80th-minute PK draws
Reavis even with Oak Forest
2nd-minute goal almost holds up for Oak Forest
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – A dramatic final minute changed everything Tuesday night and resulted in Oak Forest and Reavis leaving the field with far different feelings despite both walking away with one point.
Emanuel Montero’s penalty kick for the Rams with 23 seconds left let the hosts escape with a tie in a South Suburban Conference cross-over match and the opening conference game for both teams.
Ian Plancarte scored in the second minute for Oak Forest (3-0-2, 0-0-1 SSC Blue), which then led the proceedings for more than 77 minutes. A tie was tough to swallow, though the Bengals' performance was encouraging.
“It was a very unlucky last few seconds of the game, but it is what it is,” Oak Forest sophomore goalkeeper Adam Jedrzejczyk said. “We played very well this game. The team, I haven’t seen us play this good in a while.
"We’re going to win regionals this year, I’m calling it. It’s very exciting.”
Reavis (3-2-1, 0-0-1 SSC Red), meanwhile, felt a major sense of relief while being frustrated with its performance.
“Hats off to Oak Forest,” Reavis coach Mark Gniadek said. “They had a game plan. They stuck to it. They outplayed us the whole game. They played phenomenally. They were well-organized behind the ball. I don’t think we even deserved the draw, but we’ll take it.
“One point is better than nothing, especially starting the conference schedule. We’ll take the fight, and we’ll take the point.”
The dramatic turn of events at the end of the game started when Reavis’ Galileo Figueroa carried the ball down the right side of the field and played a nice pass into the box to Diego Ochoa.
Ochoa was tripped up from behind, and the whistle sounded.
Montero was selected to take the kick but had a long wait as referees discussed which Oak Forest player committed the foul and would receive the yellow card.
Montero kept his composure and calmly ripped a shot into the left side of the net for the equalizer.
“It was very nerve-wracking,” Montero said. “It was either lose or tie, and I’d rather take a tie than a loss. I’m glad I was able to make the shot.”
Montero and Jedrzejczyk shared Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honor.
Until Montero’s dramatic goal, Jedrzejczyk and the Oak Forest defense had tormented Reavis all night, keeping the shutout intact despite the Rams being on the attack most of the night.
“It was very frustrating,” Montero said. “We weren’t able to connect on our plays. There were a few times we could have scored, and we didn’t.”
Jedrzejczyk made five saves. Just as importantly, he shut down several other Reavis opportunities by aggressively coming off his line to break up plays. The sophomore even took some hits, colliding with Reavis players on a couple occasions, but that did not slow him down.
“Never be scared, that’s what I always tell myself,” Jedrzejczyk said. “In games, I always go 100 percent with no fear.”
Defenders Michael Speaker, Brayden Edge, Diego Damian and Miguel Zavala provided the Bengals’ goalkeeper with plenty of support.
“Miguel was a big help, controlling the backline, talking to everyone the whole time,” Jedrzejczyk said. “He was a very active player. I love the way Miguel played. He kept the whole backline together. If they get past him, I’m always back there to help.”
Oak Forest stunned Reavis when Plancarte scored just 109 seconds into the game.
It started with Lennon Flores playing a pass to Marcos Sandoval Lucas, who sprinted down the left side of the field and ripped a shot from 20 yards that Reavis goalkeeper Jacob Nosek was able to knock away.
Plancarte, though, was in the right spot to tap in the rebound and put his team in front for a long time.
“We got it early,” Plancarte said. “That’s what we were looking for. These teams are pretty good, and we know that/ So, it’s big to get an advantage at the start of the game.
“We’re putting in a lot of effort as a team, and I’m glad our team can adjust to anything.”
Those opening two shots on goal were the only ones of the night for Oak Forest, which spent the majority of the game holding on tight to that 1-0 lead and fighting off the Reavis attack.
The Rams had just one shot on goal in the first half but picked things up after the break. They tested the Bengals’ defense with an unrelenting wave of offense that included five free kicks from striking distance.
Reavis could not connect, though.
In the opening 20 minutes of the half, Julian Menchaca fired just wide on a free kick from 25 yards. Jedrzejczyk saved a free kick from Figueroa and denied Montero’s rolling shot from 30 yards.
