The OPRF boys soccer team gave their home crowd a show in their annual crosstown rivalry against Fenwick.
The Huskies (18-0-2) defeated the Friars 6-0 Friday night at Oak Park and River Forest High School to claim the Prevail Cup. OPRF got the scoring going with a goal from the middle by junior midfielder Easton Bogard on a pass from senior defenseman Issac Felder with 15:14 to play in the first half. Bogard finished the evening with a hat trick, including two goals in the second half.
“[Felder] got me the ball and I knew I just had to flick it and keep it going on its way,” Bogard said of his first goal. “It got a good deflection, and they couldn’t do anything from there.”
The Huskies added to their score with 14 minutes remaining in the first half, on a goal from senior defenseman/midfielder Diego Zarate, and wrapped up their first half scoring with a goal from senior midfielder Nate Day with 12:10 to play in the half. Senior forward Carlo Lissuzzo also notched a goal for the Huskies in the second half with 30:05 left to play, as he scored from the right side on a pass from Bogard.
“We really try to use our possession to try to suffocate the other team,” Bogard said. “Early on in the game we were kind of forcing it, we usually don’t like to just dump the ball in so much. But as the game went on, we took a breath and started just keeping it, and that’s how we prepare to take down defenses by just picking them apart with passes.”
Bogard was proud of the way his team performed given the intense atmosphere that comes with playing Fenwick.
“There’s always unexpected factors when you go up against your crosstown rival,” Bogard said. “We’ve spent our time preparing for the playoffs and we know the challenges we can overcome. We acknowledge all the fans but we still have to play our game at the highest level and that’s what we did today.”
The Friars (7-7-2) kept their intensity up the whole game against a tough OPRF team.
“We never gave up,” said senior midfielder and captain James Zimmer. “We kept working and had a positive attitude.”
“It was a great environment. [OPRF] is a very good team and they showed that,” said Friars head coach Craig Blazer. “We just tried to remind the guys to play the way they train and keep working hard, but on the day, it was a lot.”
Overall this season, Blazer said the Friars have continued to improve throughout after playing many close games.
“We’ve made a lot of huge strides,” he said. “We’ve been in every game except this one, and we had a good run in the Catholic League.”
Zimmer and his team were still thrilled to be part of the big rivalry environment Friday night.
“We were pretty excited heading into the game,” Zimmer said. “It’s always fun to play in these games and the rivalry is obviously intense.”
Fenwick will soon turn their focus to the Catholic League tournament, starting Oct. 17 against Roosevelt.
“We’re going to focus on staying positive, staying in shape, and staying healthy,” Zimmer said. “We have to have a good mindset before we start the playoffs.”
“We have to get healthy and recover,” Blazer said. “We have to pass and trap, and defensively we have to work together. If we can do those things, I think we can make a good run in the playoffs.”
