OPRF Boys’ Soccer Team Loses to Lane Tech in Sectional Semifinal

The Oak Park and River Forest boys’ soccer team fell by the narrowest of margins on Tuesday night, losing in the Sectional semifinal to Lane Tech on penalty kicks after a 1-1 stalemate.

The Huskies finished with 16 wins and four losses, while Lane advanced to the finals of the Sectional, hosted by Glenbrook South, against New Trier on Friday evening.

With about 18 minutes left in regulation on a rain-slicked field, Lane took a 1-0 lead on a shot that hit the post, then caromed in. Some eight minutes later, the Huskies tied it on a perfectly executed corner kick by Bryce Richards. He sent the ball to the near side of the goal, while Easton Bogard dashed from the center and headed it past Champion goaltender Gael Rodriguez.

Though the Huskies continued pressing the attack, a pair of 10-minute overtime periods were scoreless, sending the game to a tense best-of-five penalty-kick finale.

Lane went first, converting its first attempt. Next up, Bogard’s shot to the bottom right corner was saved by Rodriguez. After Lane converted on its second try, Rodriguez snuffed Richards’ attempt to the left corner.

“Both shots were on net but the goalie read it well,” OPRF Coach Jason Fried said. “It is an unfortunate start to a PK shootout, but players need to have a short memory on those. Easton and Bryce had great seasons and that moment doesn’t define them as players at all.”

When Lane scored on its third straight PK, OPRF senior Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey answered with the Huskies’ first conversion to keep OPRF hopes alive. However, the contest—and OPRF’s season—ended when Lane made it four-for-four on its next PK past Christian Dussias.

Fried credited Lane’s defensive-minded approach to minimize a Huskie offense that, before the contest, had outscored opponents, 67-14.

“Lane Tech did a good job getting a lot of players behind the ball on defense, so that made the box very crowded, which made it hard to get chances on net,” Fried said. “We had eight really good chances in the box alone, but less than half ended up on net. You have to give credit to their defense.”

The Huskies’ inability to break through changed the complexion of the game.

“In the first half, we didn’t take enough chances at the net, but we did hit the post,” Fried noted. “If that went in, then it is a very different game. Lane wouldn’t have been able to play defensively as much and the game could have opened up more, which would have been in our favor. “

The Huskies grew stronger as the season went on, posting a 10-game winning streak that culminated with its 2-1 Regional championship win, in overtime, against Maine South. Two of the team’s four losses came by a one-goal margin and two others came via penalty kicks.

“Every season is made up of great moments and tough moments,” Fried said, “but as a collective unit I am really proud of this team and the quality they showed on the field.”

A year ago, the Huskies won the program’s first Sectional Championship since the school was classified as Class 3A in the 1990s.

In addition to its outstanding play, the Huskies were awarded the Myro Rys Sportsmanship Award. It came in recognition of the team’s conduct on the field, including providing a game ball to the opposing team after games, as well as its support for not-for-profit organizations such as Housing Forward, Opportunity Knocks, and the Highland Park Community Foundation July 4th Recovery fund.

Other individual honors included:

All State – junior Easton Bogard (for the second consecutive season)

All Sectional – sophomore Bryce Richards

All Sectional Honorable Mention – senior Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey

All Conference – Easton Bogard, Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey, Isaac Cummings (senior), Colin Hayes (senior) and Charlie Maguire (junior)

All Sectional All Academic – Colin Hayes

All Sectional Sportsmanship – Isaac Cummings