OPRF tops York in battle of unbeatens
Bogard’s goal gets Huskies 1-0 win in WSS showdown
By Gary Larsen
ELMHURST — Who better to gauge the quality of a game than a center official, an acutely interactive observer, in the thick of the action for 80 minutes?
And Bryce Cann — the middle official for Tuesday’s game between host York and Oak Park and River Forest, and a former coach of the boys’ program at Wheaton North —had a quick answer when asked his opinion after the Huskies 1-0 victory.
“I thought it was a very well-played game between two very good teams, played mainly between the 18s,” Cann said. “It was probably the best game I’ve seen this year.”
Cann’s assessment carried consensus status among coaches and players from both teams.
Fans in Elmhurst saw diving goalkeepers swatting away good scoring chances. They saw headers sent just over the bar and crosses to the far post tapped just wide. With only three minutes left to play, they watched a potentially game-tying goal instead smack the post and carom away.
The West Suburban Conference Silver Division match was a pleasure to watch, as York coach Jordan Stopka and Oak Park and River Forest coach Jason Fried figured it would be.
“Jason and I talked before the game about how this was going to be fun,” Stopka said. “Both teams try to possess, and it’s pleasing on the eyes to watch both teams try to knock the ball around. Even though we lost, hats off to them; they’re a great team.”
A game that could have easily ended in a 3-3 tie was instead decided by one cleanly struck shot off the foot of Oak Park striker Easton Bogard.
At 15 minutes, Bogard took a touch ahead into space and let fly from 25 yards with a right-footed shot that had pace, purpose and perfect placement. Bogard’s shot found the upper-left ninety past the outstretched arms of diving York keeper Ricardo Torres, who made a fine effort at saving a shot that nobody saves.
“Easton is a great finisher, and he did a nice job of finding that space,” Fried said. “That was really the first time in the game that I thought we really built up well, and that’s what created the space for us.”
There were multiple attempted scoring strikes both ways that both teams would have like to have back, but for the most part it was sound defense and quality goalkeeping that carried the rest of the game.
Torres was outstanding all night, but he was just a hair’s width less outstanding than Oak Park and River Forest keeper Clark Turk.
York (5-1-0, 0-1-0), ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top2 5, came out ready to continue the torrid scoring pace it established through its first five games. The Dukes figure to be a prolific scoring team in 2021 after a 20-2 scoring edge over their first five opponents.
Seven minutes in, York’s Gustavo Herrera was poised to score the team’s 21st goal of the year. Herrera broke behind the defense and went in alone on Turk, shooting his shot from point-blank range.
Turk found himself locked into that nano-second when the shooter and the keeper have to make their decisions.
“It’s happening so fast that one way or another, you just have to make that decision,” Turk said. “It’s one-on-one and basically, you just have to make the save. You have to know where his hips are placed, and I saw what I needed to see.”
After Bogard’s goal, York’s attack earned a good handful of free kicks and corner kicks to the game’s 20th minute. The Oak Park and River Forest defense was up to the task, however, arriving first to nearly every York ball served into the box.
“Their back four is super fast and also physical,” Stopka said. “I think we won zero head balls in the box. They won every single air ball in the box. Even their smaller guys were getting to it over our tall guys. Little things like that make all the difference.”
The Huskies, who are listed in the honorable mention section of the Top 25, have scored 16 goals and only given up two through five games, courtesy of a defense that has been collectively airtight. York’s impressive attack won’t often be held scoreless this year but Oak Park and River Forest seems built to handle the best of attacking pressure.
It’s a collective effort in back for the Huskies, and Turk was happy to name names.
“Sebastian (Aguilar-Ripley), David (Schalich-Ayllon), Ben (Nisbet), Alek (Sabogal), Tukura (Hess),” Turk said. “They’re nothing but hard workers. They’ve all got my back, and I’ve got theirs. We stayed calm and composed today, and I’ve got a world of trust in my defense, that we were going to make it out of this game alive.”
From start to finish, York’s Kevin Gliatis, Jose Herrera, Joe Hernandez and Kacper Janowski were all prominent in the attack. York center mid and captain Sam Musial was also a key ingredient before he left the game for good with a leg injury in the first half.
The Dukes didn’t manage a goal against their foe, but they know they can possess and create chances with the best of attacking teams.
“We played fast, but I think we can play even a little bit faster, for sure,” said Gliatis, a Chicagoland Soccer all-stater last spring. “We just have to get our head up. But we’re looking good out there.”
Gliatis sent a quality chance just wide early in the second half. In search of an insurance score, Bogard nearly ran down a dangerous through-ball on a counter, if not for a fine track-back and tackle by York defender Brendan Haran.
Oak Park and River Forest’s Lindsey Foster sent a good chance over the bar at 47 minutes, and teammate Nisbet forced a fine diving stop from Torres at the post at 50 minutes.
“We created some good chances and probably could have scored more than one goal tonight,” Fried said. “And York certainly deserved more than zero goals tonight. I love the way they play and in a lot of ways they really did a good job of locking us out of the way we like to play.”
