When Michael Stasik started his soccer career at Richards, he was going to be a freshman forward for a program that had a hard time winning, to say the least.
In his final high school game Wednesday night, Stasik took the field as a senior goalkeeper for the Bulldogs, who were playing for the first time in a sectional.
How did they get from there to here?
“It was difficult, but we learned from our mistakes,” Stasik said of his rookie year. “We practiced hard every day. We played hard and physical, and we were willing to do anything to change it around.”
The journey for Stasik and fifth-seeded Richards ended with a 1-0 loss to second-seeded Washington in the semifinals of the Class 2A Brother Rice Sectional in Chicago.
Even in defeat, however, Richards (15-10-2) could walk away with a great sense of accomplishment. It was the first time the Bulldogs had a winning season since 2017.
Washington (13-5), which finished third in the state last year in Class 2A, plays top-seeded Mount Carmel (13-3-5) at 10 a.m. Saturday in the sectional final.
The Patriots cashed in on Angelo Williams’ goal with 14:05 left in the first half.
But while Stasik did not get the win Wednesday night, he came up huge Friday in a 1-0 victory over Bremen for the program’s first regional championship.
“Some of the saves he made against Bremen were amazing,” Richards coach Rafal Slomba said. “It was 0-0 in the first half and a kid was going on a breakaway. We’re thinking, ‘Oh, snap, it’s about to go in the back of the net.’ And he comes up with a huge one-on-one save.
“That kid keeps us in the game and wins us a regional championship. He stood on his head for so many of our games.”
Stasik said he played for the Chicago Fire North organization at age 8.
“I used to be a striker, but I made my way down,” he said. “I like being a goalie. I watched professional goalies play, and they inspire me.”
Richards’ trio of Stasik, Musa Mohammad and Rinor Haziri plan on playing next season for Moraine Valley Community College.
Mohammad, who scored 11 goals this fall, said he’s following his father Wali’s footsteps. Wali was a left-footed kicker in Palestine, and Musa is also left-footed.
Meanwhile, junior Ahmed Dhalai finished the season with 35 goals and has found the net 67 times in his career — both Richards program records.
He seemed to take the loss the hardest. He was audibly sobbing when Slomba and assistant coaches Christian Cunningham and Eric Cunningham gave their final postgame speech.
“I really wanted to win this game,” Dhalai said. “When I was in sixth grade, all of my friends played for Richards and I was like, ‘Man, I wish I was in high school. I really want to play for this school.’ I always wanted to make history.”
Consider that done, but there is more to make in the future.
“We enjoyed being here, but we were expecting to win,” he said. “We wanted to make more history. I’m really excited about next year, my senior year. I can’t wait.”
Stasik plans to keep an eye on the team’s progress next year.
“There will be big things coming up for sure,” he said. “The underclassmen know what to expect next year. I think they are ready.
“If they can practice over the summer and over the winter indoors, I believe they can win the sectional.”
Stasik also has good things to say about Dhalai, who has been invited to a camp at Illinois-Chicago and will likely pick up college interest in the offseason.
“He’s the key to our team,” Stasik said of Dhalai. “He has a bright future. I could tell. He’s going to be special, that’s for sure.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.