Men’s First Team Sweeps Chicago City Dutch Lions 4-0
- Gabi Vuong
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 21
The Men’s First Team traveled within Chicago this Wednesday to William H. Wells Community Academy High School for their second matchup of the season against the Chicago City Dutch Lions FC and came back home with a 4-0 win.
GOALS:
ECFC: Lawal 13' (A Miranda), Alonso 37' (A Reis), Kamil 42' (A Reis), Dagatti 57' (A Reis)
In the starting minutes of the game, the Rooks came out strong. Diego De Lira, Alan Alonso, and Rui Reis were energized from the blow of the whistle, each of them connecting passes and creating opportunities for their fellow teammates to enter the box. However, the Lions’ defensive line was on lockdown, preventing scoring opportunities.
Gino Miranda brought the ball up into the top right corner during the 13th minute and used his footwork to swiftly pass the ball to forward Qudus Lawal. Lawal remained in front of the goal and connected the assist from Miranda into the goal past the Lions’ goalkeeper, setting the tone of the game early.
Alan Alonso also played a great game, being open everywhere on the field. He opened up lanes to pass to his teammates and quickly retrieved the ball ready to dribble it past his opponents across the match. In the 37th minute, Alonso brought the ball up the center of the field past Lions’ midfielders. Finding Reis, Alonso passed the ball to the left. Reis retrieved and swept the ball with his left foot back to Alonso. Alonso made a quick one-touch shot with his left foot and blew it past the goalkeeper into the right side of the goal, giving the Rooks the 2-0 lead.
Shortly after, Murtadha Kamil set his eyes on scoring as well. Kamil brought the ball up into the box and attempted a shot on goal, but the ball was deflected by the Lions’ defense, which earned the Rooks a corner kick from the left side. In the 42nd minute, Reis initiated the kick, crossing to Kamil in front of the goal. Kamil shot the ball past the goalkeeper within seconds and scored the Rooks’ third goal of the game just before halftime.
In the start of the second half, the Rooks remained fierce and controlled the flow of the game. The Lions got more physical, entering the box at every opportunity they got. Tobi Wimmer and Quentin “Q” Benedetto kept the back of their third on lockdown, always stepping to the ball, finding the right time to tackle, and being the eyes for the Rooks’ offensive line.
Enzo Dagatti played aggressively and was inching towards the opposing side's end of the field throughout the half. In the 57th minute, Reis brought the ball down the right side of the field where he made an impressive floater pass over one of the Lions’ defensive players. Dagatti quickly retrieved the floater from Reis and struck it past the goalkeeper, putting the Rooks up 4-0 early on in the second half.
The Lions got ambitious shortly afterwards. Their offensive line was bold and were making attempts in the Rooks’ third of the field. Gregory Stellatos, the Rooks’ goalkeeper, stood his ground and never let the ball out of his sight, making save after save.
In the dying embers of the game, Dagatti, Reis, and Vidar Rydell wanted to create one more opportunity for a goal but could not make contact with the net. The Lions wanted to put themselves up on the scoreboard in the last few minutes but Wimmer, Benedetto, and Stellatos would not let them through.
The Rooks successfully ended the game against the Chicago City Dutch Lions with a score of 4-0 and defended their No. 1 position in Midwest Premier League Heartland Division 2. For their next matchup, the Men’s First Team will play against Schwaben AC on Thursday, July 17 at 8:30 p.m. in the Illinois State Cup Semifinal at Foster Turf Field.
