Strong start rockets Reavis
to Senior Night win over T.F. United
Rams remain unbeaten in South Suburban Conference
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – Whether it was the excitement of Senior Night or the urgency that comes with a late-season conference game for a team in championship contention, the hesitation was gone for Reavis on Monday night.
The Rams were quick to shoot, and it paid off.
“I don’t know what was in us tonight,” senior midfielder Pedro Guzman said. “But we were just shooting really good and finishing.”
Guzman and fellow senior Jose Rodriguez both scored on laser-like strikes from distance in the first half as the Rams rolled to a 5-2 win over T.F. United co-op in a South Suburban Conference crossover match.
Prior to the game, Reavis (9-4-2, 6-0-3 Red Division) honored its six seniors: Guzman, forwards Jose and Diego Rodriguez (no relation), defender David Meza, midfielder/defender Phong Le and midfielder Eddie Castaneda Tolayo.
“It felt amazing,” Guzman said. “Everybody’s watching us. It’s basically our day, and we have to show what we have.”
The Rams showed it pretty quickly, taking advantage of some defensive mistakes from T.F. United (5-6-1, 3-4-1 Blue Division).
Jose Rodriguez got things going in the 13th minute when he tracked down a loose ball off a United turnover and immediately pulled the trigger on a shot from 25 yards out, ripping it inside the right post.
“Probably the most important part was to get that first goal,” Guzman said. “We got off to a good start.
“We were pressuring them really good at the beginning. After we got the ball, we actually connected instead of just blasting the ball forward, so that helped a lot.”
Just over two minutes later, freshman Diego Ochoa made it 2-0 by heading home Emanuel Montero’s corner kick.
It was the start of a big night for Montero, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match. He finished with a goal and two assists.
“We took more shots tonight than any other game,” Montero said. “I even took more shots, and I’m usually passing the ball.
“When we started off fast, I feel like we had really good control of the game. You can see that fear in their face. We went up and pressed them, and it worked.”
Guzman increased the lead to 3-0 in the 29th minute when he came up with a steal and quickly fired from 30 yards along the left side of the field. GThe line-drive shot ripped inside the far post.
“I won the ball from the defense," Guzman said. "I saw the goalie was off his line, and I just shot it.”
Reavis coach Mark Gniadek was happy to see his team take aim at the goal early and often.
“That’s been a focus since the beginning of the year,” he said. “We’ve always done a good job building from the back. But we’ve had to work on that final third. That’s the hardest part of the game. They did a great job with it (Monday). Jose and Pedro’s goals were both great goals.”
Gniadek was happy that Senior Night seemed to provide a spark rather than a distraction.
“Sometimes you come out slow on Senior Night with all the festivities and everything,” he said. “We know how big each and every one of these games are for the conference race, and we know we can’t make any mistakes. So we tried to keep our normal focus and approach going into the game.”
On the other side, Reavis’ fast start was deflating for T.F. United.
“Giving up those goals early on doesn’t help,” United coach Alejandro Lagunas said. “We’re not very good at coming from behind. Reavis is a good team. There’s a reason they’re undefeated (in conference). They took their chances, and they put it to us.
“We made some stupid mistakes in the back and gave up some goals that we shouldn’t give up. Those are totally on us. We’ll own those.”
United did strike back to pull within two in the 34th minute. Lexani Gaines carried the ball down the right side of the field and played the ball into the box.
Reavis goalkeeper Jacob Nosek and United midfielder Daniel Gonzalez nearly collided as they went for the ball in the air, but it ricocheted off Gonzalez’s body and into the net to make it 3-1.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the Rams started the second half even faster than the first. Just 61 seconds into the half, Diego Rodriguez slammed in a shot from 10 yards in the middle of the box off a nice setup from Montero.
T.F. United found an answer for that goal. Diego Gonzalez picked off a clearing attempt from the Reavis backline and fired a quick shot on goal. Nosek made the save, but Diego Gonzalez pounced on his own rebound and tapped it into the back of the net to make it 4-2 with 34:21 to go.
“It was kind of lucky,” Diego Gonzalez said. “I got the rebound and was able to put it in.”
That was as close as T.F. United would get.
Montero added an insurance goal for the Rams in the 62nd minute. He took a pass from Carlos Ramos and carryied the ball down the left side of the box before firing from 10 yards.
Montero had goalkeeper Jesus Puerta beat with the shot and a defender’s sliding attempt at a non-goalie save proved fruitless as the ball deflected into the net to extend the Reavis lead to 5-2.
As a special feature for Senior Night, the lights were dimmed and celebratory music was played after every Reavis goal.
“It was a special night,” Montero said. “They put the music on and hyped us up. Everyone wanted to score to hear the music. We had a good crowd.
