With 15 minutes left in Saturday’s game, senior defender Erick Mietus stood on the sideline with blood all over his Andrew jersey and shorts after taking a cleat to his face.
His team held a seemingly comfortable three-goal lead, but Mietus was adamant that he was going to get cleaned up and get back on the field as soon as possible for the Thunderbolts.
“In order to play good, you’ve got to play for the badge on your uniform,” Mietus said. “You’ve got to play for the family. This whole team, even though we play for different clubs, the school brings us together as a family.
“I just want to create history together, so I had to get back out there.”
Mietus provided more than just toughness. He scored a goal and led the defense as the host Thunderbolts topped Shepard 3-1 in the Class 3A Andrew Regional championship game in Tinley Park.
Caden Arguelles had a goal and an assist, Will MacLeod added a goal and Lucas Ossowski made four saves for fifth-seeded Andrew (16-6), which advanced to take on top-seeded Lincoln-Way East (16-4-3) at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a Joliet West Sectional semifinal.
It’s the second straight regional title for the Thunderbolts, who before last year had not won one since 2015. Dimitri Latka scored a goal for 13th-seeded Shepard (9-11-3).
Mietus has been playing soccer since he was 5 years old, although he knows that he more resembles a football player with his size and strength.
“I get it every single day,” Mietus said. “People ask me why I don’t play football. But ever since I was young, me and my dad (Tomasz), every weekend we would go downstairs, sit on the couch and watch Real Madrid.
“We saw them win all the trophies, and that gave me the passion to play soccer.”
Mietus said his dad was a soccer player in Poland before moving to the United States.
“He was playing in high levels in Poland, representing the town he’s from,” Mietus said. “It inspires me a lot. I want to be him but be better. Make him proud.”
Mietus gave his dad something to be proud of when he headed in Arguelles’ free kick in the 32nd minute to give the Thunderbolts a 2-0 lead.
That allowed Andrew coach Loren Zolk to breathe a bit easier.
“On set pieces, Erick can be very dangerous and he scored a huge goal,” Zolk said. “That second goal was critical. We needed to go into the half with two goals with the wind advantage. If we were up 1-0, I would have been extremely nervous against that team with the wind at their backs.
“We gave Erick the game ball. He was huge for us. He owned the back line.”
And about all that blood?
“He didn’t want to come off,” Zolk said of Mietus. “He never does. He got cleaned up and immediately said, ‘Coach, I’m going back in. Who do you want me take out?’
“I said, ‘Are you sure?’ He wanted to finish the game.”
Mietus’ teammates are used to seeing him leave everything on the field.
“It shows that he’s always there for us as a teammate,” MacLeod said. “He’s the one guy you can count on. He’ll put his body on the line just for the team.”
For Mietus, that relentless attitude is symbolic of his heritage. He draws inspiration from the Polish national team.
“Soccer is the national sport in our country,” Mietus said. “It’s the only thing that we love. Even though we’re always underdogs, we always fight with passion.
“That gave me the heart to be like them — to play for the team, play for each other.”
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