York’s Herrera and Janowski sent shots wide to the 60th minute, and teammate Frank Rofano’s shot sailed high at 63 minutes. Oak Park and River Forest’s Charlie Maguire sprung Bogard for another great scoring chance at 70 minutes, but Bogard’s shot went wide.
York sent numbers forward down the stretch. Hernandez hit a post at 77 minutes, but Oak Park and River Forest’s shutout held up.
“What’s special about this group is how resilient we are,” Turk said. “We don’t stop fighting, no matter what the score is. We’ll always keep fighting to keep the game in our hands.”
Fried got solid efforts around the pitch from his boys in the win.
“Hodari Motley came in on our right side and really disrupted things defensively,” Fried said. “We needed him to help us slow (York) down, and he played smart and won tons of balls. (York’s Gliatis and Connor Bare) were over there doing a nice job of overlapping and Hodari did a real nice job of disrupting that.
“(Midfielder) Alex Hauck played consistent the whole game, Easton got us a goal, and Lindsey Foster did so well up-top for us, forcing some bad passes and really winning some balls.”
The Dukes’ dejected body language after the loss reflected their disappointment, but York knows what it has this season, and that it can be special.
“I love everything about this team,” Gliatis said. “Most importantly, we’re a family. We all see each other as brothers and we want to play for each other, all the time. We’re willing to work for each other. We have more morale this year, and we want to go far.”
Like Oak Park and River Forest, York got fine efforts from both starters and players off the bench.
“Ryder Kohl was phenomenal in back tonight, and Frankie Romano stepping in for (Musial) when he got injured was phenomenal,” Stopka said. “And Kacper Janowski is a six that just flies all over the field.
“The funny thing is, as a coach I sit here and think about the times we messed up, because I want to see them strive for such a good possession game, and sometimes you don’t actually appreciate what you’re watching as much as you should.”
Starting lineups
Oak Park and River Forest
GK Clark Turk
D Sebastian Aguliar-Ripley
D David Schalich-Ayllon
D Ben Nisbet
D Josh Dennis
M Charlie Maguire
M Alex Hauck
M Isaac Cummings
M Eric Jackson
F Easton Bogard
F Jayden Hsieh-Bailey
York
GK Ricardo Torres
D Yael Silvestre
D Connor Bare
D Brendan Haran
D Ryder Kohl
M Sam Musial
M Kevin Gliatis
M Joe Hernandez
M Kacper Janowski
F Jose Herrera
F Gustavo Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Clark Turk, sr., GK, Oak Park and River Forest
Scoring summary
First half
OPRF — Bogard (UA) 15 minutes
Second half
No scoring
Bogard’s goal gets Huskies 1-0 win in WSS showdown
By Gary Larsen
ELMHURST — Who better to gauge the quality of a game than a center official, an acutely interactive observer, in the thick of the action for 80 minutes?
And Bryce Cann — the middle official for Tuesday’s game between host York and Oak Park and River Forest, and a former coach of the boys’ program at Wheaton North —had a quick answer when asked his opinion after the Huskies 1-0 victory.
“I thought it was a very well-played game between two very good teams, played mainly between the 18s,” Cann said. “It was probably the best game I’ve seen this year.”
Cann’s assessment carried consensus status among coaches and players from both teams.
Fans in Elmhurst saw diving goalkeepers swatting away good scoring chances. They saw headers sent just over the bar and crosses to the far post tapped just wide. With only three minutes left to play, they watched a potentially game-tying goal instead smack the post and carom away.
The West Suburban Conference Silver Division match was a pleasure to watch, as York coach Jordan Stopka and Oak Park and River Forest coach Jason Fried figured it would be.
“Jason and I talked before the game about how this was going to be fun,” Stopka said. “Both teams try to possess, and it’s pleasing on the eyes to watch both teams try to knock the ball around. Even though we lost, hats off to them; they’re a great team.”
A game that could have easily ended in a 3-3 tie was instead decided by one cleanly struck shot off the foot of Oak Park striker Easton Bogard.
At 15 minutes, Bogard took a touch ahead into space and let fly from 25 yards with a right-footed shot that had pace, purpose and perfect placement. Bogard’s shot found the upper-left ninety past the outstretched arms of diving York keeper Ricardo Torres, who made a fine effort at saving a shot that nobody saves.
“Easton is a great finisher, and he did a nice job of finding that space,” Fried said. “That was really the first time in the game that I thought we really built up well, and that’s what created the space for us.”
There were multiple attempted scoring strikes both ways that both teams would have like to have back, but for the most part it was sound defense and quality goalkeeping that carried the rest of the game.
Torres was outstanding all night, but he was just a hair’s width less outstanding than Oak Park and River Forest keeper Clark Turk.
York (5-1-0, 0-1-0), ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top2 5, came out ready to continue the torrid scoring pace it established through its first five games. The Dukes figure to be a prolific scoring team in 2021 after a 20-2 scoring edge over their first five opponents.
Seven minutes in, York’s Gustavo Herrera was poised to score the team’s 21st goal of the year. Herrera broke behind the defense and went in alone on Turk, shooting his shot from point-blank range.
