By Jack Harvey
The Lane Boys’ Soccer Team was ranked number two in the state going into the city championship game against Lakeview High School. Lakeview played Lane to a scoreless first half tie, but Lane was undone by an unlucky handball penalty call in the second half. Lakeview scored on the ensuing penalty kick.
Lane was able to outplay Lakeview for much of the second half and out shot Lakeview handily. All-state Lane forward Jose Fuentes was able to score with just under four minutes to tie the game at 1 and send it into overtime. However, a minute and a half into overtime, Lakeview scored a goal on a counter attack, handing Lane only their second loss of the season.
Several Lane players couldn’t believe what had happened and lingered on the field following the game. It was a heartbreaking loss for a team heavily favored to win the game. Lane haas now lost in three straight city finals.
While the defeat might put a bit of a damper on what’s been a great season, the team is determined to bounce back and make noise in the state playoffs.
The team started getting state recognition with their performance in the Pepsi Showdown earlier this year. Coming in as the 8th seed, Lane knocked off the number one seed Lyons Township, the school that won last year’s state title. Lane then knocked off 5th seeded Libertyville, and then beat Morton to win the tournament. Senior forward Jose Fuentes won MVP, scoring five goals in the tournament. His twin brother Sergio Fuentes also made the all-tournament team.
The two brothers have both started on varsity since their freshmen years. Sergio and Jose were voted the two best players in the city by a panel of CPS coaches. They also were voted all-state players. Jose was voted the 2nd best player in the state by a panel of coaches representing the fourteen sections in the State.
The twins, along with their best friend and one of the team captains, David Ulloa Vera, are a part of what they all consider to be a special team. The three have been best friends since kindergarten and have played soccer together for the last eight years.
“Sergio, Jose and I actually lost the city final in 8th grade as well, so not much has changed,” said Ulloa, Div. 459.
They knew that this team had a chance to be special from the very beginning.
“I knew right away at tryouts. I could see the energy and heart these guys put into the game,” Ulloa said. “Each of them really wanted to be on this team and they began putting in the work right from the start.”
“It all started at tryouts. We automatically knew we were a great team with great individual players,” said Sergio, Div. 454. “However, every great team needs a leader and I thought we had a captain with all the great qualities to put our team together.”
That captain was Ulloa, who is the unquestioned leader of the team.
“He just knows how to bring everyone together as a team. When everyone is fooling around, he’s the one to put us back on track. He’s just a good role model,” Sergio Fuentes said.
Part of the reason for the team’s success is the accountability that they hold each other to.
“There is no slowing down for anyone in their minds,” Ulloa said of the twins.
“Everything they do has to be perfect or else they aren’t happy. In my eyes, they are the two best players in the state because of that. They push me, I push them, and they push each other the hardest. No one can top them.”
The team’s leadership and chemistry are matched by its talent.
“We have a lot of guys that know how to play,”Coach Ricks said. “The seniors we have are talented and very experienced.”
“It took all four years for us to come together and sort of click,” said Stephen Guardino, Div. 459.
“This team is incredibly close, we all play for each other,” said Ivan Rizov, Div. 465, one of the team captains. “We are a brotherhood.”
“The meaning of the game is deeper,” Ulloa said. “We want to win for each other. That is what motivates us: each other.”
Ricks has seen the team grow closer over the season.
“The team really began to bond together before the quarterfinals of the Pepsi Showdown,” Ricks said. “They came together as a team and on the road defeated the number 1 seed in the tourney.”
The team has bigger goals on their mind for the rest of their season as they try to rebound following their rough loss in the city championship.
“It’s always tough to move on from a defeat, especially one like that,” Ulloa said. “I probably won’t move on. I don’t want to forget what happened because it just fuels me and I know it’ll fuel the rest of the team as well. All of this is fuel for our ride to state. This is just more wood added to our fire.”
Ricks is equally optimistic.
“I’m hoping our favorite moment of the season is yet to come, an even bigger moment,” he said. “We have state aspirations.”
“I think we’re already all setting our sights on bigger and better things.” Guardino echoed.
“These other things, the city championship, would be a nice thing to win, but I’d give it all up for State,” Rizov said.
Sergio Fuentes is confident in the team’s chances.
“Its just going to motivate us more to win from now on, and we will win State,” Sergio Fuentes said.