The Rams’ best chance came in the 62nd minute when Montero played a pass to Carlos Ramos on the left side. He sent a cross back to Montero, who was charging toward the far post and missed just wide on a header from up close.
“I’m not really thrilled with how we played,” Gniadek said. “Oak Forest did a great job. They’ve got a great goalkeeper, their backline was organized; they played a high line. But I felt like we should have been able to break it down. We should have been able to slide a couple through-balls in.
“It’s a positive that we battled to the end. The last 10 minutes we played like we should have played. It just seemed like it took way to long.”
After escaping with a point, Reavis will get back to work on making more out of its offensive chances.
“It’s coming with chemistry,” Gniadek said. “It takes time to build that. It’s the first time a lot of these guys have played together, and it’s going to come. I have all the confidence in the world these guys are going to be able to make those through-balls, keep them away from the keeper and start getting a little more creative.”
The tie was the third in the last four seasons between Oak Forest and Reavis. The only outlier was the Rams 3-1 win last year.
While the Bengals are frustrated that they just can’t seem to get over the hump against the Rams, they have reason to be encouraged.
“If we can play like this all the time, we’re going to win a lot of games,” Jedrzejczyk said.
Starting lineups
Oak Forest
GK: Adam Jedrzejczyk
D: Michael Speaker
D: Brayden Edge
D: Diego Damian
D: Miguel Zavala
MF: Alex Stacy
MF: Lennon Flores
MF: Marcos Sandoval Lucas
MF: Ian Evans
F: Ian Plancarte
F: Jhan Ruiz
Reavis
GK: Jacob Nosek
D: Krystian Paluch
D: Magic Figueroa
D: Joseph Munoz
D: Giancarlo Garcia
MF: Emanuel Montero
MF: Steven Solis
MF: Carlos Ramos
MF: William Solis
F: Diego Corona
F: Nikolas Rimsky
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Emanuel Montero, sr., MF, Reavis;
Adam Jedrzejczyk, so., GK, Oak Forest
Scoring summary
First half
Oak Forest: Plancarte (Sandoval Lucas), 2’
Second half
Reavis: Montero (penalty kick), 80’
Reavis even with Oak Forest
2nd-minute goal almost holds up for Oak Forest
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – A dramatic final minute changed everything Tuesday night and resulted in Oak Forest and Reavis leaving the field with far different feelings despite both walking away with one point.
Emanuel Montero’s penalty kick for the Rams with 23 seconds left let the hosts escape with a tie in a South Suburban Conference cross-over match and the opening conference game for both teams.
Ian Plancarte scored in the second minute for Oak Forest (3-0-2, 0-0-1 SSC Blue), which then led the proceedings for more than 77 minutes. A tie was tough to swallow, though the Bengals' performance was encouraging.
“It was a very unlucky last few seconds of the game, but it is what it is,” Oak Forest sophomore goalkeeper Adam Jedrzejczyk said. “We played very well this game. The team, I haven’t seen us play this good in a while.
"We’re going to win regionals this year, I’m calling it. It’s very exciting.”
Reavis (3-2-1, 0-0-1 SSC Red), meanwhile, felt a major sense of relief while being frustrated with its performance.
“Hats off to Oak Forest,” Reavis coach Mark Gniadek said. “They had a game plan. They stuck to it. They outplayed us the whole game. They played phenomenally. They were well-organized behind the ball. I don’t think we even deserved the draw, but we’ll take it.
“One point is better than nothing, especially starting the conference schedule. We’ll take the fight, and we’ll take the point.”
The dramatic turn of events at the end of the game started when Reavis’ Galileo Figueroa carried the ball down the right side of the field and played a nice pass into the box to Diego Ochoa.
Ochoa was tripped up from behind, and the whistle sounded.
Montero was selected to take the kick but had a long wait as referees discussed which Oak Forest player committed the foul and would receive the yellow card.
Montero kept his composure and calmly ripped a shot into the left side of the net for the equalizer.
“It was very nerve-wracking,” Montero said. “It was either lose or tie, and I’d rather take a tie than a loss. I’m glad I was able to make the shot.”
Montero and Jedrzejczyk shared Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honor.
