OPRF PK win tops Lyons in the gloaming
Teams skip OT, Huskies prevail in 6-round shootout at dusk
By Dave Owen
LA GRANGE – Darkness became a formidable force Tuesday.
The ranked battled between no. 4 Lyons and 15th-ranked Oak Park and River Forest played to a 1-1 tie through regulation of their 4:30 p.m. in West Suburban Conference Silver Division play at the unlighted Lyons Soccer Complex. With darkness setting in, the coaches agreed to skip directly to a penalty kick session.
The Huskies (11-3-0, 3-2-x) emerged with a 5-4 edge in the shootout that extended to a sudden death sixth shooter.
With the teams tied at 4-4 after 10 shooters, Huskies goalkeeper Christian Dussias made a diving catch at the lower right post. Charlie Maguire then set off a victory celebration by converting his PK.
Easton Bogard, Bryce Richards, Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey and Tukura Hess also made their pens for the Huskies. Dussias' two saves included a diving deflection to his right on the second Lions’ try.
“I just look at their hips right away and see,” Dussias said of his PK strategy. “They (the shooters) kind of give it away sometimes, and I just go from there.”
Whether dusk is an advantage for a shooter or goalkeeper is arguable, but Dussias was largely unfazed.
“It didn't really change anything for me,” he said. “It was pretty similar.”
“This win helps us a lot. We were losing a lot in conference and this win really helps us, especially against one of the best teams in the conference.”
The Huskies conclude their week Thursday when they host Glenbard West, which has one league loss.
Lyons (12-3-3, 3-1-x) rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to close regulation at 1-1.
“We looked up at the light and agreed,” Lyons coach Paul Labbato said of his brief post-regulation talk with Huskies coach Jason Fried. “I gave them the choice: ‘Do you want to come back and play two tens (10-minute overtimes)?’ We both agreed that going straight to PKs was fine. And it's good to see what our deficiencies are in a game like this.”
Patrick Kracker, Haris Sarajlija, Brian Salvino and Larry Martinez converted PKs for the Lions, who have had to cope with the clear implications of losing standout defender Collin Sullivan to injury.
“We're maneuvering right now without Collin Sullivan,” Labbato said. “That's a big loss. We have to shift, shift. It's like two to three shifts to cover what he was doing for us.
“Liam Carolan stepped into center back for Collin. He's now the main center back. He's done a really nice job. When he's focused and on top of his game, he's hard to beat.”
Oak Park and River Forest’s Easton Bogard, who was a first team Chicagoland Soccer All-State forward last fall, was a handful for the Lions throughout the day. He began his threats in the seventh minute when he fielded a Hsieh-Bailey free kick and saw his eight-yard near-post shot saved by Lyons goalkeeper Connor Schmitt.
Those two would renew acquaintances later in the half. But with 24:53 until halftime, two other Huskies were the key players in giving their team a 1-0 lead.
Off a Bryce Richards left-side corner kick and a Hsieh-Bailey pass, Nazir Cruz found enough space in front to tuck a six-yard shot into the net.
“Jaydn put a ball in, and I didn’t even look at the ball when I kicked it,” Cruz said. “I did a no look (shot) and put it in the bottom corner. I just turned around to see it was in. It was a fun one.”
The Huskies fun continued in the 31st minute when Bogard raced in on the right side on two Lyons defenders and was knocked to the ground to draw a penalty kick.
But Schmitt was up to the big challenge with a low catch of the PK to his right to keep the score 1-0.
“Give their goalie credit,” Fried said. “He blocked it, a great save. It could have been 2-0, but Easton came back and put away his (shot in the PK session).”
Despite that great chance being denied, the Huskies couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game.
“Coming here and playing on this field is tough for us,” Fried said. “Obviously training on turf, it’s a little smaller field than we're usually playing on, and they’re extremely athletic, physical and fast. Their work-rate is unreal and on this field its very tough.
“We had to win second balls, pressure the first and win the second. And I thought we did the best we have this year of winning second balls. It wasn't how we usually play, but they adapted well. We had some schemes to go a little more direct today, which we usually don't. But you have to do that when the spaces are different, and they adapted and really used them well.
“I'm proud of the guys. They adapted and picked up their work-rate.”
Lyons responded to the early Huskies salvo with late first-half chances. A Kracker left-side attack in the 34th minute produced an angled shot off the right post. Bogard’s steal in the 37th minute broke up a two-man Lions attack.
Then with 45 seconds left in the half, Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Dussias came off his line to win a Ben Swicionis 45-yard free kick at the post and send a long punt downfield.
