OPRF soccer moving forward

Golz, Huettel, Weigel lead group of experienced returners

Friday, August 19th, 2011 11:03 AM

Updated: Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 10:00 PM

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Print

Back for more: Stephen Golz (left) and Zack Weigel return to lead the OPRF boys soccer team this season.
VICTOR GUARINO/Contributor

By Brad Spencer

Sports Editor

Sam Euler, the former goalkeeper for the OPRF soccer team that garnered All-American status last season may now be protecting a net for the North Carolina Tar Heels, but that doesn't mean this year's Huskies squad is without any notable players returning.

Not when seven starters are back from a team that won 15 games last season and ranked as high as ninth in the state. Of the seven, two players are entering their third seasons competing at the varsity level, while another is beginning his fourth.

Zack Weigel, Danny Pasternak, Max Menzies, Gian Luca Lo Casto, Mike Bower, Ryan Huettel and Stephen Golz are all back for the Huskies. All are seniors except for Lo Casto and Menzies, who are juniors.

Weigel, a two-sport athlete who is also a big part of the OPRF baseball team, and Golz are back for their third and final seasons on varsity. Weigel will take up his defenseman position, while Golz will look to boost OPRF's scoring possibilities at forward. Second on the team in scoring last season, Golz found the net seven times.

OPRF head coach Paul Wright said he expects Huettel, a four-year varsity player, to have a breakout year. "[Ryan] is the essential cog in this mix," he said, packaging Huettel with fellow team leaders Weigel and Golz. "He does not get recognized that much, but he has been a factor the last few years."

Golz and Huettel are expected to be fed up front by Lo Casto and Bower. "[They] work well together in the middle," said Wright of Lo Casto and Bower, who finished with five assists last season.

With Euler graduating, a change is imminent at the goalkeeper position. As of last week, Andrew Galo and Granger Sheppard were battling it out for the starting job. Euler, a NSCAA All-American and the team's MVP last season, has left some big shoes to fill, said Wright.

What won't change this season is the level of competition in the West Suburban (Silver) Conference. Along with OPRF, Lyons Township and Hinsdale Central will be in the mix fighting it out for the top spot.

"They are soccer powerhouses that we are nearly even with," said Wright, who begins his seventh season as head coach.

The Huskies, who last won a conference title in 2007, won a regional title last year before falling to Morton in the semifinals of the Argo Sectional. The team was scheduled to kick off the season against Riverside-Brookfield last night (after deadline). Their home opener is Thursday (Aug. 25) against Leyden at 6 p.m.

OPRF begins the Pepsi Showdown Tournament on Sept. 6. The Huskies, the 13th-seed, open against Wheaton Academy at home.

OPRF is scheduled to host cross-town rival Fenwick on Sept. 30 (6:30 p.m.).