Rochelle Zell ties Holy Trinity
amidst Chicago bustle
Tigers earn point in Chicago Prep battle
By Bobby Narang
CHICAGO — Distractions are part of the soccer experience when suburban teams play in the city.
Whether it’s the nonstop sirens from police cars or ambulances to the constant parade of dog walkers to even a helicopter, it’s a unique environment for suburban schools to experience playing at no-frills Allstate Field in Humboldt Park.
Maybe that’s why Rochelle Zell senior midfielder Zach Rosen had a big smile on his face following a 1-1 tie against Holy Trinity in Chicago Prep Conference play on Thursday.
“I love playing here on this field,” Rosen said, while a car alarm kept blaring. “I’ve had so much success on this field. Last year, we had a game here and were missing half of our seniors and starting lineup, but I had two goals and an assist, and we won. It’s something about this field. It gets my adrenaline going. I like all the noise.”
Rochelle Zell (4-1-2, 1-1-2) had some good and bad moments in the tie, mainly due to lacking energy early in the match after playing Holy Trinity for the second time in eight days. Rochelle Zell posted a 4-2 win over Holy Trinity (0-1-1) on Aug. 25 in Deerfield.
“We had the opportunities but just couldn’t finish, but the first time against them we finished,” Rochelle Zell coach David Martinez said. “We also didn’t play a full 80 minutes. We’re making small steps.”
Holy Trinity (0-1-1, 0-1-1) has played just two matches this season, both against Rochelle Zell. The hosts were aggressive from the outset with Joshua Boahene, Walter Adu and Fernando Guido pushing the pace. Adu, an aggressive and strong player, caused fits with his size and athleticism.
Holy Trinity scored the first goal of the match on Sebastian Martinez’s shot from 23 yards that hit the top bar and bounced in at the 16-minute mark. It was Martinez’s second goal of the season.
“I just got the ball outside the big box, and I took the player and made him fall and just shot it with my left,” Martinez said. “We have to keep working hard to learn from our mistakes.”
Rochelle Zell junior goalkeeper Jacob Weiss tallied five of his nine saves in the first half. Weiss said he was frustrated to allow the single goal.
“Their guy (Martinez) just got us, and I was up a little too far,” Weiss said. “He chipped it over. It was a great volley by him.
“It’s tough to play a team twice, but you know their strengths and weaknesses. It was a matter of trying your best and communicating. I was trying to do my best for the team. I think the game went really well. The only problem I saw was finishing.
“I enjoy playing here. The turf is really rough, so my punts go very far.”
Martinez said Weiss is developing into a solid player in the net. He’s the only goalie on the team.
“(Jacob) is getting a hand on the ball, and he’s being strong back there and coming out, which is what we need from a keeper,” he said. “He’s producing and hopefully he can keep it up. It’s amazing.”
Ivan Solis was a surprise starter at goalkeeper for Holy Trinity. The junior normally plays in the field, but starting senior goalie Ruben Munoz broke his hand. Solis showed some promise in the net as he endured a late push by the visitors to record the tie.
He finished with nine saves, including a key stop in the final minutes.
The only shot Solis didn’t stop came when Rochelle Zell sophomore Jesse Shapira, off an assist from Rosen, scored on a hopper over the keeper’s head in the 29th minute.
“It confused me, because their guy who scored was right behind one of our defenders,” Solis said. “He caught me off guard.”
Throughout the first few weeks of the season, Shapira and Rosen have become a solid tandem for Rochelle Zell. Their chemistry was evident in Thursday’s match, with both players looking for each other for scoring opportunities. Shapira credited Rosen for setting up his seventh goal of the season.
“I had a ball down the line. It was bouncing right to me, and I just chipped it in,” Shapira said. “It was great to see we had a lot of opportunities today, but we just have to finish them.
“We have to play with more energy and maintain our confidence. The ball was rolling fast, so we all had to run a lot.”
