St. Laurence’s Jesus Salazar recalls struggling to figure out soccer as a young kid. His earliest memories of the sport are not fond ones.
But Salazar certainly has blossomed. He’s now a national champion on the club level and a stalwart as a junior midfielder for the Vikings.
“I started soccer when I was 5 years old and I was pretty bad at it,” Salazar said. “I remember scoring on my own goal. But things have changed. I fell in love with the game and I turned into a big-time player.”
Salazar scored into the correct net in a huge moment Saturday. His goal sealed a 4-2 win for the host Vikings over crosstown rival Reavis in the Class 3A St. Laurence Regional championship game.
Juan Hernandez finished with a goal and an assist for the third-seeded Vikings (20-2-4), who will take on second-seeded Lyons (17-4-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a Hinsdale Central Sectional semifinal.
Alonso Gonzalez and Maven Marquez added a goal apiece and Vin Diesi made six saves. It’s the eighth straight regional title for St. Laurence, but its first in 3A.
“I think we’re in one of the toughest sectionals in the state with a lot of big dogs who have been around for a while,” St. Laurence coach Jaime Alonso said. “We kind of joke around as a staff that we used to be the big dog of the 2A sectional and now we’re kind of the new kid on the block.
“We’re just going to try to continue rolling and let 3A know who St. Laurence is.”
Dawid Witkowski and Vlad Yaremkiv scored for seventh-seeded Reavis (12-7-2). Pawel Hreska made 11 saves.
The Rams fought back from a 3-0 deficit to pull within 3-2 at halftime. That score remained until Salazar delivered with 14:32 to go, ripping in a high shot from a tough angle off a corner kick.
“I just knew we needed one more to shut them down,” Salazar said. “It was getting chippy. I missed a couple chances earlier, but I felt like I was going to put one in.
“Someone has to step up and (Saturday) that person was me. I took care of that.”
Salazar feels ready for the moment after he and a few St. Laurence teammates were part of the Raiders 16U team that won a club national championship over the summer.
“It prepares me for the big players, big moments, big times,” Salazar said. “It brings my quality to another level. Playing against high-level players makes me a better person on and off the field.”
Marquez credited Salazar for always making things happen, even when he’s not scoring.
“He’s a playmaker,” Marquez said. “He gives us the ball when we need it. He’s great at setting up his teammates. Even if he’s in a tight spot, you can count on him to get you the ball with a perfect pass. He can score, too.”
The goal was just the third of the season for Salazar. He’s felt some frustration along the way.
“I scored more goals last year,” Salazar said. “They haven’t been coming. But I felt like this playoff run, it was going to be me. More goals to come.”
Alonso let Salazar know that this is when it really matters.
“He’s been big for us all year, even though he hasn’t necessarily been on the stat sheet a lot,” Alonso said of Salazar. “I talked to him before the postseason and I said, ‘Big-time players need to make big-time plays.’ He definitely made a big one.”
So how did Salazar get here after the rough start with soccer?
“I fell in love with getting better,” he said. “I always loved putting my all into practices. Getting that first goal, it just put drive in my eyes to get better.”
