By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
One person can’t turn a struggling soccer program into a power.
But he can make a huge difference.
Ahmed Dhalai, the 2022 South Suburban Player of the Year while playing for Richards, transferred Reavis when his family moved to Burbank and found himself on a Rams team that won three games and scored just 13 goals last season.
The senior scored 11 goals in the Rams’ first five games as they went 4-1 and finished second in the 32-team Windy City Ram Classic, which wrapped up Aug. 31 in Burbank.
Dhalai can score goals. There is no disputing that. He had 35 last season for Richards and helped the Bulldogs win a regional title for the first time in school history.
But he said he wasn’t expecting to score at will right away with his new team.
“So far, so good,” he said. “I didn’t think it was going to be this good. I thought I was going to have a slow start because it’s a new team and everything is new to me. I came in over the summer and trained with them and, man, we came out on fire.”
Leaving Richards was tough.
“I was kind of sad because I was at Richards for three years,” he said. “I wanted to try out for them when I was a sixth-grader.”
Rams coach Mark Gniadek is happy to have the talented scorer aboard. He said he felt like a “kid on Christmas morning” when Dhalai officially registered.
“He makes everybody better — that’s exactly what it is,” the coach said. “Everybody is a little more inspired and it’s not just because of his play. He’s a leader.
“He showed up and it’s hard to be the new guy. But he showed up leading right away. He leads by example. He gives his all the entire game and at every practice. Now that we’re seeing results from it, everyone is picking it up.”
Dhalai has the talent to play college soccer, but he said he is not sure if he wants to. He said he is hoping to go into the medical field and may give up soccer.
Reavis lost to Bloom, 4-0, to finish second in the tournament. The Rams were hoping to win its first Classic since 2010.
Solorio reached the third-place game, which was canceled.
Riverside-Brookfield placed second in the consolation bracket.
St. Laurence, Curie, Marist, Arago, De La Salle, Richards and Shepard were all in the field.
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