BURBANK -- Reavis had every opportunity to fall apart quickly and decisively.

Coming off a shutout loss against Andrew on Thursday, the Rams watched Marist score five minutes into the game Saturday.

However, this Reavis team is built differently and clearly made of sterner stuff.

“Mentally this group is a little bit more mature,” Reavis coach Konrad Dziedzic said. “If this had been last season, this group might have reacted in a more downbeat fashion.

“It showed after Marist scored that goal. Nobody was panicking. We came back stronger and created some chances, and created that goal toward the end of the first half.”

Reavis equalized before the break but came up just short in the 2-1 loss in a fifth-place bracket game of the Windy City Ram Classic on Saturday morning.

Marist freshman midfielder Mia Sherry scored the game-winner in the 61st minute for the RedHawks (2-1-0).

She won the ball in the final third, created an open space and smashed home a shot from about 23 yards.

For her game-winner and game play, Sherry earned the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match honor.

“I felt like their defense was sucking up a lot, and I just thought we needed to get wide and get that goal,” Sherry said.

“I just wanted to step up and get to those through-balls. I took it myself out wide, and the keeper was stepping outside of the box, so I just slotted it in.”

Reavis (1-2-0) created some decent chances over the final nine minutes of the tournament’s 70-minute game time.

Forward Alyssa Juarez scored her second goal of the season in the 27th minute.

Taking a ball from forward Alaina Hernandez, Juarez worked left and blasted home a shot from about 22 yards that handcuffed Marist keeper Tess Hernon and slipped underneath her for the tying score.

“The goal came from my teammates and me working really hard,” Juarez said. “I knew at that point we had to score. 

“I felt like we were working together, and I felt deep inside, we knew that we had to score.”

The larger, team effort fell just short. 

“We kept working and didn’t give up at all,” Hernandez said. “We kept trying to create chances for us to score throughout the game.

“We are already moving the ball better this year than we have in the past couple of years.”

Even if the result was disappointing, the level of play, cohesion and symphony of the different parts showed a team marked with promise.

“Based on these first three games, they show that we have a great chance of winning a lot of games,” Smycz said.

“We could possibly win our conference, and even get to a sectional.”

Reavis opened the tournament with a strong 5-0 victory over Crete-Monee on Tuesday that put them in the championship bracket Round of 16.

The 3-0 defeat to a skilled Andrew team marked a temporary setback.

“Having faced two very good teams in Andrew and Marist the last couple of days really shows us where we’re at,” Dziedzic said.

“Those are teams that win regionals and go to sectionals. If we can match up against those teams now, by the end of that season it shows the potential of what this team has.”

The centerpiece of the Rams attack is the playmaking of midfielder Olivia Smycz and the scoring prowess of forwards Juarez and Hernandez.

Juarez, known as “A.J.,” is quick, mobile, fast and very dangerous in space.

“I like to play aggressively,” Juarez said. “At the same time, I’m only here to win and not necessarily be friends with the girls on the other team.”

The nature of the game was shaped in large measure by the swirling and sharp winds that reached up to 27 mph.

Marist started the game into the teeth of the wind and caught the Rams off guard in the opening minutes.

Midfielder Vivian Rybak played a ball wide that forward Addison Woodward blasted home for the fifth-minute goal.

“It’s funny,” Marist coach Chris Roe said. “The other day the wind was very similar. I always like the wind (behind us) in the second half. The girls said we took the opposite direction Thursday (before a 4-1 winners’ bracket loss to no. 17 Lincoln-Way Central).

“We learned that lesson, and it ended up paying dividends today.”

The double whammy of surrendering an early goal against the wind was a potential disaster for Reavis, but the Rams found their footing and their rhythm to create a consistent challenge.

“We were able to overcome their goal at the start of the game by not giving up,” Smycz said. 

“We work together as a team, and we communicated very well to give Marist a real challenge.”

Hernandez generated the best early scoring threat with a free kick from the left wing that forced Hernon into a strong stop.

A freshman, who was just elevated to the varsity and playing in her first game, Hernon finished with four saves for Marist.

The early setbacks only jumpstarted the Rams’ attack. Smycz showed tremendous balance and poise working the middle of the field.

Juarez and Hernandez created the necessary passing lanes.

“I told the girls regardless of whether we’re up a goal or down a goal, play the same way,” Dziedzic said. 

“Play hard, play with effort, play with composure, and continue to play the style we like.”

The Juarez goal changed the calculus, sparking the Rams and knotting the score.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it, but I did,” Juarez said. “In these first couple of games, I feel great with how we’ve been playing.

“I feel like we work well together, and the overall effort is really good.”

Reavis nearly did to Marist what the RedHawks did at the start, score into the wind.

Hernandez had several breathtaking chances of getting behind the Marist back.

She is the most athletically gifted of the Rams’ players, making a nice up-top combination with Juarez.

“The way we are playing actually surprised me, because last year at this time we did not work this well together,” Hernandez said.

“It’s showing that we are starting off strong, and we are going to get stronger throughout the season.”

Reavis played with urgency and focus, despite the early and late adversity that pushed them to the edge.

Early defeats are sometimes crippling mentally. The Rams seem prepared to ride through the rough edges.

“We are definitely just working together and being together, and we are going to learn a lot of things,” Juarez said.

The early games, either positive or negative, shine a light on what the team is capable of achieving.

“I am super excited to go forward as a team,” Smycz said. “We have a very talented team, and I’m excited to see where our talent takes us.”

Starting lineups

Marist
GK: Tess Hernon
D: Nikki Young
D: Claire Cotter
D: Viviana Corona
MF: Liliana Madrid
MF: Vivian Rybak
MF: Giselle Coronado
MF: Liliana Kolar
MF: Mia Sherry
F: Addison Woodward
F: Sophia Gutierrez

Reavis
GK: Delyanna Arocho
D: Marlene Guiterrez
D: Camila Guzman
D: Yvette Ceja
D: Ashley Gomez
MF: Jasmine Juacho
MF: Olivia Smycz
MF: Isabel Lopez
MF: Isabella Lopez
F: Alyssa Juarez
F: Alaina Hernandez

Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Mia Sherry, fr., MF, Marist

Scoring summary

First half
Marist—Addison Woodward (Vivian Rybak), fifth minute
Reavis—Alyssa Juarez (Olivia Smycz), 27th minute

Second half
Marist—Mia Sherry (unassisted), 61st minute