Chicago LLM Soccer Team Bests Northwestern

The Chicago Law LLMs came from 12 countries on five continents to face a common opponent – Northwestern Law LLM students – in an epic battle on the soccer field.

The tale is best told by player Robert Maloney Derham, ’13:

“On a chilly May evening, Northwestern came down to Stagg Field in search of their second win in this two-game series. After beating Chicago in the first leg, most Northwestern players thought that this was a mere formality, but how wrong they were. The Chicago team, hurting from the first defeat, was geared for revenge and to reinstate Stagg Field as their fortress.” 

In the end, the Chicago LLMs did just that, beating the Northwestern LLMs by a score of 4-0 in a rough-and-tumble May 10 match. That score, combined with the score of a November game, which ended 2-1 in favor of Northwestern, left Chicago victorious in the final aggregate score, 5-2.

The twice-annual LLM soccer games are a tradition dating back at least 15 years, said Richard Badger, Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs. The schools play once in the fall and once in the spring, and usually take turns hosting. This year, Chicago hosted both games at Stagg Field. Afterwards, the teams gather for food and conversation, and some Chicago LLMs know members of the Northwestern team from their home countries. Sometimes, they are even spouses or significant others.

In recent years, Maloney Derham said, Northwestern has won more often than not. But not this time. Chicago roared to victory thanks to one goal each from Vinicius Picanco, ’13, and Maloney Derham, and two goals from Rob LaManna, ’13, the only JD on the team. LaManna was originally the team manager, but because Northwestern played one non-LLM, Chicago was permitted to do the same. Clearly, it was a good move.

Of course, it wasn’t just the goal scorers but all the players who worked hard to advance the ball toward the Northwestern goal, Maloney Derham said. Especially noteworthy was the play of goalkeeper Prashant Roy, ’13, who denied every Northwestern shot on goal.

A few players had high school and college experience in soccer, but most were novices, Maloney Derham added. “Through our collective training sessions we all learned from each other. Our hard work paid off in this great victory.”

The players, and their home countries: Antonio Garcia Netto (Brazil), Daniel Gonzales La Rosa (Peru), Robert Hare (South Africa), Tatsuya Koyama (Japan), Yasushi Kudo (Japan), Rob LaManna (USA), Min Li (China), Robert Maloney Derham (Ireland), Federico Martens (Mexico), Marco Munoz Chamy (Chile), Vinicius Picanco (Brazil), Paul Ramsey (Peru), Pedro Rencoret (Chile), Prashant Roy (India), Andre Thiollier (Brazil), Juan Turner (Chile), Lorenzo Vitali (Italy), and Hagay Volvovsky (Israel).