Trailing 2-0 in the second half of the match against Conant at the Barrington Classic Tournament on Sept. 7, senior Giorgi Kipiani sparked a comeback by assisting senior Alex Ferencz in scoring a goal. Shortly after, Kipiani scored his first goal of the season, tying the game 2-2, which was the final score.
“When I received the ball, I saw that [Ferencz] was wide open, and I just gave him the ball, nothing special, and he finished it,” said Kipiani. “The whole team was happy and feeling more energy, and then I scored and [the game was] tied.”
Kipiani played soccer for six years in the country of Georgia before moving to Northbrook last summer.
Kipiani is someone who wants to be out on the field and takes advantage of any opportunity, head coach Paul Vignocchi said.
“That’s what happened [against Conant],” said Vignocchi. “He got a lot of good quality minutes and produced some great chances for us and scored himself.”
Kipiani contributes a lot to the team, because his skill level and soccer IQ is great, and his vision out on the field is top-notch, Vignocchi said.
“It’s just about being consistent, game in and game out, against different opponents and just being able to raise his level throughout the season, so that when the playoffs come, everyone is at a high level,” Vignocchi said.
According to Kipiani, playing soccer in the United States is less technical than playing in Georgia.
“In America, my coaches think that I am special because of my techniques, but in Georgia, I’m not as special,” said Kipiani. “In Georgia, everyone has that technique.”
Back in Georgia, Kipiani often practiced juggling the ball in the air without it falling to the ground, which helped him develop his strong technique, he said.
According to Ferencz, Kipiani is one of the most technical players on the team.
“He can keep the ball from anyone,” said Ferencz. “The way he does body fakes and things like that, you can tell he’s in complete control of the ball.”
Kipiani has shared his culture with the team by playing Georgian music before a couple of games, Ferencz said.
“It was some nice classical music,” said Ferencz. “Maybe not the best to get hyped up to, but it was fun to learn some of [Kipiani’s] culture.”
As of Sept. 29, the team (6-3-4,1-2-1 Central Suburban League South Division) is led in scoring by junior Manny Salto with 10 goals and senior Chase Petersen leads the team in assists with a total of eight assists.
“I’m always trying to give good passes to my teammates, so I can make an assist,” said Kipiani. “And if I don’t have [the] option to make a pass, I try to dribble, even when there are two or three players against me, and then I can make a pass or shoot and score.”