After breaking his ankle in spring 2025, Owen Bohren returned to the Lincoln-Way East lineup and scored 10 goals last fall despite missing the start of the season.
But he never quite felt like himself on the field, battling the need to take it easy as he built back up from the injury.
Now, the senior midfielder is truly all the way back.
“It feels great because I can just play to my fullest ability,” Bohren said. “I don’t have to worry about anything happening again. Last year, I rolled it a lot because it was weak.
“But now I’m back healthy and it feels amazing.”
Bohren, a Rhode Island recruit, has been productive all season for the Griffins. He continued his success Monday night, scoring two goals to lead Lincoln-Way East to a 4-1 SouthWest Suburban Conference win over host Lockport.
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Charles Lungaro and Jacob Broderick each added a goal for the Griffins (11-7, 4-2), who snapped a five-game losing streak. Mateo Espinosa dished out two assists and Jacen Winefka made seven saves.
“It was very important to have a win in this game because with five losses in a row after a great start to the season, morale was pretty low,” Bohren said. “But we stayed after it in practice.
“We grinded. We kept our heads high. As a leader, I just tell the guys that we’re always going to have highs and lows and it’s about how you come out of those lows.”
Caleb Trabado scored off an assist from Sebastian Pakos for Lockport (9-5-1, 3-3).
Bohren sprinted through the middle of the Porters’ defense and scored from 10 yards to give the Griffins a 2-0 lead in the 11th minute. He added his second goal of the night and 13th of the season in the final minute.
Lincoln-Way East coach Matt Ribbens has become accustomed to Bohren surprising everyone with spectacular plays.
“He’s so dynamic,” Ribbens said of Bohren. “The little things that he does on the field, sometimes you’ll be like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t make sense.’
“And then he’ll just explode and you’ll be like, ‘Oh, OK, maybe it does.’”
Lungaro, a senior forward, confirmed the Griffins have been leaning on Bohren to help them through the recent rough stretch.
“He’s a great leader,” Lungaro said. “Owen’s a great player and he has a good attitude.”
Ribbens sees Bohren playing with the determination of someone who had to wait a long time to get back to 100%.
“Last year, he still did really well, but you could tell that he was a shell of himself from an athletic point of view,” Ribbens said. “I think he got hungrier, I think he wants it a little bit more now and he’s starting to lead the guys that need some leadership.”
Bohren’s passion for soccer formed in his early years and was sparked by his dad, Phillip.
“My dad was born and raised in Switzerland and he played a lot of soccer over in Europe, so it’s been in my family. ” Bohren said. “I’ve been playing as long as I can remember, and it’s really fun to share the love of soccer with my dad.”
Bohren recently committed to Rhode Island, proving to himself that the injury would not derail his dreams of playing Division I soccer.
He’s also following in the footsteps of his coach. Ribbens played at Rhode Island.
“It’s a really fun thing for coach and I,” Bohren said. “We talk about it all the time. Playing college soccer at a Division I program has been a goal ever since I started high school, so I’m pretty happy for the opportunity.”
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