Rueda, defense lift Taft past Reavis
GK makes trio of big saves, Eagles stymie Reavis star Barragan
By Steve Millar
BURBANK -- For Taft coach Jeff Lucco, the biggest question heading into the 2018 season was an obvious one.
Lucco wondered how his inexperienced defense would hold up, an uncertainty which only increased before the season.
“We lost everyone from our defense, except Byron (Abayay),” Lucco said. “We lost an All-State center defender (Marek Klimek) and two other defenders who started for two years or more.
“We felt like defense was going to be our biggest struggle. We definitely struggled with it over the summer.”
While Luzzo still sees plenty of room for improvement on the backline, the Eagles certainly passed their first test Monday.
Taft kept host Reavis and All-State midfielder Fernando Barragan off the scoreboard and got a goal from varsity newcomer Jonathan Salgado to earn a season-opening 1-0 win.
Junior goalkeeper Pablo Rueda, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, had to make just three saves to record the shutout, but all three came on golden chances for Reavis (0-1-0).
Abayay, Tomek Mieczkowski, Motea Nasser and Paul Murray all aided Rueda with big efforts on defense.
“We played well,” Lucco said. “We weren’t great, but for a first game it was good. We only start one senior (Nasser), and he has no prior varsity experience. So, we’re very young and inexperienced. This was a good way to start for us.”
Taft (1-0-0) looked like a group of seasoned veterans in the first 15 minutes, giving itself several set piece chances from striking distance.
After Nasser’s shot off a Brandon Tovar corner kick was saved by Reavis goalkeeper Giovanni Guerrero in the seventh minute, the Eagles kept the pressure on and cashed in soon after.
Abayay took a free kick from 45 yards and sent the ball toward the top of the box. From there Salgado drove in and blasted a header into the back of the net for Taft’s first goal of the young season.
“I was using what we did in practice,” Salgado said. “I was behind one of our players who blocked one of their players, so I was able to run in and head it in.
“I wasn’t expecting that to happen in our first game. It’s my first varsity goal. I’ll always remember it.”
Lucco was thrilled to see the 5-foot-6 Salgado win the ball in the air amongst a crowd and deliver the emphatic header.
“The smallest guy on our team put it in,” he said. “That was great to see, because we work a lot on those set pieces.”
Reavis coach Mark Gniadek credited Taft for the early surge.
“We had a great week of practice coming into this, and everyone was really excited to play. But Taft came out, and they were ready,” Gniadek said. “They were so organized. I follow their coach on Twitter, and I know the work they put in to prepare. They did a great job.
“Sometimes, when things don’t go our way at the start, we take a step backwards. You see the players start chirping at the refs and stuff like that. Composure is going to be a key for us.”
Taft tested Guerrero three more times in the first half as Abayay, Tovar and Matthew Davila all put shots on goal that were saved.
Reavis, meanwhile, had a great chance less than three minutes into the game when Marek Judka ripped a shot off the inside of the post and out on a free kick from just outside the box.
The Rams were mostly quiet for the next 20-plus minutes, but they challenged Rueda majorly twice late in the opening half as Barragan showed off his ball skills.
In the 27th minute, Jose Rico Ramirez’s free kick from 25 yards was broken up, but the ball deflected to teammate Patrick Mrowca, who played a quick pass to Barragan in the box.
Barragan beat two defenders with his dribble, but Rueda came charging off the line to get his chest on Barragan’s shot.
“I just came out, cut off the angle and closed the space,” Rueda said. “I had to make myself bigger in the net. It felt really nice to make that save.”
Rueda came up big again in the 39th minute. Barragan took a pass from Judka and again blew past the defense to get in alone on Rueda, who made a diving save.
“It was pretty much the same play as the first save, just on the other side,” Rueda said. “I knew how dangerous (Barragan) could be. When you’re going against a player that can attack like that, you always have to be focused.”
Though Reavis went into the break down 1-0, the Rams had momentum and carried it over into the second half as they pushed hard for the equalizer.
Barragan got free yet again with 21 minutes left, taking a pass from Alex Froylan and sprinted down the left side of the field.
Again Rueda did a good job of closing space and made a kick save on Barragan’s shot at the near post. Ramirez pounced on the rebound for Reavis but fired wide.
Rueda split time in the net last season with Michael Pierri, who’s now a senior. He made a strong first impression in his bid for playing time this season.
