Lincoln-Way East’s Dennis Apraku literally learned the sport of soccer in the streets of Ghana.
When he was growing up, he played in streets on occasion or on fields with concrete or gravel with his friends. It’s quite a difference from the experience he has in America.
“Here, soccer is organized,” he said. “And the fields are way nicer. I just had to get used to that.”
The senior midfielder also is getting used to becoming a force on his team.
Apraku’s sudden-death goal with 2:42 left in the first overtime Tuesday gave the Griffins a 1-0 victory over Andrew in the semifinals of the Windy City Ram Classic at Reavis in Burbank.
Senior goalkeeper Noah Brown made three saves for the Griffins (4-0) in notching the shutout, while Kamden Williams recorded four of Lincoln-Way East’s 13 shots.
Luke Herzic, Andrew’s senior goalkeeper, was able to shut the door on the Griffins during 70 minutes of regulation after Lincoln-Way East had scored 12 goals in its first three games.
The Griffins play Lemont (4-0) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the championship game of the 32-team tournament at Reavis.
Lemont beat Marist 3-0 in the second semifinal, giving Rick Prangen his 400th win as the boys coach. He also eclipsed the 400-win mark as the girls coach.
Lincoln-Way East coach Matthew Ribbens said this is the first time his team has made it past the second round in the tournament, and he has Apraku to thank for it.
Mateo Espinosa found Apraku, who was being hounded by a defender.
“Dennis had the guy on his side,” Ribbens said. “Kind of pushed the ball in front like he does in training all the time and scored.
“The best thing you can say about him is he’s coachable. You can’t teach the size or athleticism, but he’s coachable and he’ll give you everything you have, even 75 minutes into the game.”
Brown said he was happy to take the run from one side of the field to the other to join his teammates in celebration of the winning goal. And he praised his teammate.
“He has amazing one-on-one skills,” Brown said of Apraku. “He has flair. He has size. He’s a huge asset to this team.”
Apraku said this was the biggest goal of his career. It was his second goal of the season. He had four goals last year as the Griffins finished 9-10-1.
He said he put a lot of time in working on his game during the offseason.
“We’ve had 5 a.m. workouts, and I do my own training outside of school so that I can get better,” Apraku said. “I do lifting and work on my right and left feet to get my footwork better.”
Apraku lived in Woodstock for three years, in Ghana for nine, then back to Woodstock for another couple of years before moving to Frankfort before his freshman year of high school.
Whether it’s on the streets of Ghana or the turf fields of the Southland, his love for soccer has grown.
“I love the togetherness it brings when you are with everybody,” Apraku said. “There are so many emotions you have with your team, and I like all of that.”
The 6-foot-2 Apraku said he is getting interest from NCAA Division III Vermont State and NAIA University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis.
He hopes to major either in nursing or sports physical therapy.
“I love sports, and I’ll do anything that will keep me in sports,” he said. “Last year, I had a lower back injury and I went to this chiropractor — Dr. Kyle Richmond — and seeing what he does …
“That’s what I want to do.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