Labbato's halftime message to his team was loud and clear.
“We had to adjust some things and change some attitudes,” Labbato said. “We needed to focus, not on yelling at each other, but on the task at hand. Oak Park is good enough that we don't need ourselves as a barrier.
“I felt like the kids got focused. We tried our best to put the ball on the ground and play more. In the first half we were really panicked and just trying to hit the ball away. A lot of those went out of bounds and allowed them to push in and get a lot of chances.
“The second half we tried when we could to get the ball on the ground and connect some passes and see if we can't get in. I felt like we had three or four great opportunities to score, and the one we did make. So, I was happy with the second half.”
Labbato was given a big reason to be happy just over seven minutes into the half.
Salvino drew a foul right of the box for a free kick. Then Salvino was on the finishing end of Ben Swicionis’ 18-yard free kick send from right of the box. Salvino’s header in front went off a Huskies defender and into the net to tie the game 1-1 with 32:52 left.
“I won a foul in their third,” Salvino said. “Another senior Ben Swicionis took the free kick off that and curved it in perfectly on my head. I redirected it on the goal and got one.”
Set pieces are often key to Lions scores, and Tuesday was no different.
“It's targeting on headers,” Salvino said. “We have a lot of tall guys, so I think we're very scary in the air. Teams that play us a lot know that and have plays against it. It was great to get one there.”
The Huskies delivered the next quality chance, a Hsieh-Bailey 22-yard straight-on liner just over the net with 26:55 to go.
Five minutes later, a Cruz clear of a throw-in led to a Colin Hayes attack. But Lyons defenders Carolan and Mason Burda teamed up to deny that Huskies bid.
The Lions threatened with 20:15 left, when a Will Swicionis throw-in from the 15 produced an Owen Suda header that Dussias grabbed over a crowd near the crease.
Whether by Dussias saves or other means, the Huskies found a way to fend off Lyons’ threats.
“I thought our center backs Tukura Hess and Charlie Maguire played really, really well today,” Fried said. “They did a good job of stepping up when they had to.
“Bryce Richards on the wing struggled with the physicality at parts in the first half, but I thought he was totally dynamic in the second half. And I thought Easton was a handful today. And a lot of the second balls in the middle won by Jadyn and Isaac (Cummings) and Nazir (Cruz) and Henry Albrecht, those are small details that go unnoticed, but they worked really, really hard.”
The Huskies kept working towards breaking the 1-1 tie with 14:55 left, when Bogard’s nice midfield send sprung Richards. But Carolan defended well to deny a shot and set up a Sarajlija clear.
Bogard was again causing fits with 13:10 to go, when his header off a Richards corner kick went just wide of the back post.
Then with 9:55 to play, a Maguire free kick from 50 yards on the left sideline led to another great Bogard play, a back-to-the-goal bicycle kick that went just wide of the left post.
“Easton’s a very good player,” Labbato said, “but we'd rather play with Collin on him. He (Sullivan) wins in the air, he's a very good defender. Our other guys did a really nice job. We kind of held Easton in check, even though every time he gets the ball he's dangerous.”
Bogard was in the center of another chance with 4:40 left, when his 25-yard free kick was redirected by Hsieh-Bailey in-close but nicely snagged on a high catch by Schmitt.
The Lions had the last elite chance in regulation with 2:40 to go. A loose ball off Will Swicionis’ throw-in reached Austin Wisniewski for a turning line-drive shot left of the net that Duccias nicely dove to catch.
“In the first half I was feeling good,” Dussias said. “In the second half I was getting a little nervous, but we kept it up, played well and finished the game off.”
Dussias' one-hop catch of a Jack Rempfer try with 30 seconds left was the last shot of the game. Then shooters and keepers jumped into the PK spotlight.
The Huskies had ended on PKs once before this season, in a loss to Naperville Central in a BodyArmor bracket semifinal Sept. 11.
“We did really well against Naperville Central,” Fried said. “I tell our players whatever happens, if you lose in PKs you gotta move on. And (next time) go out there, keep it simple. If the goalie makes a great save, he makes a great save. But all the guys did great.”
And after tough results against other top-tier opponents this season, the Huskies had a key late-season confidence boost Tuesday.
“We lost to other good teams before Naperville Central in a shootout, Hinsdale (Central) and York 2-1 in a game we felt like we dominated,” Cruz said. “We were injured in those games, and it was tough. Now we're at full strength, and we played a really good team here. Against a good physical team like that (Lyons), we needed everybody there. And I think the better team won.
“Now it’s just keep on going these next three or four games so we can go with confidence into the playoffs.”