“Our goalies know it’s an open competition,” Lucco said. “There were some things Pablo did that we’d like him to do better, but he made three saves that were just great saves on point-blank shots. He’s a leader -- the kids voted him captain -- and he can make saves like that.”
Rueda’s heroics left Reavis frustrated after the first game of the Gniadek era.
Gniadek, formerly an assistant, took over for Bob Morack, who became Reavis’ athletic director.
“I had butterflies all night,” Gniadek said. “I didn’t sleep. School was a rush, just kind of a blur. Once we got out here, it was so fun. These kids make it easy to have fun.
“I’ve been told a few times that I have big shoes to fill. There’s a little bit of pressure, but Bob does well to take the pressure off. He’s the biggest supporter there is.”
Gniadek was glad to see his team create scoring opportunities and play through Barragan.
“In the first half, we had (Barragan) out on the wing and the wind was blowing the ball in the other direction, but you still have to look for him, because that’s the type of player he is,” the coach said.
“We talked at halftime about getting him the ball, and we did. We got our chances, and we just didn’t put them away. That kid is going to put the ball in the back of the net a bunch of times this year, though.”
Guerrero made four saves for Reavis, which next begins the tournament it hosts, the 32-team Windy City Ram Classic. The Rams open with a first-round game Tuesday against Andrew.
“It’s going to take some time for us to get that chemistry,” Gniadek said. “Last year, it took us until after the Ram Classic to really jell. That’s why we play these games. You can practice all you want, but you need to start playing other teams before you can really build that chemistry.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Pablo Rueda
D: Tomek Mieczkowski
D: Motea Nasser
D: Byron Abayay
D: Paul Murray
M: Jakub Lapinski
M: Matthew Davila
M: Sergio Diaz
M: Brandon Tovar
M: Jonathan Salgado
F: Chris Reynoso
Reavis
GK: Giovanni Guerrero
D: Patrick Mrowca
D: Carlos Guzman
D: Robert Rychtarczyk
D: Alex Froylan
M: Fernando Barragan
M: Kryzystof Kisielewski
M: Juan Cedillo
M: Gustavo Alvarez
F: Marek Judka
F: Jose Rico Ramirez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Pablo Rueda, jr. GK, Taft
Scoring summary
First half
Taft: Jonathan Salgado (Byron Abayay), 10th minute
Second half
None
GK makes trio of big saves, Eagles stymie Reavis star Barragan
By Steve Millar
BURBANK -- For Taft coach Jeff Lucco, the biggest question heading into the 2018 season was an obvious one.
Lucco wondered how his inexperienced defense would hold up, an uncertainty which only increased before the season.
“We lost everyone from our defense, except Byron (Abayay),” Lucco said. “We lost an All-State center defender (Marek Klimek) and two other defenders who started for two years or more.
“We felt like defense was going to be our biggest struggle. We definitely struggled with it over the summer.”
While Luzzo still sees plenty of room for improvement on the backline, the Eagles certainly passed their first test Monday.
Taft kept host Reavis and All-State midfielder Fernando Barragan off the scoreboard and got a goal from varsity newcomer Jonathan Salgado to earn a season-opening 1-0 win.
Junior goalkeeper Pablo Rueda, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, had to make just three saves to record the shutout, but all three came on golden chances for Reavis (0-1-0).
Abayay, Tomek Mieczkowski, Motea Nasser and Paul Murray all aided Rueda with big efforts on defense.
“We played well,” Lucco said. “We weren’t great, but for a first game it was good. We only start one senior (Nasser), and he has no prior varsity experience. So, we’re very young and inexperienced. This was a good way to start for us.”
Taft (1-0-0) looked like a group of seasoned veterans in the first 15 minutes, giving itself several set piece chances from striking distance.
After Nasser’s shot off a Brandon Tovar corner kick was saved by Reavis goalkeeper Giovanni Guerrero in the seventh minute, the Eagles kept the pressure on and cashed in soon after.
Abayay took a free kick from 45 yards and sent the ball toward the top of the box. From there Salgado drove in and blasted a header into the back of the net for Taft’s first goal of the young season.
“I was using what we did in practice,” Salgado said. “I was behind one of our players who blocked one of their players, so I was able to run in and head it in.
“I wasn’t expecting that to happen in our first game. It’s my first varsity goal. I’ll always remember it.”
Lucco was thrilled to see the 5-foot-6 Salgado win the ball in the air amongst a crowd and deliver the emphatic header.
“The smallest guy on our team put it in,” he said. “That was great to see, because we work a lot on those set pieces.”
