Huettel bears family similarity

Oak Park-River Forest soccer player Tim Huettel has done a good job of honoring the family name.

Two years ago, older brother Ryan Huettel was a senior captain who led the Huskies to three Class 3A regional championships. He is currently a sophomore midfielder for Colorado College after playing 15 games as a freshman.

Now Tim Huettel is a senior captain hoping to lead OPRF (6-4-4) to more success when regionals begin in two weeks. The Huskies earned the No. 6 seed for the Hinsdale South Sectional.

He scored two goals to lead the Huskies to a 4-0 victory over rival Fenwick Oct. 3 in the inaugural Prevail Cup. His second came with 12 seconds before halftime when his right-footed rocket off Mike Hoke’s assist slipped past goalkeeper Carlos Soto.

Huettel leads OPRF with nine goals and eight assists and is coach Paul Wright’s main distributor. The veteran coach moves Huettel up and back depending on the need for offense or defense.

“(The Huettel brothers) have the same size and the same style,” Wright said. “They are good on the ball, they know the situation and they are phenomenal taking shots with their left foot or right foot.”

If there is a family resemblance to his game, Tim Huettel said that’s not purely accidental.

“I learned everything (from Ryan),” Tim Huettel said. “Both me and Ryan like to compete. I’ve been able to pick things up, creativity-wise.”

While Ryan’s and Tim’s older brother Christopher did not play soccer, there is another soccer player coming through the pipeline. Their only sister Grace is a freshman who hopes to be a midfielder for OPRF in the spring.