Senior midfielder Jimmy Kelly embraces his role as a table setter for Oak Forest.
Kelly gets a thrill out of sending the perfect pass to a teammate to set up a goal for the Bengals. And he trusts in his ability to do just that.
“My shots are really hit or miss, but my crosses are usually good,” Kelly said. “I think I’ve always been more of an assister than a scorer. I’ve always been one of the better players on our team but I’m never the top scorer.
“I don’t always even get the assists, but a lot of times, I start the plays that lead to us scoring.”
Kelly put his playmaking skills to work Tuesday night, assisting on a goal by Ulysses Morales to help host Oak Forest fight for a 1-1 South Suburban Blue tie against district rival Bremen.
Nate Dunaj made seven saves for the Bengals (10-3-4, 4-1-4).
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Jose Cardoso scored off an assist from Osvaldo Mata for Bremen (8-5-4, 3-2-4).
“We played OK, but I think we’ve played a bit better before where we get a bit more handle on the ball,” Bremen coach Huber Saucedo said. “This is a rivalry game and the kids really play hard both ways and we just kill ourselves with mistakes sometimes.”
The Braves struck first just under five minutes into the game before Kelly helped Oak Forest answer, slipping a beautiful pass into the center of the box for Morales.
Morales, who is committed to kick for Illinois’ football team, ripped in a shot from 15 yards to make it 1-1 in the 18th minute.
“Me and Jimmy have been playing since we were young,” Morales said. “We grew up together. It’s been really fun playing with him these last four years. The chemistry we’ve made has helped a lot.
“If I’m going one way, I know which way he’s going to go.”
It was the seventh assist of the season for Kelly — and this one was particularly enjoyable.
“It feels really nice,” Kelly said. “We had a lot of hype on the celebration on that goal. We had some of our boys here cheering us on in the crowd and they got yelled at by the ref because of how loud they were, so shoutout to them.
“But it was just fun to help Ulysses score that goal and get everyone going.”
Kelly has been sparking his team like that for a long time. He’s been on varsity all four years and became a key piece for the Bengals as a sophomore.
“Sophomore year, my coach told me I needed to start taking control,” Kelly said. “Ever since, I’ve been kind of a captain on the field, always directing our midfield and directing our offense.”
Oak Forest coach Alex Alvarez knows he’s always going to get a full effort from Kelly.
“The kid can go the whole game,” Alvarez said. “That’s why we trust him so much. We like the way he presses on the ball and he makes a lot of things happen for us.
“Jimmy and Uly have been working together for four years. Having them connecting on those passes is huge for us. They made that communication happen and it landed with a goal for us.”
Kelly started playing soccer when he was 4 years old, following in the footsteps of his older brothers, Mickey and Will, who both also played for the Bengals.
“My freshman year, Mickey was a senior, so it was really fun to get to play with him,” Kelly said. “He was the starting right back and he was the leader of the team. He would always try to calm everyone down.
“I learned a lot from him about being a leader.”