Glenbard South’s Hopkins hops
into spotlight against Montini
Soph scores game-winner in varsity debut in 3-1 tourney win
By Chris R. Walker
GLEN ELLYN — Ryan Hopkins may have been an unknown entering his first varsity match on Tuesday night, but the Glenbard South sophomore isn’t anymore.
Just ask Montini.
Hopkins made a dazzling run down the sideline early in the second half, securing possession of a pass from junior Nick Miranda before weaving his way toward the net and firing a shot that eluded Montini goalkeeper Adam Garza to break a 1-1 tie.
The Raiders added an insurance goal from senior Esteban Godinez just a few minutes later and shut out the Broncos the rest of the evening during a 3-1 victory in the opening round of the Raider Invitational. It also served as the opening game of the season for both squads.
“That’s a left back (Hopkins) that’s making a 60-yard run there and slotting it home,” Raiders coach Adam Szyszko said. “And he finished it nice and calm, cool and collected. It was a fun play. He’s been playing well. He earned his spot, and he competes; he battles. I’m looking forward to another three years with him.”
Time spent on the JV squad last year allowed Hopkins to gain a lot of playing experience, but it wasn’t until this summer that he got to really know his current teammates while learning more about how he would fit in this fall.
“I’m looking to be a solid teammate, and we don’t really have any left outside backs so I think that’s where I’m going to fit in this year,” he said. “Tonight was a pretty big deal. I had been playing with the team the whole summer and then the beginning of the school year, so I was pretty used to how competitive (varsity soccer) was already.”
With a big smile on his face post-game, there’s no doubt that Hopkins had a debut to remember. By scoring the game-winner he also received the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor. How many Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match selections have been honored in their first game? Unfortunately, the Elias Sports Bureau doesn’t have such information, although we do know that he joins Naperville Central freshman Chase Adams who achieved the feat after scoring a hat-trick in his debut yesterday in the Redhawks 3-1 win over Morton.
“It was crazy,” Hopkis said. “And the fans were insane today, so they came out, which was cool. I did an overlap run around my boy Nick (Miranda). He just passed me the ball, and I got around my guy and then it was just one-on-one with the goalie. I just tapped it in with my left foot.”
A little less than five minutes after Hopkins electrified the crowd on a beautiful summer evening, the Raiders got some insurance, punishing the Broncos once again by quickly moving the ball downfield before Godinez took a headed ball from Mitchell Erickson and punched it in.
“(Senior) Yusuf (Afzal) sent me the ball, and I already started seeing the defenders were creeping so I tried to take advantage of my speed,” Godinez said. “Yusuf sent the ball and Mitch (Erickson) headed it toward me and set me up for the ball, and I sprinted as hard as I could. Then, it was all about muscle memory, and I just put it on the ground and kept it clean so the goalkeeper couldn’t get it.”
Suddenly, the Raiders seemingly had broken the game open, not only scoring twice in a matter of a few minutes, but also by prohibiting the Broncos from creating anything that challenged their backline.
“I think we settled into the game, and we controlled play,” Szyszko said. “I would’ve liked to have put away some more, and we had some (chances), but we didn’t capitalize. I think our intensity and our effort was consistent throughout. I think we have a really hardworking group, but I think our execution on things was a little uneven, a little first-game jitters. I was a little surprised, because it seemed like our underclassmen and new kids were better than the kids returning. But we settled into the flow in the second half, and I think we carried the play.”
Seniors David Page, Erickson and Godinez, along with sophomore Diesel Oleksak had early scoring chances in the first half, but came away empty-handed for the Raiders. Finally, they broke through when Page made a quick turn and blasted a shot from 18-yards with his right foot that lifted the Raiders to a 1-0 lead with 17:10 to play before the break.
However, the Raiders (1-0-0) couldn’t hold onto their lead. Montini senior Joshua Ugorji showed off his athleticism with the ball at his feet and sent in the equalizer with 4:00 remaining before halftime.
“Going down 1-0 and coming back, I thought the boys fought pretty hard,” Montini coach Barry Briggs said. “We’re a young team and a small squad, but we’ll figure it out. I was pretty happy. We only had three subs so overall I was happy for a first game. We definitely have things we can build on.”
Glenbard South corrected a sub-par start after congregating during the 10-minute, mid-game break.
“As a team we were getting mad at each other, because we knew we were a much better team in the first half than we showed,” Godinez said. “In the second half we started to get the hang of it. To be honest, everyone started realizing that we wanted to win it. Everyone was trying to play more aggressive and wanting the goals … and wanting to win as a team. It was all about determination in what we did in the second half.”
