Oak Lawn’s Majed Saadeh was born in Jordan and moved to the United States when he was 7 years old. Right away, he turned to soccer to help the transition.
Not only did Saadeh love the sport, it made a huge difference in his life socially and beyond.
“My dad put me on soccer teams right away,” Saadeh said. “It definitely helped with communication and with meeting new people. It helped with everything. It made everything easier.”
Fast forward a decade and Saadeh is shining as a senior forward for the Spartans.
He scored a goal and dished out an assist Tuesday night as Oak Lawn held on for a 2-1 victory over Bloom in a Class 3A Andrew Regional semifinal in Tinley Park.
Nathan Santiago also scored and Josemy Neri-Martinez made two saves for the fifth-seeded Spartans (15-5-1), who will take on fourth-seeded Romeoville (17-7-1) — a 2-0 winner over Andrew — at 5 p.m. Friday in the regional final.
Diego Munoz scored on a penalty kick for 12th-seeded Bloom (10-10-2), while Ivan Chavez finished with four saves.
Saadeh, meanwhile, scored on a terrific individual effort in the eighth minute before setting up Santiago’s tie-breaking goal in the 37th minute. In the latter instance, Saadeh made a nifty move down the end line before centering a pass to Santiago for the finish.
“We’ve got that chemistry,” Santiago said. “His technique with the ball is great. He dribbles very smoothly. He does his thing all the time.”
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Saadeh is now up to 16 goals and 10 assists for the season, leading coach Nate Joiner’s team in both categories.
“He’s just got a great touch, he’s quick and he loves to take guys on,” Joiner said of Saadeh. “He trusts himself always to beat one or two guys.”
The sport has always been a big part of Saadeh’s life.
“Soccer is in my family,” he said. “My dad (Hussam) played professionally in Saudi Arabia and my uncles played. They’re always here supporting me. My dad is always yelling at me, and most of the time, he’s right. He always knows where I should be and what the next play is going to be.
“Even when I play what I think is good, he tells me where I can be better. I like that.”
Saadeh’s heroics helped the Spartans get a lead that they then had to hold on tightly while being a player down for the final 27:54 after a red card.
“I liked the togetherness that they showed after we went down a man,” Joiner said. “It wasn’t pretty, but they got it done.”
Saadeh made sure of that, demonstrating some of the toughness that he learned last year when he joined the Spartans’ wrestling team.
“I like going head-on with people, whether it be on the soccer field or wrestling,” Saadeh said. “I like being aggressive. I always liked wrestling, but I wanted to play indoor soccer in the winter so I gave up wrestling.
“Soccer is just my life. But I think wrestling helped me. It definitely taught me discipline. The workouts are hell.”
And when it comes to his soccer success, Saadeh is quick to share his appreciation for his teammates for lifting him up.
“They know what I can do,” Saadeh said. “They believe in me. It just gives me the confidence to go out there and give all I can.”
He also made sure to give thanks in another way after the game ended, dropping to the turf and praying.
“I always pray before games and after games,” Saadeh said. “You’ve got to know that this comes not only from me. It’s a gift and I’m grateful to be here.”