“We had to win the game for the seniors. We couldn’t let them graduate without having something special tonight.”
Puerta made four saves for T.F. United, which hopes to regroup for the final stretch.
“Our communication with each other is something we struggle with,” Diego Gonzalez said. “We do it in practice, but when it comes to games, we don’t show it like we do in practice.”
Lagunas is looking for consistency.
“We’ll either start strong or we’ll finish strong, but we’ve struggled all season to put a full game together,” he said. “We have moments but we’ve yet to string those moments together. We’re struggling with confidence. I think as coaches, it’s on us to find a way to convince them that we’re better than what we’ve showing lately.”
Reavis, meanwhile, is preparing for a showdown with Argo (8-3-3, 6-1-1 entering Tuesday’s game at Tinley Park) with first place in the South Suburban Red on the line.
The game at 6 p.m. Thursday was moved to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, adding to the excitement.
“I’m excited to play in the stadium,” Montero said. “It’s going to be a good feeling to see what it’s like to play in a professional stadium. Hopefully, we can win that game and win conference, so we can finally win something. It’s been a couple years.”
Starting lineups
T.F. United
GK – Jesus Puerta
D – Hector Calderon
D – Benjamin Gonzalez
D – Daniel Delgado
D – Zabdiel Silva
MF – Lexani Gaines
MF – Gerardo Martinez
MF – Jonathan Hernandez
MF – Adan Cabrera
F – Diego Gonzalez
F – Javier Cervantes
Reavis
GK – Jacob Nosek
D – David Meza
D – Julian Menchaca
D – Steven Solis
D – Phony Le
MF – Pedro Guzman
MF – Emanuel Montero
MF – Diego Rodriguez
MF – Carlos Ramos
F – Jose Rodriguez
F – Diego Ochoa
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Emanuel Montero, jr., MF, Reavis
Scoring summary
First half
REAVIS – Jose Rodriguez (unassisted), 13th minute
REAVIS – Ochoa (Montero), 15th minute
REAVIS – Guzman (unassisted), 29th minute
T.F. UNITED – Daniel Gonzalez (Gaines), 34th minute
Second half
REAVIS – Diego Rodriguez (Montero), 42nd minute
T.F. UNITED – Diego Gonzalez (unassisted), 46th minute
REAVIS – Montero (Ramos), 62nd minute
to Senior Night win over T.F. United
Rams remain unbeaten in South Suburban Conference
By Steve Millar
BURBANK – Whether it was the excitement of Senior Night or the urgency that comes with a late-season conference game for a team in championship contention, the hesitation was gone for Reavis on Monday night.
The Rams were quick to shoot, and it paid off.
“I don’t know what was in us tonight,” senior midfielder Pedro Guzman said. “But we were just shooting really good and finishing.”
Guzman and fellow senior Jose Rodriguez both scored on laser-like strikes from distance in the first half as the Rams rolled to a 5-2 win over T.F. United co-op in a South Suburban Conference crossover match.
Prior to the game, Reavis (9-4-2, 6-0-3 Red Division) honored its six seniors: Guzman, forwards Jose and Diego Rodriguez (no relation), defender David Meza, midfielder/defender Phong Le and midfielder Eddie Castaneda Tolayo.
“It felt amazing,” Guzman said. “Everybody’s watching us. It’s basically our day, and we have to show what we have.”
The Rams showed it pretty quickly, taking advantage of some defensive mistakes from T.F. United (5-6-1, 3-4-1 Blue Division).
Jose Rodriguez got things going in the 13th minute when he tracked down a loose ball off a United turnover and immediately pulled the trigger on a shot from 25 yards out, ripping it inside the right post.
“Probably the most important part was to get that first goal,” Guzman said. “We got off to a good start.
“We were pressuring them really good at the beginning. After we got the ball, we actually connected instead of just blasting the ball forward, so that helped a lot.”
Just over two minutes later, freshman Diego Ochoa made it 2-0 by heading home Emanuel Montero’s corner kick.
It was the start of a big night for Montero, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match. He finished with a goal and two assists.
“We took more shots tonight than any other game,” Montero said. “I even took more shots, and I’m usually passing the ball.
“When we started off fast, I feel like we had really good control of the game. You can see that fear in their face. We went up and pressed them, and it worked.”
Guzman increased the lead to 3-0 in the 29th minute when he came up with a steal and quickly fired from 30 yards along the left side of the field. GThe line-drive shot ripped inside the far post.
“I won the ball from the defense," Guzman said. "I saw the goalie was off his line, and I just shot it.”
Reavis coach Mark Gniadek was happy to see his team take aim at the goal early and often.
