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Tyson Amoo-Mensah and Cameron Radeke turned back the clock on Saturday.
The 2022 Naperville North graduates hadn’t played soccer together in nearly two years, but both were on the field for the Chicago Dutch Lions, a pre-professional team that plays in the USL 2.
Amoo-Mensah started and played the entire game as a defensive midfielder. Radeke played the final 30 minutes at forward as the Dutch Lions beat Wichita FC 4-3 at Aurora University’s Spartan Stadium.
“Being on the field with Cam is cool,” Amoo-Mensah said. “Clearly, we win. We get the job done. It’s déjà vu.”
Indeed, Amoo-Mensah, a sophomore at DePaul, and Radeke, a sophomore at Wright State, did a lot of winning in high school.
As a freshman, Amoo-Mensah scored two goals as a key reserve on the Naperville North boys soccer team that went 26-0 and won the state championship in 2018. Radeke joined him on the varsity team the following season, and the Huskies went 51-12-5 over their three seasons together.
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But Amoo-Mensah and Radeke have something else in common. Both struggled to get playing time as college freshmen.
“It was a learning curve,” Amoo-Mensah said. “I was just doing my best every day, just trying to earn my spot. Obviously, it was something new for me. But going forward, it’s going to help me for next fall.”
Amoo-Mensah appeared in seven games, playing a total of 84 minutes, as a freshman for DePaul, which went 4-6-7. Radeke saw action in 10 games, including two starts, and played a total of 298 minutes as Wright State went 4-7-6.
“One of the biggest things is everyone was a lot bigger, stronger and faster,” Radeke said. “If you make a mistake, people get on you. In high school, you’re like the top dog, and jumping to the next level, you have to work your way up.”
That was difficult for Radeke, at least mentally.
“I had to learn not to get upset with myself if I’m not playing or not starting,” he said. “You want to play, but you have to earn it.”
That’s why Amoo-Mensah and Radeke jumped at the chance to play for the Dutch Lions, who are 2-8 with two games remaining. Amoo-Mensah played for the team last summer, too, and told Radeke and 2023 Naperville North graduate Alex Barger, who will play at Indiana in the fall, about it. Barger played several games with the Dutch Lions but missed Saturday’s game due to club soccer commitments.
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“I feel like this is definitely a competitive league,” Amoo-Mensah said. “We’ve got two of the best teams in the nation (Chicago City and the Des Moines Menace) in our division.
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“It’s super good competition, so you can’t complain about that. It’s just a good resource to help you get better.”
Amoo-Mensah, who is known for his defensive prowess, took the opportunity to improve his offensive skills. He has played in three games for the Dutch Lions, one fewer than Radeke, who appeared in the first three games before missing six with a sprained ankle.
“I knew Tyson played out here last year, and I just kind of wanted to do the same, find somewhere to play over the summer, so I asked him if it was a good place,” Radeke said. “I’m trying to build myself up again because when the preseason starts, it starts really fast.”
The time with the Dutch Lions was beneficial for both players.
“We both got a lot better,” Amoo-Mensah said. “It’s been really helpful to come out here and work on things I need to work on against big competition.
“The big thing is to come into preseason fit and ready to compete. You can only control what you control. As long as you go out there and compete, no matter what, that’s just kind of my thing.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.