Turk found himself locked into that nano-second when the shooter and the keeper have to make their decisions.
“It’s happening so fast that one way or another, you just have to make that decision,” Turk said. “It’s one-on-one and basically, you just have to make the save. You have to know where his hips are placed, and I saw what I needed to see.”
After Bogard’s goal, York’s attack earned a good handful of free kicks and corner kicks to the game’s 20th minute. The Oak Park and River Forest defense was up to the task, however, arriving first to nearly every York ball served into the box.
“Their back four is super fast and also physical,” Stopka said. “I think we won zero head balls in the box. They won every single air ball in the box. Even their smaller guys were getting to it over our tall guys. Little things like that make all the difference.”
The Huskies, who are listed in the honorable mention section of the Top 25, have scored 16 goals and only given up two through five games, courtesy of a defense that has been collectively airtight. York’s impressive attack won’t often be held scoreless this year but Oak Park and River Forest seems built to handle the best of attacking pressure.
It’s a collective effort in back for the Huskies, and Turk was happy to name names.
“Sebastian (Aguilar-Ripley), David (Schalich-Ayllon), Ben (Nisbet), Alek (Sabogal), Tukura (Hess),” Turk said. “They’re nothing but hard workers. They’ve all got my back, and I’ve got theirs. We stayed calm and composed today, and I’ve got a world of trust in my defense, that we were going to make it out of this game alive.”
From start to finish, York’s Kevin Gliatis, Jose Herrera, Joe Hernandez and Kacper Janowski were all prominent in the attack. York center mid and captain Sam Musial was also a key ingredient before he left the game for good with a leg injury in the first half.
The Dukes didn’t manage a goal against their foe, but they know they can possess and create chances with the best of attacking teams.
“We played fast, but I think we can play even a little bit faster, for sure,” said Gliatis, a Chicagoland Soccer all-stater last spring. “We just have to get our head up. But we’re looking good out there.”
Gliatis sent a quality chance just wide early in the second half. In search of an insurance score, Bogard nearly ran down a dangerous through-ball on a counter, if not for a fine track-back and tackle by York defender Brendan Haran.
Oak Park and River Forest’s Lindsey Foster sent a good chance over the bar at 47 minutes, and teammate Nisbet forced a fine diving stop from Torres at the post at 50 minutes.
“We created some good chances and probably could have scored more than one goal tonight,” Fried said. “And York certainly deserved more than zero goals tonight. I love the way they play and in a lot of ways they really did a good job of locking us out of the way we like to play.”
York’s Herrera and Janowski sent shots wide to the 60th minute, and teammate Frank Rofano’s shot sailed high at 63 minutes. Oak Park and River Forest’s Charlie Maguire sprung Bogard for another great scoring chance at 70 minutes, but Bogard’s shot went wide.
York sent numbers forward down the stretch. Hernandez hit a post at 77 minutes, but Oak Park and River Forest’s shutout held up.
“What’s special about this group is how resilient we are,” Turk said. “We don’t stop fighting, no matter what the score is. We’ll always keep fighting to keep the game in our hands.”
Fried got solid efforts around the pitch from his boys in the win.
“Hodari Motley came in on our right side and really disrupted things defensively,” Fried said. “We needed him to help us slow (York) down, and he played smart and won tons of balls. (York’s Gliatis and Connor Bare) were over there doing a nice job of overlapping and Hodari did a real nice job of disrupting that.
“(Midfielder) Alex Hauck played consistent the whole game, Easton got us a goal, and Lindsey Foster did so well up-top for us, forcing some bad passes and really winning some balls.”
The Dukes’ dejected body language after the loss reflected their disappointment, but York knows what it has this season, and that it can be special.
“I love everything about this team,” Gliatis said. “Most importantly, we’re a family. We all see each other as brothers and we want to play for each other, all the time. We’re willing to work for each other. We have more morale this year, and we want to go far.”
Like Oak Park and River Forest, York got fine efforts from both starters and players off the bench.
“Ryder Kohl was phenomenal in back tonight, and Frankie Romano stepping in for (Musial) when he got injured was phenomenal,” Stopka said. “And Kacper Janowski is a six that just flies all over the field.
“The funny thing is, as a coach I sit here and think about the times we messed up, because I want to see them strive for such a good possession game, and sometimes you don’t actually appreciate what you’re watching as much as you should.”
Starting lineups
Oak Park and River Forest
GK Clark Turk
D Sebastian Aguliar-Ripley
D David Schalich-Ayllon
D Ben Nisbet
D Josh Dennis
M Charlie Maguire
M Alex Hauck
M Isaac Cummings
M Eric Jackson
F Easton Bogard
F Jayden Hsieh-Bailey
York
GK Ricardo Torres
D Yael Silvestre
D Connor Bare
D Brendan Haran
D Ryder Kohl
M Sam Musial
M Kevin Gliatis
M Joe Hernandez
M Kacper Janowski
F Jose Herrera
F Gustavo Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Clark Turk, sr., GK, Oak Park and River Forest
Scoring summary
First half
OPRF — Bogard (UA) 15 minutes
Second half
No scoring