“That’s been a focus since the beginning of the year,” he said. “We’ve always done a good job building from the back. But we’ve had to work on that final third. That’s the hardest part of the game. They did a great job with it (Monday). Jose and Pedro’s goals were both great goals.”
Gniadek was happy that Senior Night seemed to provide a spark rather than a distraction.
“Sometimes you come out slow on Senior Night with all the festivities and everything,” he said. “We know how big each and every one of these games are for the conference race, and we know we can’t make any mistakes. So we tried to keep our normal focus and approach going into the game.”
On the other side, Reavis’ fast start was deflating for T.F. United.
“Giving up those goals early on doesn’t help,” United coach Alejandro Lagunas said. “We’re not very good at coming from behind. Reavis is a good team. There’s a reason they’re undefeated (in conference). They took their chances, and they put it to us.
“We made some stupid mistakes in the back and gave up some goals that we shouldn’t give up. Those are totally on us. We’ll own those.”
United did strike back to pull within two in the 34th minute. Lexani Gaines carried the ball down the right side of the field and played the ball into the box.
Reavis goalkeeper Jacob Nosek and United midfielder Daniel Gonzalez nearly collided as they went for the ball in the air, but it ricocheted off Gonzalez’s body and into the net to make it 3-1.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the Rams started the second half even faster than the first. Just 61 seconds into the half, Diego Rodriguez slammed in a shot from 10 yards in the middle of the box off a nice setup from Montero.
T.F. United found an answer for that goal. Diego Gonzalez picked off a clearing attempt from the Reavis backline and fired a quick shot on goal. Nosek made the save, but Diego Gonzalez pounced on his own rebound and tapped it into the back of the net to make it 4-2 with 34:21 to go.
“It was kind of lucky,” Diego Gonzalez said. “I got the rebound and was able to put it in.”
That was as close as T.F. United would get.
Montero added an insurance goal for the Rams in the 62nd minute. He took a pass from Carlos Ramos and carryied the ball down the left side of the box before firing from 10 yards.
Montero had goalkeeper Jesus Puerta beat with the shot and a defender’s sliding attempt at a non-goalie save proved fruitless as the ball deflected into the net to extend the Reavis lead to 5-2.
As a special feature for Senior Night, the lights were dimmed and celebratory music was played after every Reavis goal.
“It was a special night,” Montero said. “They put the music on and hyped us up. Everyone wanted to score to hear the music. We had a good crowd.
“We had to win the game for the seniors. We couldn’t let them graduate without having something special tonight.”
Puerta made four saves for T.F. United, which hopes to regroup for the final stretch.
“Our communication with each other is something we struggle with,” Diego Gonzalez said. “We do it in practice, but when it comes to games, we don’t show it like we do in practice.”
Lagunas is looking for consistency.
“We’ll either start strong or we’ll finish strong, but we’ve struggled all season to put a full game together,” he said. “We have moments but we’ve yet to string those moments together. We’re struggling with confidence. I think as coaches, it’s on us to find a way to convince them that we’re better than what we’ve showing lately.”
Reavis, meanwhile, is preparing for a showdown with Argo (8-3-3, 6-1-1 entering Tuesday’s game at Tinley Park) with first place in the South Suburban Red on the line.
The game at 6 p.m. Thursday was moved to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, adding to the excitement.
“I’m excited to play in the stadium,” Montero said. “It’s going to be a good feeling to see what it’s like to play in a professional stadium. Hopefully, we can win that game and win conference, so we can finally win something. It’s been a couple years.”
Starting lineups
T.F. United
GK – Jesus Puerta
D – Hector Calderon
D – Benjamin Gonzalez
D – Daniel Delgado
D – Zabdiel Silva
MF – Lexani Gaines
MF – Gerardo Martinez
MF – Jonathan Hernandez
MF – Adan Cabrera
F – Diego Gonzalez
F – Javier Cervantes
Reavis
GK – Jacob Nosek
D – David Meza
D – Julian Menchaca
D – Steven Solis
D – Phony Le
MF – Pedro Guzman
MF – Emanuel Montero
MF – Diego Rodriguez
MF – Carlos Ramos
F – Jose Rodriguez
F – Diego Ochoa
Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match: Emanuel Montero, jr., MF, Reavis
Scoring summary
First half
REAVIS – Jose Rodriguez (unassisted), 13th minute
REAVIS – Ochoa (Montero), 15th minute
REAVIS – Guzman (unassisted), 29th minute
T.F. UNITED – Daniel Gonzalez (Gaines), 34th minute
Second half
REAVIS – Diego Rodriguez (Montero), 42nd minute
T.F. UNITED – Diego Gonzalez (unassisted), 46th minute
REAVIS – Montero (Ramos), 62nd minute