start of another huge season.
“This always such a fun tournament to play in, and it’s a big success to get a win,” Beal said. “Everyone’s happy.”
Starting lineups
Shepard
GK: Gannon Marin
D: Zaid Jaber
D: Dimitri Latka
D: Ryan Plowman
D: Issac Guerrero
MF: Filip Zawodniak
MF: Carlos Martinez
MF: Bryan Gonzalez
MF: Chris Fernandez
MF: Aidan Breslin
F: Zach Soltysiak
Lockport
GK: Luke Cibula
D: Daniel Szkodon
D: Dominic Williams
D: Tyler Malczewski
D: Ryan Pavelka
MF: Ismael Gomez
MF: Danny Jimenez
MF: Nick Skiba
MF: Sean Flannery
F: Nathan Blazewski
F: Jake Skiba
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Ryan Pavelka, sr., D, Lockport
Scoring summary
First half
Lockport: Pavelka (N. Skiba), 32’
Second half
Lockport: Flannery (Blazewski), 38’
Lockport: Flannery (unassisted), 42’
Shepard: Soltysiak (Villanueva), 66’
Lockport: Gomez (Gutierrez), 69’