Taft has Senior Night
to remember vs. Steinmetz
Eagles score early and often to celebrate Class of '22
By Bobby Narang
CHICAGO — Celebrations were the main order of business for Taft on Monday night.
The Eagles had a pre-game Senior Night party that extended so long that it led to a 15-minute delay for their Chicago Public League Premier Division North showdown with neighborhood rival Steinmetz.
All the seniors were honored with a long introduction, plus the entire team gathered for a picture at the 50-yard line. Throughout the pre-game festivities, Steinmetz waited patiently and watched the show before deciding to take warm-up shots.
Taft stretched the celebrate to before, during and after the with its performance.
The Eagles scored eight first half goals in their 11-0 win. The onslaught of goals led to a 20-minute running clock second half. That ended the game much earlier than anticipated.
In between the pre- and post-game merriment, the Eagles (3-6-5, 3-1-3) made a point to enjoy many joyous moments on the pitch in the form of goals from multiple players against the Silver Streaks (0-9-0, 0-7-0).
Taft senior defender Suriel Vital scored his first goal of the season with 16:19 left in the second half to pad the lead to 9-0. As Taft players, parents and students rejoiced the victory on the field afterward, Vital echoed what many of his teammates expressed about wanting more time to enjoy the Senior Night experience.
“I’m very happy with this (victory), but I didn't want the game to go that fast,” Vital said. “That was the only bad thing. I was really happy with the game, spending time with my teammates and enjoying this. I’m happy to score, but I like getting assists rather than scoring goals.”
Senior forward Giuseppe Lazzara was a fan favorite throughout the victory, with a loud and boisterous student body chanting his name several times. The crowd of nearly 200 fans cheered throughout the match, even in the final seconds.
“This win feels amazing, especially being with these guys on the varsity for the last three years,” Lazzara said. “I wanted to make Senior Night a memorable moment. This was something special.
“The two goals made me feel very happy and confident. Hopefully, we can win the city title. This is a good confidence boost. All my friends and family were here. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”
Taft senior goalie Sean Ocampo left the game with 5:51 on the clock to rousing applause from the fans. Ocampo rarely had to showcase his skills, finishing with two saves to contribute to the clean-sheet victory.
“This win feels good to get more goals for the team,” he said. “It lifts our hope for the season. This gives us motivation for the rest of the season. We have the talent and players to do well.”
Senior midfielder Ricardo Gonzalez was in the middle of the action for most of the game. He scored a goal in each half and added an assist. Gonzalez suggested this might become a goal-scoring party in the early going. He just missed a direct shot 29 seconds into the game. His two goals were his first two netters of the season.
“This was just a special night,” Gonzalez said. “It was a night to remember. I was just trying to help and get assists, but the goals came. I was really excited to get that first goal. We have a good team. We have to see how the city playoffs go."
Nine different players scored a goal for the Eagles.
“For the players, it’s fun,” coach Jeff Lucco said. “For me, it was hard because (Steinmetz) is our neighborhood school. As Taft as gotten bigger, I’ve seen (Steinmetz) get smaller. I love neighborhood schools and the CPS (Chicago Public Schools). It’s hard for me to see neighborhood schools (suffer) in Chicago.
“For our guys, this was great. We haven’t scored goals. We held tight against some of the better teams, like Loyola and Lake Zurich. To score has been really hard for us.
“A game like this is good for us. We have city playoffs next week. We open up against Senn or Lincoln Park. Every year we think we're going to win. I think we're talented enough to play with anyone,
“In a way, a game like this is good in terms that we scored a lot and had a lot of energy. We tried to not let them go too crazy after scoring a goal, but it's hard to tell a kid who has never scored a high school goal not to celebrate.”
Steinmetz sophomore backup goalie Jason Gonzalez had a tough assignment, but he showed potential with a few stunning saves. The last-minute starter finished with eight saves.
“Our kids have never really given up all season,” Steinmetz coach Nico Kotcherha-Campora said. “We started off really well in the first 10 minutes and had a few good scoring chances.
“With what we’ve been going through, I commend the kids. They keep trying. We have low numbers. I don’t have a junior varsity team. But the kids have been playing hard for the most part.”
Starting lineups
Steinmetz
GK Jason Gonzalez
D Javier Lemer
D Deangelo Martinez
D Bejamin Mojica
D Kacper Jaworoski
M Joseph Sanchez
M Angel Gudino
M Aaron Encarnacion
M Bryan Arroyo
F Edwin Avilez
Fr Xavier Aruijo
Taft
GK Sean Ocampo
D Adrian Grden
D Edwin Alanis
D Victor Lewicki
D Suriel Vital
M Daniel Korniat
M Matt Sokola
M Ricardo Gonzalez
F Alex Mietka
F Jair Duenas
F Giueseppe Lazzara
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giuseppe Lazzara, sr., F, Taft
Scoring summary
First half
Taft — Oleg Fushtei (Lazzara), 10th minute
Taft — Giuseppe Lazzara (Mietka), 16th minute
Taft — Alex Mietka (unassisted), 28th minute
Taft — Edwin Alanis (unassisted), 29th minute
Taft — Ricardo Gonzalez (Fushtei), 34th minute
Taft — Giuseppe Lazzara (Mietka), 35th minute
Taft — David Dubchak (unassisted), 37th minute
Taft — Mohamed Abbad (unassisted), 39th minute
Second half
Taft — Suriel Vital (Fushtei), 16:19 remaining
Taft — Adrian Grden (Gonzalez), 10:00 remaining
Taft — Ricardo Gonzalez (unassisted), 32.6 remaining
to remember vs. Steinmetz
Eagles score early and often to celebrate Class of '22
By Bobby Narang
CHICAGO — Celebrations were the main order of business for Taft on Monday night.
