Senior Max Kaplan and his Riverside Brookfield High School boys soccer teammates had all of the motivation they needed Friday. The Bulldogs were playing for the Class 2A Riverside Brookfield Regional title in their final home game as a No. 12 sectional seed coming off an emotional 1-0 regional semifinal victory.
“Our win (1-0 over No. 5 Solorio, Oct. 19) gave us all of the confidence we needed to come and compete,” Kaplan said. “Knowing it would be the seniors’ last game at home, we wanted to go out and play our hardest for every second. It was a special night for us and we tried embracing it as much as we could while staying focused on the game.”
The night got way better. Senior Luis Alvarez’s goal off a rebound with 25:16 left proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs beat No. 13 Kelly 1-0 for the program’s first regional title since 2019.
“This is definitely one of the biggest wins I’ve been a part of at RB,” Alvarez said. “It was our first regional title since 2019, which makes it even more special. Knowing how hard our team has worked all season to accomplish this makes it a moment I’ll remember for a long time.”
The Bulldogs (7-12-2) played No. 1 seed Juarez in the Glenbard South Sectional semifinals Tuesday with the title game at 4:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 30. The Hinsdale South Super-Sectional is Nov. 2.
Alvarez scored following a long sideline throw-in by Aaron Garcia from the left side at the 15-yard line. Michael Panduro headed the ball through the crease to the right post but Karlo Stavlic’s shot was stopped by the goalie.
The ball squirted back to Alvarez, standing just behind Stavlic. Alvarez’s left-footed shot while falling went across into the lower left corner of the net.
“It’s definitely one of the most memorable goals I’ve scored,” Alvarez said. “The ball came back to me after the initial shot and I tried to get a touch on it and put it toward the far corner. I was falling as I hit it so I just focused on getting it on target. Luckily, it went into the opposite corner.”
This also was the second straight shutout for the defense of backline Kaplan, Garcia, Liam Wallace, Alejandro Carillo, and goalie Tomas Medina-Colon.
“We have been in many close games and knew we could hold our opponent scoreless when we played our best,” Kaplan said. “This win is my favorite out of any I’ve had at RB. Our goal at the start of the season was to win regionals and cement ourselves at RB. Being able to do that is really special.”
LTHS boys soccer
Lyons Township senior midfielder Max Sklaryk had his left hand wrapped during most of Saturday’s 3A OPRF Regional final after colliding with an opponent and hitting the turf in the first half. Luckily for the Lions, Sklaryk kept playing and had a big hand in their 2-0 victory over OPRF for the regional title by scoring their first goal with 23:46 remaining off a through pass by junior Marty Svelnis.
“I think the adrenaline took over and just not a lot of pain right now. I’ll feel in later,” Sklaryk said of his hand. “It’s just a sprain. You’ve got to do it for the team.”
Joao Piretti also scored his team-best 23rd goal with 12:41 left.
The undefeated and No. 1-seeded Lions (19-0-1), the top-rated area team by ChicagolandSoccer.org, played No. 5-sectional seed St. Ignatius in Tuesday’s Reavis Sectional semifinals with the winner playing No. 2 St. Laurence or No. 3 Morton for the title at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. The Lyons Township Super-Sectional is Nov. 2.
This not only was the Lions’ 13th straight regional title but their eighth straight victory by shutout. LTHS knew the regional would be earned. The Lions had just beaten No. 8 seed OPRF (10-10-1), Oct. 14, also 2-0 to secure an outright West Suburban Conference Silver Division title with a 6-0 record.
“It’s a confident bunch,” LTHS coach Paul Labbato said. “They’ve known what they can do all year long and now it’s just about settling down and finding guys that are going to find the back of the net when they get their opportunity.”
Sklaryk made an angled run from right wing to receive the midfield ball by Svelnis at the 20-yard line and beat his defender. Sklaryk’s left-post shot from the 9 was stopped, but he beat out two defenders for the rebound near the right post to score.
“Marty played a really good ball and I just finished it,” Sklaryk said. “We went into this thinking it was going to be a tough game. We definitely prepared a lot better than for the first game. I think we knew we were going to score. Even though it was 0-0 (at halftime), we were playing well and we couldn’t end the season in the second round.”