Boys Soccer: Huerta, Barragan Trigger Oak Lawn Rout of Oak Forest

Oak Lawn boys soccer coach Nate Joiner knew his team was capable of scoring, and it took only the smallest of headers to put the Spartans on the scoreboard and to open the floodgates in Tuesday's match at Oak Forest.

Saul Huerta redirected a cross from Samer El-Ramahi midway through the first half for Oak Lawn’s (1-4) first goal of the season, and it proved to be the game-winner in the Spartans' 5-0 victory over Oak Forest (0-6).

“We were working on being a bit more patient the last three or four days of practice and not settling for the first shot we got,” Joiner said.

The Spartans controlled possession from the start, keeping the ball on the ground while attacking against the wind. They had numerous scoring chances early on, but were unable to cash in.

In the 12th minute, Matthew Figus’ shot from inside the box was barely tipped by Oak Forest goalie Jacob Sagan and the Spartans couldn’t put in the rebound.

But Huerta’s goal came 12 minutes later off a quick restart. El-Ramahi made a small chip into the box from the goal line and Huerta’s header went over Sagan and snuck into the far corner.

“I kept on that run and the ball bounced to my head and I just got it over the goalie,” Huerta said.

Even with the wind advantage in the first half, Oak Forest couldn’t generate much attack. The Bengals had a couple scoring opportunities with long through balls, but never had much build-up through the midfield.

Oak Lawn kept pushing and broke through for four goals in the second half. Oscar Barragan, who didn’t play in the first half due to injury, made his presence felt in the final 30 minutes. In the 62nd minute, the senior midfielder hit the crossbar with a shot from the top of the box, but crashed the net and put in the rebound for a 2-0 Spartan lead.

Four minutes later, Huerta put in his second goal of the game and Barragan matched him with a volley off a corner kick in the 73rd minute. Junior Christian Arias scored his first goal of the season to cap the scoring for Oak Lawn.

Even after allowing five goals, Sagan was the lone bright spot for Oak Forest. The junior goalkeeper had 14 saves and kept the Bengals in the match against Oak Lawn’s constant offensive pressure.

“We have a week off now to practice and heal up because we’ve had a lot of injuries, so it’s going to be nice,” Joiner said. “At the same time, you’d like to keep that momentum going.”