It doesn’t matter how each school is doing in the season, regardless of the sport. The East Avenue rivalry between Fenwick and OPRF high schools is one where records are disregarded and victory over the other can make a team’s season.
And so it was on Oct. 5 at Triton College when OPRF met winless Fenwick in a boys soccer match. The Friars put forth a strong effort, but it was a late goal by Cole Grining that gave the Huskies a hard-fought 1-0 win.
“I had a feeling [Fenwick] was going to sit back [defensively], which makes it really tough,” said OPRF coach Jason Fried. “They really defended compactly and organized. We were looking for a counter and it frustrated us for sure.”
OPRF (9-3-2) tilted the pitch for the majority of the first half, keeping Fenwick (0-11-3) hemmed in on its own end. But the Huskies were unable to generate any good scoring chances and the match remained goal-less after 40 minutes.
In the 68th minute, OPRF’s Peter Bondartsov got open at the top of the box and fired a shot, but Fenwick goalkeeper Dom Ballarin was up to the task and made the save. Two minutes later, the Huskies finally got an effective counter going as junior defender Owen Baffa stole the ball at midfield and passed to junior forward Kingston Petersen on his right.
Petersen then spotted Grining going toward the top of the box and deftly passed between two Fenwick defenders. Grining’s shot from 25 yards out beat Ballarin to the right.
“We’d been looking for that all game,” Grining said. “We were trying to overrun on one side and create space on the other. The ball just rolled to me, and I put it away. It was a good team play, and it felt good.”
With just under five minutes left, Fenwick sophomore defender Kevin Jancewicz got free and fired a shot from 30 yards out, but OPRF goalkeeper Christian Kellogg came up with the save, snuffing the Friars’ best scoring chance of the game.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys played,” said Fenwick coach Craig Blazer. “Oak Park’s a good team and our guys raised their level. We thought one of our free kicks would be able to get through, but it was a good high school soccer game.”
Blazer also felt playing on a larger surface at Triton was a beneficial experience for all the players.
“The field was fantastic,” he said. “The guys had to figure things out and run a lot more, but it was fun.”
Although it’s been a challenging season for Fenwick, which has just four seniors on this year’s roster, Blazer feels his team has gradually improved throughout.
“We’re going to keep improving and building off this,” he said. “We really wanted this game, but you’ve got to keep composure, eliminate fouling, and be a little more disciplined. In these next few games, I’m looking forward to the guys showing up.”
Meanwhile, OPRF is one game behind West Suburban Silver leader York, after defeating York 4-0 on Oct. 4, with goals by Noah Cummings, Nate Grining, Josh Kitterman, and Nolan Waters. Goalies Christian Kellogg and Thomas Howe combined for the clean sheet in goal.
The Huskies like where they are now, but also know there’s room for improvement.
“This team has a ton of potential,” Fried said. “Yes, the experience may not be as high as it was last year, but there’s nothing these guys can’t do. We just need to get a little more consistent, and if we do that, I don’t see why we can’t go into the playoffs and win seven games.”
