Reavis sees conference win streak end
Motivated Shepard post 3-2 victory that stops 15-game skein
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – Reavis twice fought back from two-goal deficits to pull within one Thursday night, but the Rams’ defensive breakdowns proved too much to overcome against a hungry conference foe.
Behind two goals from senior midfielder Kyle Skopec, visiting Shepard topped Reavis 3-2 in a key South Suburban Conference Red Division game.
The loss snapped a 15-game conference winning streak for the Rams (4-4-0, 1-1-0), whose last defeat against a league opponent came on Oct. 6, 2016 against Argo.
Reavis won its final three conference games in 2016, went 11-0 to capture the Red title last season, and won its league opener against Lemont on Tuesday.
“We’re inexperienced in the back with two sophomores starting back there,” Reavis coach Mark Gniadek said. “They have the talent, but sometimes they lose their heads, they lose their marks. It’s just that one moment of being unorganized that’ll get you every time in high school soccer.
“You make one mistake and that’s the difference between winning and losing. On their third goal, we lost our mark, and they buried it. Shepard is talented. They’ve scored a lot of goals so far.”
Indeed, the Astros (4-2-0, 2-0-0) have scored 16 times in six games. Thursday was a statement win for a team on the rise.
The 14 seniors on the Astros’ roster have yet to experience a winning season at Shepard, but they’re on their way to changing that.
“Reavis is traditionally one of the best programs in our conference and the area,” Shepard coach Frank Marek said. “They’re well-coached; they have very good players. It’s just another slot on the win column, but this is one that means a lot to us. It feels good.
“One of our goals was to win conference. We take it half by half, game by game. This was a big step for us toward that goal.”
After surrendering two goals in a 41-second span in the eighth minute, Reavis seemed to have some momentum heading into the second half.
Junior forward Marek Judka pulled the Rams within one on a nice combination play with Fernando Barragan in the 35th minute.
“I got the ball played to my feet, and I saw ‘Nando’ wide and passed it to him,” Judka said. “He took it down the line. We practice a lot of in-line crossing, so I positioned myself in front of the front post, like we practice.
“I knew 'Nando' would play the pass to my feet. He did, and I just knocked it in.”
That left the Rams feeling good at halftime.
“We were still in a hole that we dug ourselves into, but we still had a fighting chance,” Judka said.
Reavis continued to surge in the opening moments of the second half as Barragan ripped a shot off the crossbar.
The Astros, though, quickly turned the tide again in the 49th minute.
Senior forward Michal Strama made a strong run down the ride side and sent a cross toward the far post.
Skopec, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, was left open and finished with a nifty volley to make it 3-1.
“Michal and I have been playing together since we were 10,” Skopec said. “It’s all coming together for us senior year, and we’re excited to get big wins like this. We want to win conference, regionals, win as much as we can because it’s our last year.”
Conceding a third goal was a blow to Reavis’ confidence.
“I was thinking if we got one before half we had a really good shot,” Gniadek said. “We got it, but then we gave up another quick goal coming out of the half and that deflated our guys.
“We didn’t bounce back from that until the end, and then we had opportunities the last few minutes.”
Barragan drew a penalty then converted it, rolling a shot inside the right post to make it 3-2 with 14:51 to go.
Reavis had one good chance for the equalizer in the 74th minute. Juan Cedillo’s shot from 35 yards was stopped by Shepard goalkeeper Eddy Sanchez (3 saves), and Kevin Ibarra fired a shot off the side of the net off the rebound.
“We’re getting some more opportunities, but we’re not putting them away,” Gniadek said. “"Nando" can obviously score goals, and Marek can score, but we’re looking for one or two more guys that can pick their spots and put the ball in the back of the net.”
Kamil Staszel made two saves for Reavis.
Strama struck first for the Astros in the eighth minute, scoring off an Abel Martinez pass.
Skopec drew and converted a penalty kick just 41 seconds later to put Reavis in the early 2-0 hole that it could never climb out of.
The result leaves the Rams chasing the Astros in the conference standings, but with nine league games remaining for each side.
“We’ve still got a chance at conference,” Judka said. “It’s only two games in. We’re going to have a chip on our shoulders after this. We’re going to use this as motivation every game going forward.”
Gniadek hopes his players come out especially motivated for Saturday’s clash with crosstown foe St. Laurence.
“The kids need to be ready to bounce back from a tough loss,” he said. “It starts (Friday) in practice, then we’re right back at it Saturday against St. Laurence. If we play well in that game, our momentum is back.”
Starting lineups
Reavis
GK: Kamil Staszel
D: Alex Froylan
D: Patrick Mrowca
D: Julian Ochoa
D: Carlos Guzman
M: Juan Cedillo
M: Gustavo Alvarez
M: Fernando Barragan
M: Kryzystof Kisielewski
F: Jose Rico Ramirez
F: Marek Judka
Shepard
GK: Eddy Sanchez
D: Bryan Sanchez
D: Ricky Lostroscio
D: Jacob Moran
D: Daniel Judd
M: Fernando Rosales
M: Kyle Skopec
M: Abel Martinez
M: Rogelio Valadez
F: Justin Cabrera
F: Michal Strama
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Kyle Skopec, sr., M, Shepard
Scoring summary
First half
Shepard: Michal Strama (Abel Martinez), 8th minute
Shepard: Kyle Skopec (PK), 8th minute
Reavis: Marek Judka (Fernando Barragan), 35th minute
Second half
Shepard: Skopec (Strama), 49th minute
Reavis: Barragan (PK), 66th minute
Motivated Shepard post 3-2 victory that stops 15-game skein
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – Reavis twice fought back from two-goal deficits to pull within one Thursday night, but the Rams’ defensive breakdowns proved too much to overcome against a hungry conference foe.
