Warriors give top-ranked OPRF all it can handle

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By Dave Miller

It’s not easy being No. 1.

Oak Park and River Forest almost found that out the hard way Tuesday evening. Wheaton Academy gave the Huskies everything they could handle before they pulled out a 2-1 victory on a late goal by Stephen Golz in the opening round of the Pepsi Showdown in Oak Park.

“We escaped,” said Huskies coach Paul Wright, whose undefeated team zoomed to the top of the Chicago Tribune rankings this week. “We got out of here very lucky.”

Wheaton Academy (3-2-1) outplayed OPRF (6-0) in the first half, which ended in a 1-1 tie. The Huskies seriously cranked up their effort and execution in the second half, but they went unrewarded until Golz gained possession of a long ball and calmly kicked in a shot from about 15 yards in front of the net with four minutes remaining.

Golz was glad to see his team return to normal following its halftime talk about a rough first 40 minutes.

“We felt the pressure and we were focusing on other things rather than just playing the game,” said Golz, who has scored six goals this season. “We just basically said that we can’t let this ranking get to our heads. We need to calm down and we just need to play the game we played the first five games when we weren’t ranked that high when we were just a team and not a team up in the lights. It’s definitely how we played in the second half.”

Golz’s goal didn’t mean the Huskies were in the clear. With two minutes remaining, Wheaton Academy’s Casey Zimmerman fired a shot off the chest of OPRF goalkeeper Granger Sheppard. The ball ricocheted back to Zimmerman, whose second attempt bounced off the right post.

“It’s just unfortunate,” Zimmerman said. “The post, that’s a killer. Unlucky. That completely changed the whole game. We go into overtime and maybe overtime gives us the win.”

Wheaton Academy gave a great effort even though it left the field with a loss.

“I told the guys I’m very proud of them,” Warriors coach Jeff Brooke said. “In a tight game, they kept their cool. We’ve come so far since we played our first game against West Chicago in the way we respond to adversity and the way we handle ourselves.”

OPRF jumped ahead 1-0 just 59 seconds into the match when Ryan Huettel booted in a goal from in front of the right side of the net off a pass from Zack Weigel. It was his fifth score of the season.

Wheaton Academy responded five minutes later when Mark Rougas spun in the box and beat OPRF goalkeeper Granger Sheppard on the right side. It was the first goal the Huskies allowed in five matches.

The Warriors temporarily thought they scored a go-ahead goal by Zimmerman, but the score was cancelled by an offside violation in the 27th minute.

“I didn’t have a good angle so maybe it was a good call,” Brooke said.

Intermission gave the Huskies a chance to regain their bearings after the Warriors took it to them in a lively first half.

“They played spectacular,” Huettel said. “I don’t really know much about Wheaton Academy. We weren’t expecting this, but they were really good. They’re a tough team.”

“The first half that team manhandled us on the balls,” Golz said. “They won almost every 50-50.”

But OPRF turned the tables on Wheaton Academy. Outside of a handful of rushes by the Warriors, the Huskies spent most of the second half on the visitor’s side of the field.

“They brought a ton in the second half, particularly numbers, energy and pressure, all in our half of the field,” Brooke said of the Huskies.

The Huskies were denied two goals by Wheaton Academy defender Andrew Luetkehans. He saved a shot that beat goalkeeper Jesse Carmody in the 33rd minute and then topped himself with an even better save in the 51st minute.

“Hans has transitioned to a left back role this year,” Brooke said. “He’s been fantastic. He’s learned it. He’s been a student of the game. Very well done by him.”
 
Meanwhile, OPRF learned about what it takes to play as the top-ranked team in the Chicago area.

“This is a great reality check for our guys,” Wright said. “On Thursday, whoever we play, I’m sure we’ll come in there with a different focus.”