By Bobby Narang
Riverside-Brookfield High School senior defender Max Kaplan is making the most of his final season playing soccer.
Kaplan, a three-year varsity tennis player, said he’s enjoying leading the team this season after starting his career with an injury as a freshman, working hard to earn a spot on the JV for his sophomore season before elevating to the varsity last year.
“I had a decent amount of playing time last year, starting close to the end of the season,” Kaplan said. “It gave me the tools to come out for my senior year and be a big part of the team. Last year gave me more confidence. I had some nerves last year and got it out.
“It was little nerves to a be a captain, but I’m playing now with more confidence and be a leader for the team.”
Meanwhile, Riverside-Brookfield boys soccer coach Ivek Halic understood the challenges ahead for his program during the third week of September.
The Bulldogs opened the week with a tough road game against South Elgin Monday, then had to travel to Elmwood Park for their Upstate Eight Conference East Division opener on Tuesday before concluding the week with home games against Kennedy and Glenbard South on back-to-back days.
The Bulldogs struggled in the second half in a 5-0 loss to the Storm, endured a 1-1 draw with Elmwood Park and defeated Kennedy 1-0 on Friday.
Up next was a rain-filled home game against Glenbard South on Saturday morning.
Just like Monday’s game, Riverside-Brookfield had a second-half collapse, allowing four goals in the final 40 minutes in a 4-1 defeat to Glenbard South in UEC Eight action.
Halic said his players ran on fumes in the second half against the Raiders
“It was about managing legs because we had a lot of tired legs from playing four games this week,” Halic said. “We had two back-to-backs this week. We had a tough battle against Kennedy. We knew what to expect against Glenbard South. We knew it would be tough battle. They are quality on the ball. It was a tough game. We were tied at zero in the first half. I’m proud of the boys. It’s unfortunate allowing a few more goals in the second half.
“We are gutsy and a resilient group and they worked hard. It’s never easy playing so many games in a week, but they had a good attitude and were positive. They worked together. We had some unfortunate injuries today, but it’s part of the game.”
•Glenbard South senior forward Adrian Maslanka earned the Chicagoland MVP of the Match by scoring two goals in a three-plus minute segment early in the second half, his first two goals of the season. Edwin Conley and Vladyslav Moniuk added goals for the Raiders (4-5-0, 2-1-0). Forward Ruben Briceno added a goal in the 64th minute for the Bulldogs (3-6-1, 0-1-1).
“I think they had quite a few games this week, so it was partly attrition we were able to come out on top,” Glenbard South coach Mike Filipiak said. “They were a very good opponent. I felt the last 15 minutes they pushed forward and challenged us more. Adrian is a quality player we can utilize in a lot of positions. He’s sort of a box-to-box player for me. He can defend and score at the same time and is an asset for the program. I hope he can continue scoring goals for us.”
The Bulldogs (3-6-1, 0-1-1) nearly were gifted a Saturday off due to the possibility of heavy rains. All of the lower level games were cancelled, and the varsity start was pushed back 15 minutes to 11 a.m.
The game featured several stoppages because of injuries. Starting goalie Tomas Medina-Colon left the game in the eight minute after an opponent hit his head while chasing after a loose ball. Medina-Colon was replaced by Konrad Piekta for the remainder of the half.
Glenbard South senior forward Adrian Maslanka broke up the game in a three-plus minute stretch with a pair of goals.
Nallbani nearly notched the first goal of the game via a 17-yard laser shot that skimmed off the top bar in the 17th minute. R-B’s Karlo Stavlic had a shot saved in the 18th minute. The Raiders closed out the ho-hum first half with a free kick and two corner kicks that were stopped by the host team.
With Medina-Colon back in the net to start the second half, the Raiders immediately got on the board on Maslanka’s three-yard header for a 1-0 lead with 36:58 left.
“I saw Charlie (Zaremba) running the down the wing and knew he was going to put it in, so I just had to anticipate the ball and got a little flick on it,” Maslanka said.
Maslanka added his second goal with a running eight-yard tap shot that rolled into the back of the net in the 47th minute.
“I was actually practicing that shot in practice, looking for a little pocket,” Maslanka said. “The first half we didn’t know what happened. The second half I don’t know what happened. It was great to score and help the team. I thought we did very well today.”
Nallbani set up the third goal with an assist on Conley’s header from eight yards in the 52nd minute for a 3-0 lead.
Nine minutes later, Moniuk made a nine-yard shot from the side into the far post which hit Medina-Colon’s hands but rolled into the back of net for a 4-0 edge.
Riverside-Brookfield stopped the Raiders’ surge on Briceno’s soft shot from nine yards in the 59th minute which cut the deficit to 4-1. Briceno beat a defender and tapped the ball into the back of the net for R-B’s lone goal.
Just a few minutes later, Briceno was in attack mode and drilled a 31-yard blast which was stopped with a diving save by Emmett FosterSimbulan, who had five saves. R-B’s last gasp came on a free kick by Alejandro Soto in the 76th minute. FosterSimbulan snared the ball for his third save of the half.