Gallegos on target,
Solorio tops St. Laurence
Late, great free kick powers Sun Warriors’ sectional semifinal win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BURBANK -- Yamir Gallegos felt like the loneliest player on the field.
The Solorio forward stood silent, alone, on the left edge 20 yards from the goal. His thoughts were far from private.
Everybody knew what he was trying.
“My coach kept telling me to shoot it, and I knew what I had to do,” he said.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in.”
His goal off the free kick in the 78th minute shocked St. Laurence 2-1 in the semifinals of the Class AA sectional before a passionate and raucous crowd of about 900 Wednesday night.
Solorio (16-4-2) advances to play city rival Payton in the championship game on Saturday at 11 a.m.
In the earlier semifinal, Payton ran its winning streak to 18 games with the 3-1 win over St. Ignatius.
Gallegos managed his lucky 13th goal of the year when his pressure on the ball resulted in the foul that set up the game-winner.
“He put it in the perfect place,” St. Laurence defender Thomas Suchecki said. “There wasn’t anything we could do about it.”
The Sun Warriors scored early and late in the win.
The key sequence occurred moments earlier. St. Laurence midfielder Bryan Rivera, who scored the equalizer in the 60th minute, was issued his second yellow card in the 71st minute.
With St. Laurence playing down a field position player, Solorio pulled the momentum away from their hosts.
“We really took advantage of that situation,” Solorio midfielder Alexander Marron said. “We had so much open space and that brought us up to their side of the net.”
From the opening whistle, the Sun Warriors took control and neutralized the St. Laurence home-field edge.
Midfielder Raul Mariscal, Solorio’s best offensive player, created a dangerous moment after the kick off with a lightning shot from about 22 yards.
The moment crystallized the Sun Warriors’ early swagger and aggressiveness.
Solorio took charge in the seventh minute. Off the counter, midfielder Orlando Ojeda broke free on the right edge and hammered a ball from 12 yards.
A St. Laurence defender made a great clearance.
The ball deflected out beyond the box. With Vikings’ keeper Damian Ascensio scrambling to get back into position, Marron drilled a 30-yard bomb inside the top right corner for the stunning early score.
It was his first goal of the season.
“I saw the ball coming, and I just told myself that I had to take a chance with the shot,” Marron said.
“That really brought the team up.”
St. Laurence was suddenly the reactive team. Former Young star Jaime Alonso is the first-year coach of the Vikings (17-5-2).
He took over for Kyle Boekeloo, whom he assisted during the spring.
“We talked about coming out strong and setting the tempo,” he said. “Unfortunately, we got into a hole seven minutes into the game.
“I thought we responded well. In the second half, we were a bit unlucky. I felt like we should have had two or three goals.”
The Vikings finished fourth in Class AA two years ago and went 14-1-0 during the abbreviated spring season.
Senior forward Andres Lemus earned Chicagoland Soccer All-State honors during the spring.
“We kept our heads up after we got down,” Suchecki said. “Being down 1-0 is not a bad deficit. We just wanted to push forward.”
The Vikings appeared to score in the 55th minute, only to see an offside call wave off the goal.
Edgar Perez created several intriguing possibilities with his free kicks. In the 60th minute, his booming shot from near midfield resulted in a corner kick.
Rivera finished the send with a successful header. A game that Solorio led for 53 minutes was now deadlocked.
“Soccer is chess at 100 miles an hour, and you have to deal with it,” Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said.
“They were worrying about tying it, and they lost their push. We worried about holding onto that goal. I just told the kids that we had to start playing.”
The victory was deeply satisfying on a number of levels for the Sun Warriors. It reversed a tormented state history since the 2017 state championship team.
The memory of the team’s upset loss during the 2018 state tournament in the sectional final against Saint Ignatius still stings.
A teachers’ work stoppage scuttled the 2019 state tournament. The pandemic ruined the chance of what might have been the Sun Warriors’ best team in the fall of 2020.
That team went on to a 10-0-0 undefeated spring when it captured a truncated city title and allowed just four goals.