Behind two goals from senior midfielder Kyle Skopec, visiting Shepard topped Reavis 3-2 in a key South Suburban Conference Red Division game.
The loss snapped a 15-game conference winning streak for the Rams (4-4-0, 1-1-0), whose last defeat against a league opponent came on Oct. 6, 2016 against Argo.
Reavis won its final three conference games in 2016, went 11-0 to capture the Red title last season, and won its league opener against Lemont on Tuesday.
“We’re inexperienced in the back with two sophomores starting back there,” Reavis coach Mark Gniadek said. “They have the talent, but sometimes they lose their heads, they lose their marks. It’s just that one moment of being unorganized that’ll get you every time in high school soccer.
“You make one mistake and that’s the difference between winning and losing. On their third goal, we lost our mark, and they buried it. Shepard is talented. They’ve scored a lot of goals so far.”
Indeed, the Astros (4-2-0, 2-0-0) have scored 16 times in six games. Thursday was a statement win for a team on the rise.
The 14 seniors on the Astros’ roster have yet to experience a winning season at Shepard, but they’re on their way to changing that.
“Reavis is traditionally one of the best programs in our conference and the area,” Shepard coach Frank Marek said. “They’re well-coached; they have very good players. It’s just another slot on the win column, but this is one that means a lot to us. It feels good.
“One of our goals was to win conference. We take it half by half, game by game. This was a big step for us toward that goal.”
After surrendering two goals in a 41-second span in the eighth minute, Reavis seemed to have some momentum heading into the second half.
Junior forward Marek Judka pulled the Rams within one on a nice combination play with Fernando Barragan in the 35th minute.
“I got the ball played to my feet, and I saw ‘Nando’ wide and passed it to him,” Judka said. “He took it down the line. We practice a lot of in-line crossing, so I positioned myself in front of the front post, like we practice.
“I knew 'Nando' would play the pass to my feet. He did, and I just knocked it in.”
That left the Rams feeling good at halftime.
“We were still in a hole that we dug ourselves into, but we still had a fighting chance,” Judka said.
Reavis continued to surge in the opening moments of the second half as Barragan ripped a shot off the crossbar.
The Astros, though, quickly turned the tide again in the 49th minute.
Senior forward Michal Strama made a strong run down the ride side and sent a cross toward the far post.
Skopec, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, was left open and finished with a nifty volley to make it 3-1.
“Michal and I have been playing together since we were 10,” Skopec said. “It’s all coming together for us senior year, and we’re excited to get big wins like this. We want to win conference, regionals, win as much as we can because it’s our last year.”
Conceding a third goal was a blow to Reavis’ confidence.
“I was thinking if we got one before half we had a really good shot,” Gniadek said. “We got it, but then we gave up another quick goal coming out of the half and that deflated our guys.
“We didn’t bounce back from that until the end, and then we had opportunities the last few minutes.”
Barragan drew a penalty then converted it, rolling a shot inside the right post to make it 3-2 with 14:51 to go.
Reavis had one good chance for the equalizer in the 74th minute. Juan Cedillo’s shot from 35 yards was stopped by Shepard goalkeeper Eddy Sanchez (3 saves), and Kevin Ibarra fired a shot off the side of the net off the rebound.
“We’re getting some more opportunities, but we’re not putting them away,” Gniadek said. “"Nando" can obviously score goals, and Marek can score, but we’re looking for one or two more guys that can pick their spots and put the ball in the back of the net.”
Kamil Staszel made two saves for Reavis.
Strama struck first for the Astros in the eighth minute, scoring off an Abel Martinez pass.
Skopec drew and converted a penalty kick just 41 seconds later to put Reavis in the early 2-0 hole that it could never climb out of.
The result leaves the Rams chasing the Astros in the conference standings, but with nine league games remaining for each side.
“We’ve still got a chance at conference,” Judka said. “It’s only two games in. We’re going to have a chip on our shoulders after this. We’re going to use this as motivation every game going forward.”
Gniadek hopes his players come out especially motivated for Saturday’s clash with crosstown foe St. Laurence.
“The kids need to be ready to bounce back from a tough loss,” he said. “It starts (Friday) in practice, then we’re right back at it Saturday against St. Laurence. If we play well in that game, our momentum is back.”
Starting lineups
Reavis
GK: Kamil Staszel
D: Alex Froylan
D: Patrick Mrowca
D: Julian Ochoa
D: Carlos Guzman
M: Juan Cedillo
M: Gustavo Alvarez
M: Fernando Barragan
M: Kryzystof Kisielewski
F: Jose Rico Ramirez
F: Marek Judka
Shepard
GK: Eddy Sanchez
D: Bryan Sanchez
D: Ricky Lostroscio
D: Jacob Moran
D: Daniel Judd
M: Fernando Rosales
M: Kyle Skopec
M: Abel Martinez
M: Rogelio Valadez
F: Justin Cabrera
F: Michal Strama
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Kyle Skopec, sr., M, Shepard
Scoring summary
First half
Shepard: Michal Strama (Abel Martinez), 8th minute
Shepard: Kyle Skopec (PK), 8th minute
Reavis: Marek Judka (Fernando Barragan), 35th minute
Second half
Shepard: Skopec (Strama), 49th minute
Reavis: Barragan (PK), 66th minute