A fickle PK session having decided Tuesday’s game, Lyons reflected on that result but also has another huge test coming fast.
“Obviously we would have loved to go into overtime,” Salvino said. “I thought we had it, but obviously the lighting here (prevented that). But it's a stepping stone. We play York Thursday and we're really looking forward to that.”
Defending Class 3A state champion York (12-0-3, 3-0-x) hasn’t lost since a 3-0 setback to Lyons last Oct. 7. Now the Lions need a win for a shot at a least a share of the conference title.
“I know the guys beat them (York) last year,” Salvino said, “but they're as good this year. We just have to go out and show them what we have. I think we have a state championship contending team as well.”
Labbato is upbeat.
“It's a tough week for us,” he said. “We're trying to sort out formations. We had it locked down after the Hinsdale Central game (a 5-2 win Sept. 20), then we had a lot of injuries.
“This is our first time having a lot of guys back. It's a big week for us, and we have to go see if we're that team and still good enough to compete for a state championship."
Starting lineups
Oak Park and River Forest
GK: Christian Dussias
D: Tukura Hess
D: Isaac Felder
D: Luke Sorenson
DM: Jaydn Hsieh-Bailey
M: Nazir Cruz
M: Isaac Cummings
M: Bryce Richards
M: Charlie Maguire
F: Easton Bogard
F: Colin Hayes
Lyons
GK: Connor Schmitt
D: Daniel Svelnis
D: Liam Carolan
D: Igor Chrobotowicz
D: Jack Rempfer
M: Haris Sarajlija
M: Patrick Kracker
M: Ben Swicionis
M: Will Swicionis
F: Brian Salvino
F: Larry Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Christian Dussias, jr., GK, Oak Park and River Forest
Scoring summary
First half
OPRF: Nazir Cruz (Bryce Richards), 16’
Second half
Lyons: Brian Salvino (Ben Swicionis), 48’
Shootout (six rounds in order of teams and shooters)
Lyons (4): Patrick Kracker (goal); Ben Swicionis (save); Haris Sarajlija (goal); Salvino (goal); Larry Martinez (goal); Owen Suda (save)
OPRF (5): Easton Bogard (goal); Richards (goal); Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey (goal); Colin Hayes (saved); Tukura Hess (goal); Charlie Maguire (goal)
Teams skip OT, Huskies prevail in 6-round shootout at dusk
By Dave Owen
LA GRANGE – Darkness became a formidable force Tuesday.
The ranked battled between no. 4 Lyons and 15th-ranked Oak Park and River Forest played to a 1-1 tie through regulation of their 4:30 p.m. in West Suburban Conference Silver Division play at the unlighted Lyons Soccer Complex. With darkness setting in, the coaches agreed to skip directly to a penalty kick session.
The Huskies (11-3-0, 3-2-x) emerged with a 5-4 edge in the shootout that extended to a sudden death sixth shooter.
With the teams tied at 4-4 after 10 shooters, Huskies goalkeeper Christian Dussias made a diving catch at the lower right post. Charlie Maguire then set off a victory celebration by converting his PK.
Easton Bogard, Bryce Richards, Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey and Tukura Hess also made their pens for the Huskies. Dussias' two saves included a diving deflection to his right on the second Lions’ try.
“I just look at their hips right away and see,” Dussias said of his PK strategy. “They (the shooters) kind of give it away sometimes, and I just go from there.”
Whether dusk is an advantage for a shooter or goalkeeper is arguable, but Dussias was largely unfazed.
“It didn't really change anything for me,” he said. “It was pretty similar.”
“This win helps us a lot. We were losing a lot in conference and this win really helps us, especially against one of the best teams in the conference.”
The Huskies conclude their week Thursday when they host Glenbard West, which has one league loss.
Lyons (12-3-3, 3-1-x) rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to close regulation at 1-1.
“We looked up at the light and agreed,” Lyons coach Paul Labbato said of his brief post-regulation talk with Huskies coach Jason Fried. “I gave them the choice: ‘Do you want to come back and play two tens (10-minute overtimes)?’ We both agreed that going straight to PKs was fine. And it's good to see what our deficiencies are in a game like this.”
Patrick Kracker, Haris Sarajlija, Brian Salvino and Larry Martinez converted PKs for the Lions, who have had to cope with the clear implications of losing standout defender Collin Sullivan to injury.
“We're maneuvering right now without Collin Sullivan,” Labbato said. “That's a big loss. We have to shift, shift. It's like two to three shifts to cover what he was doing for us.
