What started as something Diego Ochoa thought was just an annoying, minor injury turned into a stress fracture in his left foot, causing him to miss his entire junior season in 2023 for Reavis.
But Ochoa, a senior forward, is back healthy and hungrier than ever this fall.
“It was really difficult sitting and watching every practice, every game last year,” Ochoa said. “It was pretty upsetting and it really took a toll on me mentally, but I knew that I had to be ready for next year, which is now my senior year.
“I knew I had to take care of myself and focus on the future rather than the past.”
And the future is now. Ochoa scored in the second half Tuesday night to seal a 3-1 victory for the Rams over host Lemont in a South Suburban Conference crossover.
Jesus Pantoja and Issa Muthana each added a goal and Bart Obrochta made six saves for Reavis (4-2-2, 3-0 SSC Red).
Vincenzo Mancini scored off an assist from Tyler Chrisman for Lemont (8-2, 3-1 SSC Blue).
Ochoa said his injury started to develop while he was running track as a sophomore in the spring of 2023.
“I took on a bit of a side quest and I did track and field,” Ochoa said. “I got hurt then, probably just from overuse. I didn’t take care of it as good as I should have and it turned into a much bigger problem. I ended up missing the whole soccer season last fall.”
Ochoa, who was a key member for the Rams’ varsity team as a sophomore, was determined to come back stronger.
“I took a focus on really recovering and training as hard as I possibly could at every single practice and doing my own workouts at home, doing everything I could to get back into shape,” he said. “The hardest part was getting back into good physical condition.
“Coming back and touching the ball came back a bit easier, just from all the years of doing it.”
Muthana, a fellow senior, is sure glad to have Ochoa back.
“Having Diego as a captain, it’s such a big difference having him out there,” Muthana said. “We know we have someone there to set people up. He plays so beautifully. Having him, I feel like we can do big things this year.”
Muthana, meanwhile, came through in a big moment Tuesday.
After Mancini scored for Lemont to force a 1-1 tie in the 35th minute, Muthana provided a quick answer for the Rams, finding the ball off a scramble following a corner kick and knocking it in.
“After they scored the first goal and tied it, we needed to score before halftime so we had something to pick the team up,” Muthana said. “After we scored, we were more excited and energetic.”
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Ochoa was proud of the way his team bounced back.
“I was ecstatic,” he said. “I think a lot of times, in the past, whenever we get scored on like that, it really hit our morale. But just to find the ball and scramble. Anything that goes in the back of the net is amazing. I think we responded perfectly.
“When they scored on us, we put our heads down for maybe a second, but then we were right back at it.”
Ochoa provided a big insurance goal when he sped past a defender and found the back of the net with 16:13 to go.
Reavis coach Mark Gniadek sees the Ochoa of old returning.
“It’s amazing,” Gniadek said. “He turns and goes. His touch is back. Sitting a whole season out, it took him until about now to get it back and he’s got it back.
“We’re a much better team when he has it going.”