Oak Lawn’s Rene Prado was put on the spot twice late in Monday’s game, being called upon to take penalty kicks with the game on the line.
But it was no sweat for the sophomore midfielder. After all, Prado knows all about pressure kicks now. He’s kicking for the football team for the first time this season — and doing so on varsity.
“Kicking for football, that’s more nerve-wracking than this,” Prado said. “Man, that pressure of kicking in front of all the people at those games and then having guys come at me while I’m kicking, that was something else.
“That makes this seem easy.”
Prado stayed cool and composed, scoring on both penalty kicks to help host Oak Lawn rally for a 2-1 win over Chicago Christian.
Majed Saadeh added an assist, drawing the first penalty for the Spartans (5-1-2), while Josemy Neri-Martinez made four saves.
Garrett Murphy scored off an assist from Casey Lenarz to lead Chicago Christian (7-4). Josh Sedakis finished with 12 saves.
Sedakis befuddled Oak Lawn most of the way, making big save after big save. The Knights led 1-0 with under eight minutes to go until Saadeh broke into the box and drew a foul from Sedakis.
Saadeh was confident Prado would deliver on the penalty kick.
“I knew if I could get a touch on the ball, me and the goalie would probably collide and that’s what happened,” Saadeh said. “I was really excited because I knew Rene would put it in.
“Rene is great. He’s fast and smart and I knew I could count on him once I got the penalty.”
Prado went through a routine before burying a high shot.
“What I do to relax myself is I do some jumps to feel myself loosen up a little bit,” he said. “Then I just imagine that I’m putting it in. I know that I’m going to score for my team.”
Prado delivered again on a second penalty kick for the game-winner with 3:28 to go.
At the same time, he’s having a blast in his first season of high school football.
“Last year, the freshman football coach was looking for a kicker, but most of their games were on Thursdays and we usually play soccer on Thursdays so I didn’t do it,” Prado said. “This year, I asked if they still needed someone and the varsity coach wanted me to do it.”
That has made for quite a busy fall as he juggles two sports. Oh, and family time.
“It’s tiring,” Prado said. “I go home and I’m trying to just relax and my little brother always wants to play or do something. Man, I’m tired. It’s fun, though.”
On the soccer field, Prado emerged as a key varsity performer immediately last season as a freshman. Oak Lawn coach Nate Joiner has seen Prado grow up quickly.
“His teammates respect him more,” Joiner said. “He’s played some tough games. He’s got playoff games under his belt already. He always practices hard and he’s a good role model, too.
“Guys look up to him even though he’s younger.”
And when it comes to penalty kicks? Joiner does not hesitate to turn to the sophomore in the big moments.
“Pressure doesn’t bother him,” Joiner said. “He likes it. He thrives on it. So, yeah, we’ll let him have those.”
The ability to stay calm under pressure is not all Prado has gotten out of playing football, though.
The Spartans are 3-0 in football after going 0-9 last season, and Prado has been inspired by the team’s togetherness.
“At Oak Lawn, I feel like everybody’s family,” he said. “That’s what I’ve learned from football. When someone’s down, they always bring them up. That’s what I want to do for the soccer team.
“We’re like family, too. It’s a great bond to have.”