Gallegos personifies the growth and development of the next wave of players.
“A lot of these kids were on the junior varsity looking up, and there was no room for them,” Calleros said. “Now that they have the time, it’s their chance; and they’re making the most of it.”
Just as impressive, the Sun Warriors thrived under duress and in an emotionally contentious background that underscored their growing maturity and development.
“The winning culture that we established is there,” Calleros said. “They’re buying in and understanding the work that it takes to win a game like this.”
In a game of momentum swings and emotionally charged actions, Gallegos said the Vikings losing a field player during a critical moment energized the Sun Warriors.
They snatched the momentum back.
“I think the red card is what helped us, and made us really get on them,” he said.
Solorio also did not fold when St. Laurence made its expected push.
“I really had faith in my team,” Marron said. “We were disappointed with how we played in the city tournament, and now we are going back.”
Payton offers a second-chance. The Grizzlies won the city championship. Solorio lost on a penalty kick against Young in the quarterfinals.
“Basically we have a second shot at the city championship, and we will play for two trophies on Saturday,” Calleros said.
Starting lineups
Solorio
GK: Yahir Hernandez
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Jesus Flores
MF: Raul Mariscal
MF: Emilio Madrigal
MF: Justino Saucedo
MF: Alexander Marron
MF: Orlando Ojeda
F: Yamir Gallegos
F: Alejandro Pérez
St. Laurence
GK: Damian Ascencio
D: Michael Rocha
D: Thomas Suchecki
D: Jessie Cardiel
D: Edgar Perez
MF: Nathan Lara
MF: Eric Antkiewicz
MF: Bryan Rivera
MF: Brenton DuBoise
F: Antonio Garcia
F: Andres Lemus
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Yamir Gallegos, jr., F, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
Solorio—Alexander Marron (unassisted), 7th minute
Second half
St. Laurence—Bryan Rivera (Jessie Cardiel), 60th minute
Solorio—Yamir Gallegos (free kick), 78th minute
Solorio tops St. Laurence
Late, great free kick powers Sun Warriors’ sectional semifinal win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BURBANK -- Yamir Gallegos felt like the loneliest player on the field.
The Solorio forward stood silent, alone, on the left edge 20 yards from the goal. His thoughts were far from private.
Everybody knew what he was trying.
“My coach kept telling me to shoot it, and I knew what I had to do,” he said.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in.”
His goal off the free kick in the 78th minute shocked St. Laurence 2-1 in the semifinals of the Class AA sectional before a passionate and raucous crowd of about 900 Wednesday night.
Solorio (16-4-2) advances to play city rival Payton in the championship game on Saturday at 11 a.m.
In the earlier semifinal, Payton ran its winning streak to 18 games with the 3-1 win over St. Ignatius.
Gallegos managed his lucky 13th goal of the year when his pressure on the ball resulted in the foul that set up the game-winner.
“He put it in the perfect place,” St. Laurence defender Thomas Suchecki said. “There wasn’t anything we could do about it.”
The Sun Warriors scored early and late in the win.
The key sequence occurred moments earlier. St. Laurence midfielder Bryan Rivera, who scored the equalizer in the 60th minute, was issued his second yellow card in the 71st minute.
With St. Laurence playing down a field position player, Solorio pulled the momentum away from their hosts.
“We really took advantage of that situation,” Solorio midfielder Alexander Marron said. “We had so much open space and that brought us up to their side of the net.”
From the opening whistle, the Sun Warriors took control and neutralized the St. Laurence home-field edge.
Midfielder Raul Mariscal, Solorio’s best offensive player, created a dangerous moment after the kick off with a lightning shot from about 22 yards.
The moment crystallized the Sun Warriors’ early swagger and aggressiveness.
Solorio took charge in the seventh minute. Off the counter, midfielder Orlando Ojeda broke free on the right edge and hammered a ball from 12 yards.
A St. Laurence defender made a great clearance.