“Liam Carolan stepped into center back for Collin. He's now the main center back. He's done a really nice job. When he's focused and on top of his game, he's hard to beat.”
Oak Park and River Forest’s Easton Bogard, who was a first team Chicagoland Soccer All-State forward last fall, was a handful for the Lions throughout the day. He began his threats in the seventh minute when he fielded a Hsieh-Bailey free kick and saw his eight-yard near-post shot saved by Lyons goalkeeper Connor Schmitt.
Those two would renew acquaintances later in the half. But with 24:53 until halftime, two other Huskies were the key players in giving their team a 1-0 lead.
Off a Bryce Richards left-side corner kick and a Hsieh-Bailey pass, Nazir Cruz found enough space in front to tuck a six-yard shot into the net.
“Jaydn put a ball in, and I didn’t even look at the ball when I kicked it,” Cruz said. “I did a no look (shot) and put it in the bottom corner. I just turned around to see it was in. It was a fun one.”
The Huskies fun continued in the 31st minute when Bogard raced in on the right side on two Lyons defenders and was knocked to the ground to draw a penalty kick.
But Schmitt was up to the big challenge with a low catch of the PK to his right to keep the score 1-0.
“Give their goalie credit,” Fried said. “He blocked it, a great save. It could have been 2-0, but Easton came back and put away his (shot in the PK session).”
Despite that great chance being denied, the Huskies couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game.
“Coming here and playing on this field is tough for us,” Fried said. “Obviously training on turf, it’s a little smaller field than we're usually playing on, and they’re extremely athletic, physical and fast. Their work-rate is unreal and on this field its very tough.
“We had to win second balls, pressure the first and win the second. And I thought we did the best we have this year of winning second balls. It wasn't how we usually play, but they adapted well. We had some schemes to go a little more direct today, which we usually don't. But you have to do that when the spaces are different, and they adapted and really used them well.
“I'm proud of the guys. They adapted and picked up their work-rate.”
Lyons responded to the early Huskies salvo with late first-half chances. A Kracker left-side attack in the 34th minute produced an angled shot off the right post. Bogard’s steal in the 37th minute broke up a two-man Lions attack.
Then with 45 seconds left in the half, Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Dussias came off his line to win a Ben Swicionis 45-yard free kick at the post and send a long punt downfield.
Labbato's halftime message to his team was loud and clear.
“We had to adjust some things and change some attitudes,” Labbato said. “We needed to focus, not on yelling at each other, but on the task at hand. Oak Park is good enough that we don't need ourselves as a barrier.
“I felt like the kids got focused. We tried our best to put the ball on the ground and play more. In the first half we were really panicked and just trying to hit the ball away. A lot of those went out of bounds and allowed them to push in and get a lot of chances.
“The second half we tried when we could to get the ball on the ground and connect some passes and see if we can't get in. I felt like we had three or four great opportunities to score, and the one we did make. So, I was happy with the second half.”
Labbato was given a big reason to be happy just over seven minutes into the half.
Salvino drew a foul right of the box for a free kick. Then Salvino was on the finishing end of Ben Swicionis’ 18-yard free kick send from right of the box. Salvino’s header in front went off a Huskies defender and into the net to tie the game 1-1 with 32:52 left.
“I won a foul in their third,” Salvino said. “Another senior Ben Swicionis took the free kick off that and curved it in perfectly on my head. I redirected it on the goal and got one.”
Set pieces are often key to Lions scores, and Tuesday was no different.
“It's targeting on headers,” Salvino said. “We have a lot of tall guys, so I think we're very scary in the air. Teams that play us a lot know that and have plays against it. It was great to get one there.”
The Huskies delivered the next quality chance, a Hsieh-Bailey 22-yard straight-on liner just over the net with 26:55 to go.
Five minutes later, a Cruz clear of a throw-in led to a Colin Hayes attack. But Lyons defenders Carolan and Mason Burda teamed up to deny that Huskies bid.
The Lions threatened with 20:15 left, when a Will Swicionis throw-in from the 15 produced an Owen Suda header that Dussias grabbed over a crowd near the crease.
Whether by Dussias saves or other means, the Huskies found a way to fend off Lyons’ threats.
“I thought our center backs Tukura Hess and Charlie Maguire played really, really well today,” Fried said. “They did a good job of stepping up when they had to.
“Bryce Richards on the wing struggled with the physicality at parts in the first half, but I thought he was totally dynamic in the second half. And I thought Easton was a handful today. And a lot of the second balls in the middle won by Jadyn and Isaac (Cummings) and Nazir (Cruz) and Henry Albrecht, those are small details that go unnoticed, but they worked really, really hard.”
