Oak Park & River Forest Boys' Soccer Team Boasts 11-2 Record

A varied offensive attack, tenacious defense and burgeoning team chemistry are reaping outstanding results for the 8th-ranked Oak Park and River Forest High School boys’ soccer team.

All those elements were on full display Friday, September 30th, as the Huskies defeated Willowbrook, 3-0, before an appreciative home audience at OPRF Stadium. The final score only hints at the team’s dominance: the Huskies had possession for at least three-quarters of the match, and the Warriors barely managed one clean shot at the OPRF goal.

Scoring for the Huskies were Javi Figueroa, Josh Dennis and Easton Bogard.

The victory ran the team’s record to 11 wins against only two losses. Both defeats were by a 2-1 margin (against West Chicago and Hinsdale Central) that could have gone either way. The team has won two of three matches in the West Suburban Conference’s Silver Division.

Cumulatively, the Huskies have outscored the opposition, 40-8.

Triumphs have included a 4-1 win over St. Ignatius on Aug. 31st, 1-0 squeakers over York on Sept. 7th in the team’s conference opener and in the crosstown match against arch-rival Fenwick on Sept. 25th, and a 3-2 victory over Downers Grove North on Sept. 28th.

Pacing the offense is Bogard (20 goals, 6 assists), a sophomore who was also the team’s leading scorer as a freshman during its shortened spring schedule (as a result of COVID-related limitations that affected all soccer programs).

“He moves off the ball very well and picks his spots really well,” said OPRF coach Jason Fried. “Easton is probably the best finisher I’ve ever coached. He has a great knack for scoring in a variety of ways.”

Other top scorers are Dennis (3 goals, 14 assists), Lindsey Foster (4 goals, 7 assists) and Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey (6 goals, 1 assist).

One of the Huskies’ strengths is their diverse offensive capability, whether it’s using the width for space, finding combinations through the middle or utilizing a long ball when given.

As Fried explained, “Our goal is to create as many high-percentage opportunities as we can.”

The defense “is playing really, really well, tenaciously,” added Fried. “They are confident, they’re doing everything right—they recover quickly.”

He credited captains Alex Hauck, Eric Jackson and Dennis as top leaders: “They’re always calm, they work hard all the time, they set an example by what they do.”

He also cited Ben Nisbet’s leadership, and goalie Clark Turk’s consistent play.

Other regular starters include forwards Lindsey Foster, Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey, Isaac Cummings, and defenders David Schalich-Ayllon, Sebastian Aguilar-Ripley and Tukura Hess.

Looking ahead, Fried is hopeful about the team’s ability to win the Sectional tournament, which begins in two weeks. It’s a feat that OPRF has not accomplished since the Illinois High School Association reclassification of schools, based on their enrollment size, placed the Huskies in Class 3A (the largest) in 1998.

In years past, OPRF has fielded strong, highly competitive teams. In 2018, the Huskies defeated Morton when it was ranked first in the state. That thriller sent OPRF to the Sectional final, which they lost to Lyons Township by one goal.

And in 2019, OPRF beat top-rated St. Patrick High School during the regular season. That Huskie team set the school record with a goals-against average of .703—a mark that this year’s team may well surpass.

More significantly, could this be the year that OPRF breaks through and finally wins the Sectional? Doing so would put the Huskies in the Elite Eight of all teams across the state, with only three more victories to a state championship.

Fried isn’t one to make predictions. However, he concluded: “They really do believe in in each other, believe in themselves, and believe that this team could really do something special.”

The Huskies play two games at home this week: a conference match at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, October 5th against Lyons Township, and a non-conference contest at 6 p.m. Friday, October 8th versus Maine West.

To see the team’s full schedule, including results of prior games, visit OPRF's Max Preps page here.