Senior forward Ahmed Dhalai typically runs six or seven miles every game.
That’s roughly the distance of his move to Reavis in Burbank from Richards in Oak Lawn.
Dhalai, the 2022 Daily Southtown Boys Soccer Player of the Year for the Bulldogs, is now wearing the colors of the Rams — a high-profile transfer that shook up the south suburbs.
“We always lived in Chicago Ridge,” he said. “But then my parents told me we were moving in the late spring, and I found out we were coming here about three months ago.”
“My parents wanted me to try it. I just thought, ‘Why not give it a shot?'”
Dhalai made the most of his shots Monday, producing four goals and an assist for Reavis in a 7-0 victory over Curie in the first round of the Windy City Ram Classic.
“It was very exciting to see,” he said. “The whole team was happy. I tried to do whatever possible to put a smile on their face.”
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Dhalai is a natural and elite scorer wearing any uniform. Last season as a junior, he had 35 goals and nine assists, leading Richards to the first regional title in program history.
He set the school record for goals with 67 in three varsity seasons.
“I have a lot of fun and happy moments I shared there, on and off the field,” Dhalai said.
Now, the tables have been turned. Dhalai is a skilled and gifted creator and scorer who fundamentally changes the Rams’ calculus, according to junior midfielder Diego Ochoa.
“His arrival was a morale boost,” Ochoa said. “We knew we had a special asset when he came here. Ahmed is one of those players who can make a good team an even greater one.”
Chemistry and how to develop it quickly is one of the great unknowns, but Dhalai’s scoring prowess should pave an easier path in a positive direction.
“I was a little surprised that I was able to do so well so quickly,” he said. “I thought it was going to take me awhile to fit in with the team, but it actually didn’t take me that long to build up chemistry with them.”
By filling a vital scoring void, Dhalai accelerated that assimilation into the fabric of his new team.
“The transition has been very smooth, and that is all credit to him,” Reavis coach Mark Gniadek said. “I thought it was going to be really hard for him to come in and be the new guy, but he works so hard.”
Ochoa could tell right away the Rams weren’t a work in progress. An all-conference and all-sectional selection last season, he had a goal and an assist against Curie.
“Now that we have Ahmed and they are working together,” Gniadek said, “teams can’t just key on Diego like last year.”
Ochoa already gets it.
“Something between us just clicked the first times we practiced together,” Ochoa said. “We are both great at communicating, and as we understand each other much more, that is going to show out on the field.”
Born in Yemen, Dhalai arrived in the south suburbs when he was 10. He’s considering the possibilities of playing in college.
Also, the popularity of the game and financial resources have grown in the Middle East, but Reavis remains his immediate focus.
One to circle on the calendar — Reavis travels to Richards on Oct. 11 in the regular-season finale. Dhalai scored twice last year for the Bulldogs in a 4-0 South Suburban Red win at Reavis.
“There are going to be a lot of emotions when I go back to Richards,” he said. “I had three great years there. I am going to share the field with some very close friends.
“But now, we are going against each other.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.