Riverside Brookfield High School freshman Karlo Stavlic had plenty of friends on hand to watch his first regional boys soccer game Monday, even one with a personalized sign. They were among the numerous fans who stormed the field, congratulated and temporarily lifted Stavlic after the game. Stavlic’s goal with just 20.9 seconds left gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 victory over Solorio in the Class 2A Riverside Brookfield Regional semifinals.
“Michael (Panduro) crossed it. I had to take the opportunity and I did. That’s how we won. We won as a team. We deserved this all season,” Stavlic said. “Michael’s ball to me. The celebration after, everyone running towards me. Everything was amazing about it.”
The Bulldogs (6-12-2), the No. 12 seed in their Hinsdale South Sectional, play No. 13 Kelly (11-4-3) at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 for their first regional title since 2019 and a berth in the sectional semifinals Oct. 27.
“Resilient effort, gutsy effort. The boys played phenomenal, one of the best games,” RBHS coach Ivek Halic said. “We’ve kind of grown into this game. I couldn’t be more proud of them. A ton of pressure from Solorio. They played phenomenal. All respect to them. We were fortunate to put that one away.”
Besides their boisterous home crowd, the Bulldogs had memories of their 4-0 loss to Timothy Christian in last year’s regional opener.
“This is huge,” RBHS senior midfielder Luis Alvarez said. “We were all bitter about (our 2025 regional loss) and we knew this team was different. We want that regional title.”
No. 5 Solorio (7-7-3) led in 14-7 shots (5-2 on goal) and 9-2 in corner kicks but the Bulldogs’ defense of interior defenders Aaron Garcia and Liam Wallace, outside defenders Max Kaplan and Alejandro Carillo and goalie Tomas Medina-Colon would not budge. While the Bulldogs earned their first shutout, they’ve allowed only one goal in regulation 11 times, including four 1-0 losses.
“There were a couple (of balls) that came in hot that I knew if they got past me, their winger would get to it so I just got up there and got my head on it,” Wallace said. “We knew we could be a factor and win even though we were seeded lower. We came out and played hard and got the result that we wanted.”
Stavlic’s goal was the Bulldogs’ only shot on goal in the second half. With overtime seemingly eminent, Stavlic ran down the cross by Panduro near the 15-yard line to the right of the goal and shot the ball past the charging goalie.
“This means a lot. My freshman season, first playoff game, I get the winning goal. It’s amazing,” Stavlic said.
Kaplan began the play with a long cross into the crease that was cleared out. Carillo regained control at midfield and quickly passed to Panduro, who crossed from about 48 yards out in the center of the field.
“I got the ball, turned, scanning, scanning, saw Karlo, perfect spot and played him through. He finished it beautifully,” Panduro said.
The defensive effort was reminiscent of the Bulldogs’ 1-0 loss at Upstate Eight Conference East Division champion West Chicago Sept. 22 when the Wildcats didn’t score until 5:03 left. RBHS finished seventh in the UEC East at 0-5-1, tying Elmwood Park 1-1 Sept. 15.
“After the West Chicago game, we knew that we could compete with anyone and no team scared us,” Alvarez said.
LTHS boys soccer
Lyons Township’s six–game shutout streak to end the regular season came with added benefits. The undefeated Lions (17-0-1) earned a 5-0 victory at rival Hinsdale Central, Oct. 6, and 2-0 home victory over Oak Park and River Forest, Oct. 14, for the West Suburban Conference Silver Division title with a perfect 6-0 record.
“Winning the conference was a big deal to us just because we fell short last year. I know all of the returning players wanted it badly,” said LTHS senior defender Owen Kachmarik. “Beating Hinsdale Central on their home field for the Silver Brick (traveling trophy) is always a huge highlight. That being said, winning the conference wasn’t our main goal. Our main goal was to keep getting better and be the best versions of ourselves heading into the playoffs.”
The Lions, ranked No. 1 in the area by ChicagolandSoccer.org, are the No. 1 seed in the 3A Reavis Sectional and probably would play No. 8 OPRF (9-9-1) in the OPRF Regional final at noon Oct. 24. Ryan Keenan and Marty Svelnis scored against OPRF. Brendan Sullivan, Harrison Kittridge, Max Sklaryk, Hayden Rout and Jakob Roman had the goals against Hinsdale Central.
The Lions have won 15 straight with 12 shutouts overall. They shut out their last five Silver opponents, starting with a 2-0 victory Sept. 15 over second-place Glenbard West (17-4, 5-1).
“The team and defense are feeling great, but we know we still have things to improve,” Kachmarik said. “The clean sheets (shutouts) are great, but in the playoffs one shot can make the difference. We have to take advantage of our scoring opportunities while defensively we need to keep limiting mistakes.”