Holy Trinity coach Larry Martin said his young team — eight sophomores and four freshmen — can learn from the tie. The hosts nearly pulled out a win in the final minutes, but Rochelle Zell defender Jeremy Budin saved the game. With Weiss out of the box, Budin stopped a potential goal by blocking a ball that bounced to safety in the 77th minute. Less than a minute later, Weiss added a tap-out save over the bar.
“We had a lot of great chances in the first and second half,” Martin said. “I was really happy with our effort. We only had one sub, and all these freshmen who had never played before. Rochelle Zell is a good team. We always enjoy playing them.”
Rochelle Zell hits a critical part of its schedule with eight days away from practices and games for Rosh Hashanah. Rosen said the team will be ready for their Sept. 12 showdown against Cristo Rey.
“We’ve had three games this week, and we’re all so sore and tired,” Rosen said. “We turned it around. I’m happy with how we played even though it was a tie.
“We’re buying into sacrificing for the team. Early in the year, people wouldn’t go for headers or go in strong, because we didn’t want to get hurt. We’re all buying in now.”
Starting lineups
Rochelle Zell
GK Jacob Weiss
D Coby Halpern
D Gabe Hirsch
D Shomri Mlotek
D Jeremy Budin
M Ben Rosenfeld
M Matan Lieberman
M Zach Rosen
M Harrison Harkavy
F Oren Nochimowski
F Jesse Shapira
Holy Trinity
GK Ivan Solis
D Ahmed Abdelhai
D Ruben Munoz
D Aiden Gomez
D Jairo Mena
M Sebastian Martinez
M Daniel Gallegos
M Edwin De La Cruz
M Fernando Guido
F Joshua Boahene
F Walter Adu
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jesse Shapira, so., F, Rochelle Zell
Scoring summary
First half
Holy Trinity — Sebastian Martinez (Fernando Guido) 16th minute
Rochelle Zell — Jesse Shapira,(Zach Rosen) 29th minute
Second half
No scoring
amidst Chicago bustle
Tigers earn point in Chicago Prep battle
By Bobby Narang
CHICAGO — Distractions are part of the soccer experience when suburban teams play in the city.
Whether it’s the nonstop sirens from police cars or ambulances to the constant parade of dog walkers to even a helicopter, it’s a unique environment for suburban schools to experience playing at no-frills Allstate Field in Humboldt Park.
Maybe that’s why Rochelle Zell senior midfielder Zach Rosen had a big smile on his face following a 1-1 tie against Holy Trinity in Chicago Prep Conference play on Thursday.
“I love playing here on this field,” Rosen said, while a car alarm kept blaring. “I’ve had so much success on this field. Last year, we had a game here and were missing half of our seniors and starting lineup, but I had two goals and an assist, and we won. It’s something about this field. It gets my adrenaline going. I like all the noise.”
Rochelle Zell (4-1-2, 1-1-2) had some good and bad moments in the tie, mainly due to lacking energy early in the match after playing Holy Trinity for the second time in eight days. Rochelle Zell posted a 4-2 win over Holy Trinity (0-1-1) on Aug. 25 in Deerfield.
“We had the opportunities but just couldn’t finish, but the first time against them we finished,” Rochelle Zell coach David Martinez said. “We also didn’t play a full 80 minutes. We’re making small steps.”
Holy Trinity (0-1-1, 0-1-1) has played just two matches this season, both against Rochelle Zell. The hosts were aggressive from the outset with Joshua Boahene, Walter Adu and Fernando Guido pushing the pace. Adu, an aggressive and strong player, caused fits with his size and athleticism.
Holy Trinity scored the first goal of the match on Sebastian Martinez’s shot from 23 yards that hit the top bar and bounced in at the 16-minute mark. It was Martinez’s second goal of the season.
“I just got the ball outside the big box, and I took the player and made him fall and just shot it with my left,” Martinez said. “We have to keep working hard to learn from our mistakes.”
