As a freshman last season, Antonio Godoy was brought up to practice with St. Laurence’s varsity team during the playoffs.
Just getting a little taste of what it was like to play as the Vikings finished third in Class 2A was inspirational for Godoy, who was fired up to get his chance as a regular this season.
“It was a good experience,” Godoy said. “I was very nervous but at each practice I got more confidence in myself. I was excited to be a part of the team this year.”
Godoy has made the most of his first varsity season, carving out a starting role. The sophomore midfielder scored his third goal of the season Tuesday night, sparking the visiting Vikings to a 4-1 win over Bloom in Chicago Heights.
Matthew Suchecki and Juan Hernandez scored on penalty kicks, while Maxx Figueroa added a goal and Vin Diesi made six saves for St. Laurence (14-2-5), which is 13-0-5 in its last 18 games.
Leo Corona scored a goal and Miguel Lopez recorded three saves for Bloom (14-5), which had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
Godoy scored the game’s first goal with 23 seconds left in the first half, ripping in a shot off a corner kick by Jesus Salazar.
“It was wide open and I just hit in,” Godoy said. “It felt good to score right before the half.”
Godoy’s older teammates have quickly learned that he’s a player who can make a difference.
“I’m impressed with how calm Antonio is on the ball,” Hernandez said. “I like the way he likes to contribute to our team and how he puts his body on the line for us.”
Godoy grew up playing basketball along with soccer but gave that up in eighth grade.
“I felt like I was better at soccer and I just wanted to put my time into it,” Godoy said. “I felt like if I was really focused on soccer, I could go somewhere with it.”
Godoy came into the preseason battling for a job and unsure how much playing time he would get.
But St. Laurence coach Jaime Alonso has seen Godoy earn his spot — and then some.
“He definitely stepped up,” Alonso said. “He knew we had a lot of open spots, graduating all those seniors. He kind of took that holding midfielder position by the throat and never really gave it up.
“I think he’s grown phenomenally, and he definitely doesn’t play like a sophomore.”
Bloom drew even on Corona’s goal just over a minute into the second half and the game remained tied 1-1 until the final 16 minutes.
That’s when St. Laurence took over, drawing a pair of penalty kicks less than three minutes apart. Suchecki and Hernandez converted them before Figueroa put the finishing touches on the victory.
“It’s our chemistry and our hard work,” Hernandez said. “When we get scored on, that’s when we really get going and we never give up. When they scored on us (Tuesday), we just knew we had to come back at them even stronger and that’s what we did.”
Godoy has fit in seamlessly with a team he was watching from the stands during the state finals last season.
That was far from the first time Godoy was a fan of the Vikings from the bleachers. He spent plenty of nights watching his older brother, Alex, a 2023 St. Laurence graduate.
Alex has been Godoy’s soccer role model their whole lives.
“My brother, Alex, taught me how to play,” Godoy said. “It was good getting to see what St. Laurence soccer was like by watching him. Now I’m here and I’ve got to make a name for myself.
“I always wanted to be better than him.”
