The boy’s soccer team is coming off of a historic season last year, undefeated until a surprise elimination in the regional finals. After that great season, they were forced to say goodbye to more than 15 seniors. The team is still doing well compared to where they left off. According to Maxpreps.com, the team is 11-4-2 as of Oct. 16.
Head coach Jason Fried wasn’t looking to bring up many freshmen for the varsity team this year. All of that changed, however, when the varsity team faced an injury in a crucial starting role. That’s where freshman Liam Moder came in. Moder had “a very strong tryout in the fall,” Fried said. It was clear that he was in the eyes of the varsity coaching staff. “It took a little longer for Liam, but what sold us, the next couple days of training, he had really good practices.”
The JV1 coach, David Bernthal, recommended that Moder be brought to the varsity team after the injury. Moder was then brought up to the varsity team after just a few regular season games, and he has already paid out dividends for the team.
As a central defensive midfielder (CDM), Moder plugs up a hole that the varsity team needs as extra defense when the opposition regains control of the ball. While it’s unlikely for someone in his position to score goals, he is still a very influential player in his gameplay.
Moder has found his place on the team making connections with senior Noah Cummings. Moder said, “Noah is good because I can learn a lot from” his many years of experience in OPRF soccer.
Cummings said, “Our connection allows us to compete and push each other to be better in practice and in-game.”
It could be intimidating to a freshman to join a varsity team full of upperclassmen, but the team has welcomed Moder to the team. “Coach Fried is a really good coach, and everyone is there to win games,” Moder said.
The team on the field looks very connected with each other. Moder has been playing soccer for almost all of his life before making it onto the OPRF team. Moder “plays for the Chicago Fire youth soccer club, and [has] been playing soccer since elementary school,” he said.
Moder hopes his experience will pay off for the Huskies. “We haven’t been scoring much, but with what I bring to the table, I hope I can help our attackers score with more control of the ball.”
The soccer team has been going through a reconstruction year. Fried talked about how his coaching style has had to change with not just Moder but with all of the new faces on the varsity team this year, saying, “Last year, I had been coaching many of the players for many years… I had to take a step back in my coaching, making sure that everything I was saying was being well communicated to my players.” He added, “I got too comfortable with what I had last year, but it’s been incredibly rewarding this year.”
Fried believes that Moder’s ceiling is in the sky. Moder is one of three players in the past 10 seasons on track to play on the OPRF soccer team for all four years of his high school career in the likes of Easton Bogard, last year’s captain and Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association boys player of the year.
The skill ceiling of the OPRF Soccer program across all levels continues to get closer to the sky, and while we probably will not see another historic season like last year’s for a while, a talented freshman like Moder represents the promise in this year’s team.