The Eagles had a pre-game Senior Night party that extended so long that it led to a 15-minute delay for their Chicago Public League Premier Division North showdown with neighborhood rival Steinmetz.
All the seniors were honored with a long introduction, plus the entire team gathered for a picture at the 50-yard line. Throughout the pre-game festivities, Steinmetz waited patiently and watched the show before deciding to take warm-up shots.
Taft stretched the celebrate to before, during and after the with its performance.
The Eagles scored eight first half goals in their 11-0 win. The onslaught of goals led to a 20-minute running clock second half. That ended the game much earlier than anticipated.
In between the pre- and post-game merriment, the Eagles (3-6-5, 3-1-3) made a point to enjoy many joyous moments on the pitch in the form of goals from multiple players against the Silver Streaks (0-9-0, 0-7-0).
Taft senior defender Suriel Vital scored his first goal of the season with 16:19 left in the second half to pad the lead to 9-0. As Taft players, parents and students rejoiced the victory on the field afterward, Vital echoed what many of his teammates expressed about wanting more time to enjoy the Senior Night experience.
“I’m very happy with this (victory), but I didn't want the game to go that fast,” Vital said. “That was the only bad thing. I was really happy with the game, spending time with my teammates and enjoying this. I’m happy to score, but I like getting assists rather than scoring goals.”
Senior forward Giuseppe Lazzara was a fan favorite throughout the victory, with a loud and boisterous student body chanting his name several times. The crowd of nearly 200 fans cheered throughout the match, even in the final seconds.
“This win feels amazing, especially being with these guys on the varsity for the last three years,” Lazzara said. “I wanted to make Senior Night a memorable moment. This was something special.
“The two goals made me feel very happy and confident. Hopefully, we can win the city title. This is a good confidence boost. All my friends and family were here. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”
Taft senior goalie Sean Ocampo left the game with 5:51 on the clock to rousing applause from the fans. Ocampo rarely had to showcase his skills, finishing with two saves to contribute to the clean-sheet victory.
“This win feels good to get more goals for the team,” he said. “It lifts our hope for the season. This gives us motivation for the rest of the season. We have the talent and players to do well.”
Senior midfielder Ricardo Gonzalez was in the middle of the action for most of the game. He scored a goal in each half and added an assist. Gonzalez suggested this might become a goal-scoring party in the early going. He just missed a direct shot 29 seconds into the game. His two goals were his first two netters of the season.
“This was just a special night,” Gonzalez said. “It was a night to remember. I was just trying to help and get assists, but the goals came. I was really excited to get that first goal. We have a good team. We have to see how the city playoffs go."
Nine different players scored a goal for the Eagles.
“For the players, it’s fun,” coach Jeff Lucco said. “For me, it was hard because (Steinmetz) is our neighborhood school. As Taft as gotten bigger, I’ve seen (Steinmetz) get smaller. I love neighborhood schools and the CPS (Chicago Public Schools). It’s hard for me to see neighborhood schools (suffer) in Chicago.
“For our guys, this was great. We haven’t scored goals. We held tight against some of the better teams, like Loyola and Lake Zurich. To score has been really hard for us.
“A game like this is good for us. We have city playoffs next week. We open up against Senn or Lincoln Park. Every year we think we're going to win. I think we're talented enough to play with anyone,
“In a way, a game like this is good in terms that we scored a lot and had a lot of energy. We tried to not let them go too crazy after scoring a goal, but it's hard to tell a kid who has never scored a high school goal not to celebrate.”
Steinmetz sophomore backup goalie Jason Gonzalez had a tough assignment, but he showed potential with a few stunning saves. The last-minute starter finished with eight saves.
“Our kids have never really given up all season,” Steinmetz coach Nico Kotcherha-Campora said. “We started off really well in the first 10 minutes and had a few good scoring chances.
“With what we’ve been going through, I commend the kids. They keep trying. We have low numbers. I don’t have a junior varsity team. But the kids have been playing hard for the most part.”
Starting lineups
Steinmetz
GK Jason Gonzalez
D Javier Lemer
D Deangelo Martinez
D Bejamin Mojica
D Kacper Jaworoski
M Joseph Sanchez
M Angel Gudino
M Aaron Encarnacion
M Bryan Arroyo
F Edwin Avilez
Fr Xavier Aruijo
Taft
GK Sean Ocampo
D Adrian Grden
D Edwin Alanis
D Victor Lewicki
D Suriel Vital
M Daniel Korniat
M Matt Sokola
M Ricardo Gonzalez
F Alex Mietka
F Jair Duenas
F Giueseppe Lazzara
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giuseppe Lazzara, sr., F, Taft
Scoring summary
First half
Taft — Oleg Fushtei (Lazzara), 10th minute
Taft — Giuseppe Lazzara (Mietka), 16th minute
Taft — Alex Mietka (unassisted), 28th minute
Taft — Edwin Alanis (unassisted), 29th minute
Taft — Ricardo Gonzalez (Fushtei), 34th minute
Taft — Giuseppe Lazzara (Mietka), 35th minute
Taft — David Dubchak (unassisted), 37th minute
Taft — Mohamed Abbad (unassisted), 39th minute
Second half
Taft — Suriel Vital (Fushtei), 16:19 remaining
Taft — Adrian Grden (Gonzalez), 10:00 remaining
Taft — Ricardo Gonzalez (unassisted), 32.6 remaining