Lincoln-Way West's Jayden Hughes was excited to be back for the season opener just days after undergoing surgery to repair an unfortunately common problem.
The sophomore midfielder broke his nose for the first time in three years, but returned to the soccer field wearing a mask.
“I broke my nose in 2021 and broke my nose again during tryouts this year,” Hughes said. “I just had surgery last week. And then (Thursday) I got hit in the nose again and couldn't play. But now I'm wearing a mask again.
“Now that I’ve had two surgeries, I hope this will be my last.”
Injuries and masks didn't prevent Hughes from scoring his first memorable goal on Saturday.
She scored her first goal of her high school career. The golden goal gave the host Warriors a 1-0 victory over Lemont in overtime in the Windy City Ram Classic quarterfinals in New Lenox.
Olivia Ledvina made four saves to lead the Warriors (3-0) to a shutout victory and advance to face Lockport (3-0) in the semifinals of the 32-team tournament Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Reavis. is.
Lauren Tracy made six saves for Lemont (2-1).
Hughes scored the only goal just over two minutes into OT, collecting the ball in the middle of the box and firing a high shot past Tracy and into the net.
“I was a little worried about the curve due to the wind,” Hughes said. “The wind was pretty bad. I thought it was going to end, but it came in solid.
“It feels good. The adrenaline was pumping. I was tired and my legs hurt. We needed that goal. Our whole team has really worked hard and we deserved it as much as anyone. I think so.”
Senior defender Julia Urbanczyk was excited to see Hughes get the win over the Warriors.
“I was really proud of her,” Urbanczyk said. “She's one of the hardest-working players on our team and it was great to see her score that goal because I know how hard she worked.
“She totally deserved it.”
Hughes was initially unsure if he would be able to play at the beginning of the season as he suffered a second broken nose.
“After the surgery, the doctor wasn't going to clear me, but we told her, 'Look, we still have a game to play,'” Hughes said. “She said as long as I wore a mask, she would let me go.”
Hughes said the mask isn't comfortable, but he doesn't have a big problem wearing it during games.
“It's definitely a bit of a pain because you accumulate a lot of sweat,” Hughes says. “You have to clear it many times. But it's not that big of an obstacle. It's pretty okay.”
Another preseason injury was not a blessing in disguise for the Warriors, as senior defender Morgan Salles was ruled out for the year on the first day of tryouts, according to coach Joe Stevens.
That resulted in some shuffling on the final line, but the group led by Urbanik, Ava Bach, Abby Hermansson and Natalie Esposito certainly got the job done on Saturday.
“We’ve really worked together as a whole unit,” Urbanczyk said. “Our teamwork really helped us maintain the shutout because we knew where each other was going.”
Meanwhile, Stevens is excited to have Hughes in the lineup.
“She's grown a lot,” he said. “She had her confidence to step up and take shots. She's going to be a big part for us this season. I'm really excited about her, especially since she's only a sophomore.” ”
Hughes is certainly grateful to be back, masked or not.
“Seriously, I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t play,” Hughes said. “Soccer takes a lot of time and effort, but it makes me happy.”