Reavis coach Mark Gniadek credited Taft for the early surge.
“We had a great week of practice coming into this, and everyone was really excited to play. But Taft came out, and they were ready,” Gniadek said. “They were so organized. I follow their coach on Twitter, and I know the work they put in to prepare. They did a great job.
“Sometimes, when things don’t go our way at the start, we take a step backwards. You see the players start chirping at the refs and stuff like that. Composure is going to be a key for us.”
Taft tested Guerrero three more times in the first half as Abayay, Tovar and Matthew Davila all put shots on goal that were saved.
Reavis, meanwhile, had a great chance less than three minutes into the game when Marek Judka ripped a shot off the inside of the post and out on a free kick from just outside the box.
The Rams were mostly quiet for the next 20-plus minutes, but they challenged Rueda majorly twice late in the opening half as Barragan showed off his ball skills.
In the 27th minute, Jose Rico Ramirez’s free kick from 25 yards was broken up, but the ball deflected to teammate Patrick Mrowca, who played a quick pass to Barragan in the box.
Barragan beat two defenders with his dribble, but Rueda came charging off the line to get his chest on Barragan’s shot.
“I just came out, cut off the angle and closed the space,” Rueda said. “I had to make myself bigger in the net. It felt really nice to make that save.”
Rueda came up big again in the 39th minute. Barragan took a pass from Judka and again blew past the defense to get in alone on Rueda, who made a diving save.
“It was pretty much the same play as the first save, just on the other side,” Rueda said. “I knew how dangerous (Barragan) could be. When you’re going against a player that can attack like that, you always have to be focused.”
Though Reavis went into the break down 1-0, the Rams had momentum and carried it over into the second half as they pushed hard for the equalizer.
Barragan got free yet again with 21 minutes left, taking a pass from Alex Froylan and sprinted down the left side of the field.
Again Rueda did a good job of closing space and made a kick save on Barragan’s shot at the near post. Ramirez pounced on the rebound for Reavis but fired wide.
Rueda split time in the net last season with Michael Pierri, who’s now a senior. He made a strong first impression in his bid for playing time this season.
“Our goalies know it’s an open competition,” Lucco said. “There were some things Pablo did that we’d like him to do better, but he made three saves that were just great saves on point-blank shots. He’s a leader -- the kids voted him captain -- and he can make saves like that.”
Rueda’s heroics left Reavis frustrated after the first game of the Gniadek era.
Gniadek, formerly an assistant, took over for Bob Morack, who became Reavis’ athletic director.
“I had butterflies all night,” Gniadek said. “I didn’t sleep. School was a rush, just kind of a blur. Once we got out here, it was so fun. These kids make it easy to have fun.
“I’ve been told a few times that I have big shoes to fill. There’s a little bit of pressure, but Bob does well to take the pressure off. He’s the biggest supporter there is.”
Gniadek was glad to see his team create scoring opportunities and play through Barragan.
“In the first half, we had (Barragan) out on the wing and the wind was blowing the ball in the other direction, but you still have to look for him, because that’s the type of player he is,” the coach said.
“We talked at halftime about getting him the ball, and we did. We got our chances, and we just didn’t put them away. That kid is going to put the ball in the back of the net a bunch of times this year, though.”
Guerrero made four saves for Reavis, which next begins the tournament it hosts, the 32-team Windy City Ram Classic. The Rams open with a first-round game Tuesday against Andrew.
“It’s going to take some time for us to get that chemistry,” Gniadek said. “Last year, it took us until after the Ram Classic to really jell. That’s why we play these games. You can practice all you want, but you need to start playing other teams before you can really build that chemistry.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Pablo Rueda
D: Tomek Mieczkowski
D: Motea Nasser
D: Byron Abayay
D: Paul Murray
M: Jakub Lapinski
M: Matthew Davila
M: Sergio Diaz
M: Brandon Tovar
M: Jonathan Salgado
F: Chris Reynoso
Reavis
GK: Giovanni Guerrero
D: Patrick Mrowca
D: Carlos Guzman
D: Robert Rychtarczyk
D: Alex Froylan
M: Fernando Barragan
M: Kryzystof Kisielewski
M: Juan Cedillo
M: Gustavo Alvarez
F: Marek Judka
F: Jose Rico Ramirez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Pablo Rueda, jr. GK, Taft
Scoring summary
First half
Taft: Jonathan Salgado (Byron Abayay), 10th minute
Second half
None