Carson Solomon thought he had the best of both worlds. For the last three years in the fall, he ran cross country for Andrew while still getting in some soccer action with his club team.
But as he prepared for his senior year, Solomon decided he didn’t want to fully miss out on the experience of high school soccer. When an injury created an opening, he stepped in.
“It’s the atmosphere of high school soccer that seemed fun to me,” Solomon said. “I was like, ‘Senior year, why not?’ I knew this was my last chance to play with these guys, so when the opportunity came, I seized it.”
Solomon showed what he can do Thursday night. The senior goalkeeper made four saves in regulation and two during a marathon 10-round shootout, which the visiting Thunderbolts won 7-6 to earn a 1-0 SouthWest Suburban Conference victory over Sandburg in Orland Park.
Christian Escalona scored the clinching penalty kick for Andrew (5-5-2, 2-1). Athan Contos, Vince Swedberg, Victor Martinez, Khattab Jaradat, Leo Arvanetes and Teddy Karnezis also scored in the shootout.
Escalona, Contos, Damian Arvanetes and Jason Thomas led a huge defensive effort in front of Solomon.
Xander Perak made five saves in regulation and two in the shootout for Sandburg (7-4, 0-2). Mihir Pradhan, Ire Musayayi, Mahdi Azabin, Abdullah Ramadan, Laith Alomari and Giancarlo Sarmiento scored in the shootout.
Solomon nearly stopped Sarmiento’s shot in the ninth round of penalty kicks, but it went off his hands and into the net. Solomon knew what he needed to differently the next time.
“Strong hands,” Solomon said. “I was like, ‘I’m not going to let that happen again.’ I thought to myself, ‘Bricks for hands.’ I knew I didn’t have to catch it. Just parry this away and get our team the win.”
After Solomon did just that, Escalona ripped in the game-winning shot.
“I was stepping up with confidence, that’s for sure, knowing that if I make it for the team, we win,” Escalona said. “That felt great.
“Shoutout to Carson Solomon for making those steps. He’s been a key player for us, and I think he has the potential to be a top goalie throughout the entire state.”
At the same time, Solomon has been soaking in the experience of playing for the Thunderbolts.
“It’s my first time playing with all these guys, so it’s learning the team, learning the culture,” Solomon said. “It’s been amazing.
“There are ups and downs with high school soccer. In club, I was used to playing maybe two games a week. Now, there are four games in a week sometimes, so it’s a big step up.”
Andrew expected senior Lucas Ossowski to be its starting goalkeeper this season, but he suffered a torn ACL in the spring.
That led to some of Solomon’s classmates getting in his ear and eventually convincing Solomon to talk to Andrew coach Loren Zolk.
“He knows all these guys,” Zolk said. “They started talking to me in the spring and saying, ‘Hey, Carson’s going to come play.’ He eventually told me he was going to come out. It was a very smooth transition.
“We have three goalies, so it wasn’t his spot. He had to earn it. He did that.”
Solomon has been playing goalkeeper since he was 8 years old, stepping in after an injury to a club teammate.
“I was hesitant at first,” Solomon said. “I was always a center back. But when it happened, I was like, ‘Let’s embrace it. I’m a goalie now.’”
Solomon is 5-foot-9 and lanky, an atypical size for a goalkeeper. But that has never stopped him.
“I don’t let it affect me at all,” he said. “If I can touch the crossbar, I’m good, and my vertical gets up there. It’s all about positioning.”
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