Until Montero’s dramatic goal, Jedrzejczyk and the Oak Forest defense had tormented Reavis all night, keeping the shutout intact despite the Rams being on the attack most of the night.
“It was very frustrating,” Montero said. “We weren’t able to connect on our plays. There were a few times we could have scored, and we didn’t.”
Jedrzejczyk made five saves. Just as importantly, he shut down several other Reavis opportunities by aggressively coming off his line to break up plays. The sophomore even took some hits, colliding with Reavis players on a couple occasions, but that did not slow him down.
“Never be scared, that’s what I always tell myself,” Jedrzejczyk said. “In games, I always go 100 percent with no fear.”
Defenders Michael Speaker, Brayden Edge, Diego Damian and Miguel Zavala provided the Bengals’ goalkeeper with plenty of support.
“Miguel was a big help, controlling the backline, talking to everyone the whole time,” Jedrzejczyk said. “He was a very active player. I love the way Miguel played. He kept the whole backline together. If they get past him, I’m always back there to help.”
Oak Forest stunned Reavis when Plancarte scored just 109 seconds into the game.
It started with Lennon Flores playing a pass to Marcos Sandoval Lucas, who sprinted down the left side of the field and ripped a shot from 20 yards that Reavis goalkeeper Jacob Nosek was able to knock away.
Plancarte, though, was in the right spot to tap in the rebound and put his team in front for a long time.
“We got it early,” Plancarte said. “That’s what we were looking for. These teams are pretty good, and we know that/ So, it’s big to get an advantage at the start of the game.
“We’re putting in a lot of effort as a team, and I’m glad our team can adjust to anything.”
Those opening two shots on goal were the only ones of the night for Oak Forest, which spent the majority of the game holding on tight to that 1-0 lead and fighting off the Reavis attack.
The Rams had just one shot on goal in the first half but picked things up after the break. They tested the Bengals’ defense with an unrelenting wave of offense that included five free kicks from striking distance.
Reavis could not connect, though.
In the opening 20 minutes of the half, Julian Menchaca fired just wide on a free kick from 25 yards. Jedrzejczyk saved a free kick from Figueroa and denied Montero’s rolling shot from 30 yards.
The Rams’ best chance came in the 62nd minute when Montero played a pass to Carlos Ramos on the left side. He sent a cross back to Montero, who was charging toward the far post and missed just wide on a header from up close.
“I’m not really thrilled with how we played,” Gniadek said. “Oak Forest did a great job. They’ve got a great goalkeeper, their backline was organized; they played a high line. But I felt like we should have been able to break it down. We should have been able to slide a couple through-balls in.
“It’s a positive that we battled to the end. The last 10 minutes we played like we should have played. It just seemed like it took way to long.”
After escaping with a point, Reavis will get back to work on making more out of its offensive chances.
“It’s coming with chemistry,” Gniadek said. “It takes time to build that. It’s the first time a lot of these guys have played together, and it’s going to come. I have all the confidence in the world these guys are going to be able to make those through-balls, keep them away from the keeper and start getting a little more creative.”
The tie was the third in the last four seasons between Oak Forest and Reavis. The only outlier was the Rams 3-1 win last year.
While the Bengals are frustrated that they just can’t seem to get over the hump against the Rams, they have reason to be encouraged.
“If we can play like this all the time, we’re going to win a lot of games,” Jedrzejczyk said.
Starting lineups
Oak Forest
GK: Adam Jedrzejczyk
D: Michael Speaker
D: Brayden Edge
D: Diego Damian
D: Miguel Zavala
MF: Alex Stacy
MF: Lennon Flores
MF: Marcos Sandoval Lucas
MF: Ian Evans
F: Ian Plancarte
F: Jhan Ruiz
Reavis
GK: Jacob Nosek
D: Krystian Paluch
D: Magic Figueroa
D: Joseph Munoz
D: Giancarlo Garcia
MF: Emanuel Montero
MF: Steven Solis
MF: Carlos Ramos
MF: William Solis
F: Diego Corona
F: Nikolas Rimsky
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Emanuel Montero, sr., MF, Reavis;
Adam Jedrzejczyk, so., GK, Oak Forest
Scoring summary
First half
Oak Forest: Plancarte (Sandoval Lucas), 2’
Second half
Reavis: Montero (penalty kick), 80’