And let us not forget about communication.
“The first half was just poor communication, and poor everything,” Godinez said. “Then our coach talked about what we were doing wrong. Our captains stepped up and said it’s all about communication. So in the second half we started communicating better. We talked about switching the field and where we were on the field and when to shoot and when to do anything, The second half was much more about team building and teamwork to win the game.”
While praising how the team improved as the match progressed, Szyszko signaled several other players who won’t show up in the stats but made huge contributions that helped bring home the victory.
“We were missing a starting center back (senior Jacob Lichtenheld) with a muscle injury. He’s a third-year varsity player, so we had to cover for that,” he said. “(Senior) Patricio Garza stepped up in the cornerback position tonight. (Senior) Andrew Park has gone on record with me saying he doesn’t like playing CB, but he was deputized to start tonight and did a great job.
“I don’t think besides the one (goal) that they had anything super threatening or something they could sustain, and I think (senior) Andrew Pressley played really well in the back. He did a fantastic job of winning balls and controlling things. He’s a guy who has been around for two-and-a-half years.”
The victory was Glenbard South’s seventh straight over Montini dating back to 2015. The teams did not square off during the pandemic-shortened 2021 spring season. The Broncos have not scored more than a single goal in a game against the Raiders during that stretch and have been outscored 21-5.
Starting lineups
Montini
GK: Adam Garza
D: Christian Clarke
D: Andrew Miller
D: Alex Silveyra
MF: Julian Beahan
MF: Mason Esquivel
MF: Hunter Ross
MF: Peter Vreeland
F: Mikko Flojo
F: Jonathan Kosinski
F: Joshua Ugorji
Glenbard South
GK: Sean Miller
D: Patricio Garza
D: Ryan Hopkins
D: Andrew Pressley
MF: Yusuf Afzal
MF: Esteban Godinez
MF: Tres Moore
MF: David Page
MF: Andrew Park
F: Mitchell Erickson
F: Nick Miranda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Hopkins, so., D, Glenbard South
Scoring summary
First half
GS: David Page (Esteban Godinez), 22:50
M: Joshua Ugorji (unassisted), 36:00
Second half
GS: Ryan Hopkins (Nick Miranda), 47:14
GS: Godinez (Mitchell Erickson)
into spotlight against Montini
Soph scores game-winner in varsity debut in 3-1 tourney win
By Chris R. Walker
GLEN ELLYN — Ryan Hopkins may have been an unknown entering his first varsity match on Tuesday night, but the Glenbard South sophomore isn’t anymore.
Just ask Montini.
Hopkins made a dazzling run down the sideline early in the second half, securing possession of a pass from junior Nick Miranda before weaving his way toward the net and firing a shot that eluded Montini goalkeeper Adam Garza to break a 1-1 tie.
The Raiders added an insurance goal from senior Esteban Godinez just a few minutes later and shut out the Broncos the rest of the evening during a 3-1 victory in the opening round of the Raider Invitational. It also served as the opening game of the season for both squads.
“That’s a left back (Hopkins) that’s making a 60-yard run there and slotting it home,” Raiders coach Adam Szyszko said. “And he finished it nice and calm, cool and collected. It was a fun play. He’s been playing well. He earned his spot, and he competes; he battles. I’m looking forward to another three years with him.”
Time spent on the JV squad last year allowed Hopkins to gain a lot of playing experience, but it wasn’t until this summer that he got to really know his current teammates while learning more about how he would fit in this fall.
“I’m looking to be a solid teammate, and we don’t really have any left outside backs so I think that’s where I’m going to fit in this year,” he said. “Tonight was a pretty big deal. I had been playing with the team the whole summer and then the beginning of the school year, so I was pretty used to how competitive (varsity soccer) was already.”
With a big smile on his face post-game, there’s no doubt that Hopkins had a debut to remember. By scoring the game-winner he also received the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor. How many Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match selections have been honored in their first game? Unfortunately, the Elias Sports Bureau doesn’t have such information, although we do know that he joins Naperville Central freshman Chase Adams who achieved the feat after scoring a hat-trick in his debut yesterday in the Redhawks 3-1 win over Morton.
“It was crazy,” Hopkis said. “And the fans were insane today, so they came out, which was cool. I did an overlap run around my boy Nick (Miranda). He just passed me the ball, and I got around my guy and then it was just one-on-one with the goalie. I just tapped it in with my left foot.”