The ball deflected out beyond the box. With Vikings’ keeper Damian Ascensio scrambling to get back into position, Marron drilled a 30-yard bomb inside the top right corner for the stunning early score.
It was his first goal of the season.
“I saw the ball coming, and I just told myself that I had to take a chance with the shot,” Marron said.
“That really brought the team up.”
St. Laurence was suddenly the reactive team. Former Young star Jaime Alonso is the first-year coach of the Vikings (17-5-2).
He took over for Kyle Boekeloo, whom he assisted during the spring.
“We talked about coming out strong and setting the tempo,” he said. “Unfortunately, we got into a hole seven minutes into the game.
“I thought we responded well. In the second half, we were a bit unlucky. I felt like we should have had two or three goals.”
The Vikings finished fourth in Class AA two years ago and went 14-1-0 during the abbreviated spring season.
Senior forward Andres Lemus earned Chicagoland Soccer All-State honors during the spring.
“We kept our heads up after we got down,” Suchecki said. “Being down 1-0 is not a bad deficit. We just wanted to push forward.”
The Vikings appeared to score in the 55th minute, only to see an offside call wave off the goal.
Edgar Perez created several intriguing possibilities with his free kicks. In the 60th minute, his booming shot from near midfield resulted in a corner kick.
Rivera finished the send with a successful header. A game that Solorio led for 53 minutes was now deadlocked.
“Soccer is chess at 100 miles an hour, and you have to deal with it,” Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said.
“They were worrying about tying it, and they lost their push. We worried about holding onto that goal. I just told the kids that we had to start playing.”
The victory was deeply satisfying on a number of levels for the Sun Warriors. It reversed a tormented state history since the 2017 state championship team.
The memory of the team’s upset loss during the 2018 state tournament in the sectional final against Saint Ignatius still stings.
A teachers’ work stoppage scuttled the 2019 state tournament. The pandemic ruined the chance of what might have been the Sun Warriors’ best team in the fall of 2020.
That team went on to a 10-0-0 undefeated spring when it captured a truncated city title and allowed just four goals.
Gallegos personifies the growth and development of the next wave of players.
“A lot of these kids were on the junior varsity looking up, and there was no room for them,” Calleros said. “Now that they have the time, it’s their chance; and they’re making the most of it.”
Just as impressive, the Sun Warriors thrived under duress and in an emotionally contentious background that underscored their growing maturity and development.
“The winning culture that we established is there,” Calleros said. “They’re buying in and understanding the work that it takes to win a game like this.”
In a game of momentum swings and emotionally charged actions, Gallegos said the Vikings losing a field player during a critical moment energized the Sun Warriors.
They snatched the momentum back.
“I think the red card is what helped us, and made us really get on them,” he said.
Solorio also did not fold when St. Laurence made its expected push.
“I really had faith in my team,” Marron said. “We were disappointed with how we played in the city tournament, and now we are going back.”
Payton offers a second-chance. The Grizzlies won the city championship. Solorio lost on a penalty kick against Young in the quarterfinals.
“Basically we have a second shot at the city championship, and we will play for two trophies on Saturday,” Calleros said.
Starting lineups
Solorio
GK: Yahir Hernandez
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Jesus Flores
MF: Raul Mariscal
MF: Emilio Madrigal
MF: Justino Saucedo
MF: Alexander Marron
MF: Orlando Ojeda
F: Yamir Gallegos
F: Alejandro Pérez
St. Laurence
GK: Damian Ascencio
D: Michael Rocha
D: Thomas Suchecki
D: Jessie Cardiel
D: Edgar Perez
MF: Nathan Lara
MF: Eric Antkiewicz
MF: Bryan Rivera
MF: Brenton DuBoise
F: Antonio Garcia
F: Andres Lemus
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Yamir Gallegos, jr., F, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
Solorio—Alexander Marron (unassisted), 7th minute
Second half
St. Laurence—Bryan Rivera (Jessie Cardiel), 60th minute
Solorio—Yamir Gallegos (free kick), 78th minute