Burbank, IL (October 20, 2012) - Undermanned for over half of the contest, the Reavis soccer team performed the unthinkable and defeated top-ranked Marist 1-0 in over-time to capture its first regional championship since 2005. The victory, the Rams' 18th of the season, broke a record for the most in school history.
After a scoreless first half, Reavis was dealt a blow when one of its players was given a red card, forcing the Rams to play the remainder of the game one man down. "I don't think the play on the field warranted a red card," said Coach Morack, "but our kids seemed motivated by the call and played fantastic the rest of the game. They could have quit, but it's a testament to what type of team we have this year that we stepped up our game and took it to a higher level."
The Rams' defense, led by Jorge Martinez, played inspiring soccer in the second half to keep the Red Hawks out of goal. Reavis goalkeeper Rafal Slomba recorded his second straight shut-out. The junior has yet to allow a goal in the IHSA play-offs.
In over-time, senior Kamil Szczesniak scored the lone goal of the game when the Marist goalkeeper fumbled a cross from Jose Estrada and Szczesniak put in the rebound from ten yards out. Throughout the game, Morack preached to his team that they needed to stay focused in a close game like this, because Marist was going to make a mistake at some time. "I told the kids to be ready for that mistake," said Morack, "but I give all the credit to Kamil and his aggressiveness around the goal for helping to cause the keeper to make an error."
"Watching my boys accepting that regional plaque from Athletic Director Novak on our own field was awesome," Morack beamed, "I'm very proud of them and how they manned up when the cards were stacked against them. Most of our kids played their best game of season today. We are definitely peaking at the right time and we are really exciting to play Sandburg in sectionals." The Rams will play the Eagles at 6:30 pm on Tuesday at Lincoln Way Central High School.