A little less than five minutes after Hopkins electrified the crowd on a beautiful summer evening, the Raiders got some insurance, punishing the Broncos once again by quickly moving the ball downfield before Godinez took a headed ball from Mitchell Erickson and punched it in.
“(Senior) Yusuf (Afzal) sent me the ball, and I already started seeing the defenders were creeping so I tried to take advantage of my speed,” Godinez said. “Yusuf sent the ball and Mitch (Erickson) headed it toward me and set me up for the ball, and I sprinted as hard as I could. Then, it was all about muscle memory, and I just put it on the ground and kept it clean so the goalkeeper couldn’t get it.”
Suddenly, the Raiders seemingly had broken the game open, not only scoring twice in a matter of a few minutes, but also by prohibiting the Broncos from creating anything that challenged their backline.
“I think we settled into the game, and we controlled play,” Szyszko said. “I would’ve liked to have put away some more, and we had some (chances), but we didn’t capitalize. I think our intensity and our effort was consistent throughout. I think we have a really hardworking group, but I think our execution on things was a little uneven, a little first-game jitters. I was a little surprised, because it seemed like our underclassmen and new kids were better than the kids returning. But we settled into the flow in the second half, and I think we carried the play.”
Seniors David Page, Erickson and Godinez, along with sophomore Diesel Oleksak had early scoring chances in the first half, but came away empty-handed for the Raiders. Finally, they broke through when Page made a quick turn and blasted a shot from 18-yards with his right foot that lifted the Raiders to a 1-0 lead with 17:10 to play before the break.
However, the Raiders (1-0-0) couldn’t hold onto their lead. Montini senior Joshua Ugorji showed off his athleticism with the ball at his feet and sent in the equalizer with 4:00 remaining before halftime.
“Going down 1-0 and coming back, I thought the boys fought pretty hard,” Montini coach Barry Briggs said. “We’re a young team and a small squad, but we’ll figure it out. I was pretty happy. We only had three subs so overall I was happy for a first game. We definitely have things we can build on.”
Glenbard South corrected a sub-par start after congregating during the 10-minute, mid-game break.
“As a team we were getting mad at each other, because we knew we were a much better team in the first half than we showed,” Godinez said. “In the second half we started to get the hang of it. To be honest, everyone started realizing that we wanted to win it. Everyone was trying to play more aggressive and wanting the goals … and wanting to win as a team. It was all about determination in what we did in the second half.”
And let us not forget about communication.
“The first half was just poor communication, and poor everything,” Godinez said. “Then our coach talked about what we were doing wrong. Our captains stepped up and said it’s all about communication. So in the second half we started communicating better. We talked about switching the field and where we were on the field and when to shoot and when to do anything, The second half was much more about team building and teamwork to win the game.”
While praising how the team improved as the match progressed, Szyszko signaled several other players who won’t show up in the stats but made huge contributions that helped bring home the victory.
“We were missing a starting center back (senior Jacob Lichtenheld) with a muscle injury. He’s a third-year varsity player, so we had to cover for that,” he said. “(Senior) Patricio Garza stepped up in the cornerback position tonight. (Senior) Andrew Park has gone on record with me saying he doesn’t like playing CB, but he was deputized to start tonight and did a great job.
“I don’t think besides the one (goal) that they had anything super threatening or something they could sustain, and I think (senior) Andrew Pressley played really well in the back. He did a fantastic job of winning balls and controlling things. He’s a guy who has been around for two-and-a-half years.”
The victory was Glenbard South’s seventh straight over Montini dating back to 2015. The teams did not square off during the pandemic-shortened 2021 spring season. The Broncos have not scored more than a single goal in a game against the Raiders during that stretch and have been outscored 21-5.
Starting lineups
Montini
GK: Adam Garza
D: Christian Clarke
D: Andrew Miller
D: Alex Silveyra
MF: Julian Beahan
MF: Mason Esquivel
MF: Hunter Ross
MF: Peter Vreeland
F: Mikko Flojo
F: Jonathan Kosinski
F: Joshua Ugorji
Glenbard South
GK: Sean Miller
D: Patricio Garza
D: Ryan Hopkins
D: Andrew Pressley
MF: Yusuf Afzal
MF: Esteban Godinez
MF: Tres Moore
MF: David Page
MF: Andrew Park
F: Mitchell Erickson
F: Nick Miranda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Hopkins, so., D, Glenbard South
Scoring summary
First half
GS: David Page (Esteban Godinez), 22:50
M: Joshua Ugorji (unassisted), 36:00
Second half
GS: Ryan Hopkins (Nick Miranda), 47:14
GS: Godinez (Mitchell Erickson)