Ramirez, Sotello team up on another Round Lake win

Freddie Ramirez and Alejandro Sotello have been quite the 1-2 punch for the Round Lake boys soccer team this season.

They've combined for 22 goals in 10 matches and have the Panthers riding a 9-game winning streak after a 3-2 victory over Lake Forest on Monday in a North Suburban Conference divisional crossover contest in Lake Forest.

Sotello scored the game-winner and assisted on another goal. Ramirez had a goal and an assist, and Kevin Estrada added the Panthers' other goal.

Round Lake (9-1) opened the season with a loss to Highland Park in the Lake Forest shootout. Right after that, they started their nine-game streak.

"I thought we started out flat and (Lake Forest) scored on us," Round Lake coach Hugo Tellez said. "Then we started waking up and poured it on."

Lake Forest (3-5-1) caught Round Lake napping early, with a goal just five minutes into the game as Mick Matthew slipped a low rolling shot inside the post off an assist from Chris Wasser.

The Panthers woke up in a hurry, with 3 goals in an 11-minute span in the first half.

To get things started for Round Lake, Ramirez sent a corner kick into the penalty area. Vladimir Manriquez head-flicked the ball, and Estrada finishes the chance with a header in the 14th minute.

Just over a minute later, Sotello scored off a pass from Ramirez for a 2-1 Panthers lead.

"Freddie and I have known each other for a while, and we work well with each other," said Sotello, who has 7 goals and 6 assists. "We just know where we're going to be at. It's all good passing."

Ramirez scored goal in the 24th minute for his 15th goal this season, as Sotello returned the favor with the assist.

Lake Forest added a late goal in the 79th minute when Cameron Litzsinger found the back of the net.

"We lost our focus a little bit," Lake Forest coach Rob Parry said. "I thought we battled the whole game. I thought their speed was good, but I thought we matched them. It wasn't so much their foot speed. They were just a little quicker thinking, and they combined much more than us."