The Huskies kept working towards breaking the 1-1 tie with 14:55 left, when Bogard’s nice midfield send sprung Richards. But Carolan defended well to deny a shot and set up a Sarajlija clear.
Bogard was again causing fits with 13:10 to go, when his header off a Richards corner kick went just wide of the back post.
Then with 9:55 to play, a Maguire free kick from 50 yards on the left sideline led to another great Bogard play, a back-to-the-goal bicycle kick that went just wide of the left post.
“Easton’s a very good player,” Labbato said, “but we'd rather play with Collin on him. He (Sullivan) wins in the air, he's a very good defender. Our other guys did a really nice job. We kind of held Easton in check, even though every time he gets the ball he's dangerous.”
Bogard was in the center of another chance with 4:40 left, when his 25-yard free kick was redirected by Hsieh-Bailey in-close but nicely snagged on a high catch by Schmitt.
The Lions had the last elite chance in regulation with 2:40 to go. A loose ball off Will Swicionis’ throw-in reached Austin Wisniewski for a turning line-drive shot left of the net that Duccias nicely dove to catch.
“In the first half I was feeling good,” Dussias said. “In the second half I was getting a little nervous, but we kept it up, played well and finished the game off.”
Dussias' one-hop catch of a Jack Rempfer try with 30 seconds left was the last shot of the game. Then shooters and keepers jumped into the PK spotlight.
The Huskies had ended on PKs once before this season, in a loss to Naperville Central in a BodyArmor bracket semifinal Sept. 11.
“We did really well against Naperville Central,” Fried said. “I tell our players whatever happens, if you lose in PKs you gotta move on. And (next time) go out there, keep it simple. If the goalie makes a great save, he makes a great save. But all the guys did great.”
And after tough results against other top-tier opponents this season, the Huskies had a key late-season confidence boost Tuesday.
“We lost to other good teams before Naperville Central in a shootout, Hinsdale (Central) and York 2-1 in a game we felt like we dominated,” Cruz said. “We were injured in those games, and it was tough. Now we're at full strength, and we played a really good team here. Against a good physical team like that (Lyons), we needed everybody there. And I think the better team won.
“Now it’s just keep on going these next three or four games so we can go with confidence into the playoffs.”
A fickle PK session having decided Tuesday’s game, Lyons reflected on that result but also has another huge test coming fast.
“Obviously we would have loved to go into overtime,” Salvino said. “I thought we had it, but obviously the lighting here (prevented that). But it's a stepping stone. We play York Thursday and we're really looking forward to that.”
Defending Class 3A state champion York (12-0-3, 3-0-x) hasn’t lost since a 3-0 setback to Lyons last Oct. 7. Now the Lions need a win for a shot at a least a share of the conference title.
“I know the guys beat them (York) last year,” Salvino said, “but they're as good this year. We just have to go out and show them what we have. I think we have a state championship contending team as well.”
Labbato is upbeat.
“It's a tough week for us,” he said. “We're trying to sort out formations. We had it locked down after the Hinsdale Central game (a 5-2 win Sept. 20), then we had a lot of injuries.
“This is our first time having a lot of guys back. It's a big week for us, and we have to go see if we're that team and still good enough to compete for a state championship."
Starting lineups
Oak Park and River Forest
GK: Christian Dussias
D: Tukura Hess
D: Isaac Felder
D: Luke Sorenson
DM: Jaydn Hsieh-Bailey
M: Nazir Cruz
M: Isaac Cummings
M: Bryce Richards
M: Charlie Maguire
F: Easton Bogard
F: Colin Hayes
Lyons
GK: Connor Schmitt
D: Daniel Svelnis
D: Liam Carolan
D: Igor Chrobotowicz
D: Jack Rempfer
M: Haris Sarajlija
M: Patrick Kracker
M: Ben Swicionis
M: Will Swicionis
F: Brian Salvino
F: Larry Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Christian Dussias, jr., GK, Oak Park and River Forest
Scoring summary
First half
OPRF: Nazir Cruz (Bryce Richards), 16’
Second half
Lyons: Brian Salvino (Ben Swicionis), 48’
Shootout (six rounds in order of teams and shooters)
Lyons (4): Patrick Kracker (goal); Ben Swicionis (save); Haris Sarajlija (goal); Salvino (goal); Larry Martinez (goal); Owen Suda (save)
OPRF (5): Easton Bogard (goal); Richards (goal); Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey (goal); Colin Hayes (saved); Tukura Hess (goal); Charlie Maguire (goal)