Men’s First Team Wins Tough Battle Against Berber City FC 2-0
- Gabi Vuong
- Jul 2
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
The Men’s First Team protected their #1 position in Midwest Premier League Heartland Division 2 after getting a 2-0 win this Tuesday at Dunbar Park against Berber City FC.
The game started off with both teams entering each other's third of the field, the energy being intense. Berber took their first shot on goal in the 4th minute but struck the field goal behind the soccer goal instead.
The Rooks defensive line was on fire. Ameer Abdullah, Tobi Wimmer, Rafael Santos, and Aidan Crawford connected together to create a brick wall for the Rooks. Each player locked in to find the perfect time to tackle and excellent use of pressure to force the Berber offensive team into tricky situations. Abdullah in the 15th minute faced a Berber player one-on-one and successfully tackled the ball to turn over the possession.
The offensive line slowly brought their momentum up to the max. Eduardo “Lalo” Aguilera and Rui Reis brought the heat in this game, the two connecting passes and simultaneously making new pathways to get around the Berber defensive line. After a pass from Reis in the 24th minute, Aguilera took his opportunity at goal but missed the goal just to the left.
The momentum of the game quickly shifted to the Rooks side. In the 42nd minute, Reis was presented with multiple opportunities to score. He initiated a corner kick from the right corner but was stopped by Berber’s goalkeeper. Reis then shortly after took the ball into the box and took his shot but was halted by the left goal post. Just before the half ended, Reis took his last shot but could not seem to get past Berber’s goalkeeper. The first half was scoreless for both teams.
The second half was more back and forth between the two teams, but the game got more physical. Multiple yellow cards were issued in this half. A yellowcard in the 54th minute on Murtadha Kamil and two yellow cards issued on two Berber players during the 57th and 61st minute.
Vidar Rydell played a great game as well. Subbing in for Enzo Dagatti, Rydell played smart on defense and brought the ball up to Berber’s third consistently to give his teammates opportunities to score.
In the 73rd minute, Santos brought the ball up the right side of the field and crossed it to Qudus Lawal. Lawal hit a header and it floated above the Berber goalkeeper’s fingertips, putting the Rooks up 1-0. Lawal made a name for himself in this moment as he scored his third goal in his second game ever with ECFC.
Berber were fighting hard and kept making attempts to tie up the game. Crawford stood his ground though and made quick saves after saves to hopefully keep his sheet clean. In the dying embers of the game, the Rooks were determined to put themselves up by one more goal. During the 83rd minute, Alan Alonso took the ball up the right side of the field and found Reis at the top of the box. Without stopping the momentum, Reis then found Aguilera who made a quick shot from the left side past the keeper’s reach into the bottom right corner of the goal.
The rest of the half consisted of more physical altercations, Berber fighting hard for a goal. In the 85th and 89th minute, two more Berber players were issued yellow cards. The Rooks focused on playing good defense, taking their time, and waiting for the whistle to be blown.
The Rooks secured the win with a 2-0 victory against Berber City and are hyped up for the rest of their season. The Men’s First Team will face Chicago City Dutch Lions next on July 9th at 9:00 PM at SeatGeek William H. Wells Community Academy High School.