Rochelle Zell junior goalkeeper Jacob Weiss tallied five of his nine saves in the first half. Weiss said he was frustrated to allow the single goal.
“Their guy (Martinez) just got us, and I was up a little too far,” Weiss said. “He chipped it over. It was a great volley by him.
“It’s tough to play a team twice, but you know their strengths and weaknesses. It was a matter of trying your best and communicating. I was trying to do my best for the team. I think the game went really well. The only problem I saw was finishing.
“I enjoy playing here. The turf is really rough, so my punts go very far.”
Martinez said Weiss is developing into a solid player in the net. He’s the only goalie on the team.
“(Jacob) is getting a hand on the ball, and he’s being strong back there and coming out, which is what we need from a keeper,” he said. “He’s producing and hopefully he can keep it up. It’s amazing.”
Ivan Solis was a surprise starter at goalkeeper for Holy Trinity. The junior normally plays in the field, but starting senior goalie Ruben Munoz broke his hand. Solis showed some promise in the net as he endured a late push by the visitors to record the tie.
He finished with nine saves, including a key stop in the final minutes.
The only shot Solis didn’t stop came when Rochelle Zell sophomore Jesse Shapira, off an assist from Rosen, scored on a hopper over the keeper’s head in the 29th minute.
“It confused me, because their guy who scored was right behind one of our defenders,” Solis said. “He caught me off guard.”
Throughout the first few weeks of the season, Shapira and Rosen have become a solid tandem for Rochelle Zell. Their chemistry was evident in Thursday’s match, with both players looking for each other for scoring opportunities. Shapira credited Rosen for setting up his seventh goal of the season.
“I had a ball down the line. It was bouncing right to me, and I just chipped it in,” Shapira said. “It was great to see we had a lot of opportunities today, but we just have to finish them.
“We have to play with more energy and maintain our confidence. The ball was rolling fast, so we all had to run a lot.”
Holy Trinity coach Larry Martin said his young team — eight sophomores and four freshmen — can learn from the tie. The hosts nearly pulled out a win in the final minutes, but Rochelle Zell defender Jeremy Budin saved the game. With Weiss out of the box, Budin stopped a potential goal by blocking a ball that bounced to safety in the 77th minute. Less than a minute later, Weiss added a tap-out save over the bar.
“We had a lot of great chances in the first and second half,” Martin said. “I was really happy with our effort. We only had one sub, and all these freshmen who had never played before. Rochelle Zell is a good team. We always enjoy playing them.”
Rochelle Zell hits a critical part of its schedule with eight days away from practices and games for Rosh Hashanah. Rosen said the team will be ready for their Sept. 12 showdown against Cristo Rey.
“We’ve had three games this week, and we’re all so sore and tired,” Rosen said. “We turned it around. I’m happy with how we played even though it was a tie.
“We’re buying into sacrificing for the team. Early in the year, people wouldn’t go for headers or go in strong, because we didn’t want to get hurt. We’re all buying in now.”
Starting lineups
Rochelle Zell
GK Jacob Weiss
D Coby Halpern
D Gabe Hirsch
D Shomri Mlotek
D Jeremy Budin
M Ben Rosenfeld
M Matan Lieberman
M Zach Rosen
M Harrison Harkavy
F Oren Nochimowski
F Jesse Shapira
Holy Trinity
GK Ivan Solis
D Ahmed Abdelhai
D Ruben Munoz
D Aiden Gomez
D Jairo Mena
M Sebastian Martinez
M Daniel Gallegos
M Edwin De La Cruz
M Fernando Guido
F Joshua Boahene
F Walter Adu
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jesse Shapira, so., F, Rochelle Zell
Scoring summary
First half
Holy Trinity — Sebastian Martinez (Fernando Guido) 16th minute
Rochelle Zell — Jesse Shapira,(Zach Rosen) 29th minute
Second half
No scoring