Elegbede leads North over
East in battle of St. Charles
Junior completes brace with late game-winner for 3-2 league win
By Dave Surico
ST. CHARLES -- When St. Charles North needed him, Bernard Elegbede was there in the flick of time.
The opportunistic forward converted good fortune, borne of his team's solid work rate, into bookend goals that led the North Stars to a 3-2 win over St. Charles East on Tuesday afternoon at Norris Stadium.
The brace did not come as a surprise to St. Charles North coach Eric Willson.
"He's been fantastic for us -- starting to really produce some results," Willson said of the junior. "A lot of it is from how hard he works off the ball and putting himself in the right position.
"And then, obviously, you have to have the composure to put the ball in the back of the net, and he's been doing that lately."
The run-up to Elegbede's 75th minute game-winner started when senior midfielder Ryan Olson used his head to block a St. Charles East clearing attempt at the top of the Saints defensive third. The ball went toward the left corner and wound up in front of the net on a deflected centering attempt.
Elegbede made a curled run from left to right to get to the free-rolling ball and face helpless second half Saints' keeper Steven Owens.
"I thought just get it on frame and good things will happen, and it went in the back of the net," said the junior forward, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his calmly flicked finishes. "When the time comes as a soccer player at this age, you know what to do with the ball. So it was just kind of like second nature to me to find the best way to put the ball in the back of the net.
"I saw it going over the keeper, and I knew it wasn't coming back. I'm happy we got the win."
St. Charles North, ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, held off their second-ranked hosts the rest of the way.
It was an especially welcome result for the visitors after losing a 2-0 first half advantage.
"I guess your typical East and North game -- pretty evenly matched," said Willson. "It's got a little craziness in it. You kind of know even when you come out and jump on 'em, a 2-0 lead, that's not going to be safe.
"Disappointing in the way we gave up the two goals to go equal at half, but a lot of it is how you respond to that kind of adversity."
Elegbede started the scoring in the 12th minute with the North Stars first shot. He raced to a loose ball to become the recipient of a St. Charles East defensive breakdown. St. Charles North's pressure on the right side led to a back pass to no one in particular.
"I was just lucky enough to get a dink over the keeper, and I'm just thankful that I was in the right place at the right time," said the junior, who now has six goals on the season. "I just saw the ball ... and went to it first. Nothing too fancy, just trying to get the goal, get the win. ... Dylan Mientus, the other forward, he started the pressure, and I just finished it off."
St. Charles East starting keeper Kevin Cook tried to rush out but had no chance.
The lead expanded to 2-0 in the 26th minute thanks to a clever play by Luke Denson.
The defender pushed up on the attack and carried the ball across the field between the hash marks at about 22 yards out. With the defense and keeper moving with him, he slotted a misdirected, easy-rolling, left-footed diagonal shot that had eyes. It nestled inside the right post.
"We got the throw-in on the sideline, and I saw my defender was a little off me," said Denson. "He dove in. I shot it in the opposite direction I was going and luckily, in a big game like this, it went in.
"I thought we had the momentum, and then they got a lucky tap-in. Then they got back in the game, and it was frustrating."
Despite having the better of the early play, St. Charles East found itself down a pair of goals.
In the last 10 minutes of the first half, the Saints' fortunes changed.
Colin Coine's pass was deflected and found the foot of midfielder Mitch Lucatorto, who completed an easy finish to halve the lead in the 32nd minute.
Coine then tied the game with 17.4 seconds left in the half on a penalty-kick after St. Charles North was called for a foul in the box on a free-kick.
St. Charles East came out of the break with good energy, but the game turned more physical and swung in St. Charles North's favor. The North Stars (9-2-3, 2-0-1) hope they have started a new winning streak after Morton ended their 9-game unbeaten skein with its 2-1 win in a PepsiCo Showdown championship game Sunday.
The win left the visitors as the only team in the Upstate Eight Conference River Division without a loss. The North Stars control their own destiny, but road games at Geneva (Sept. 29) and Streamwood (Oct. 4) and a neutral site game vs. Batavia (Sept. 11) provide a gauntlet.
St. Charles East slipped to 11-2-2 and saw its 7-game unbeaten string end.
"Hard fought by both teams," said St. Charles East defender Zach Nelson. "Came out a little flat, they got the upper hand. But then I feel like we had momentum going to the start of the second half.
"We couldn't control the game and kind of lost it. Then it was kind of a stalemate from then on, and all it took was one mistake. That was the end result.
"It's never fun learning you're not going to win conference. It's even a little more bitter when your no. 1 rival is taking it from you. It's not the end of the world. We're hoping to look at the postseason. We're hoping we can go far."
The Saints, who played without starters Chris Edgerton and Peter Clancy, fell to 3-2-0 in conference mark and have their final league date at Geneva on Tri-Cities Night on Oct. 11.
They'll need a lot of help to get back into the conference race with Streamwood (2-1-2), Geneva (2-1-0) and Larkin (1-1-2) also ahead of them in the loss column.
Coach Paul Jennison was pleased with his team's effort.
"It was a great comeback,. Unfortunately I don't think we should have put ourselves in that position," he said. "First 2o minutes we were absolutely fantastic. We give them one opportunity, a defensive error from us, a miscommunication, and obviously that changed the complexion of the game.
"We lost focus, and they put a second in on us. They certainly seized the moment. Great response from our lads, but we felt we shouldn't have put ourselves in that position. In the second half ... it was going to come down to that moment, and North was ready to seize it.
"You've got to give North the credit," Jennison said. "They've come in here and done what they needed to do. It's their day, and we wish them all the best.
"It's a learning curve. No excuses from us. If you concede three goals, as far as I'm concerned, you probably haven't done enought to win the game regardless of how well you played.
"We have to learn from it; we need to tidy up. And I think these boys will use this as a big positive going forward. Sometimes the best thing for a team is a loss. And if they don't feel like this again this season, I think it's going to end up just how they want it to."
And there's always that little thing called the state tournament to look forward to.
"Eric and I have talked," Jennison said. "If things go well, we'll see each other in the sectional final again. So we keep our fingers crossed that that will happen."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Piercarlo Ricossa
D Mitchell Bricker
D Luke Denson
D Kyle Kolodziej
D Sean O'Leary
D Peter Willis
MF David Gorniak
MF Ryan Olson
F Jonathan Acevedo
F Bernard Elegbede
F Dylan Mientus
St. Charles East
GK Kevin Cook
D Riley Arnold
D Mitch Lucatorto
D Keiran Willig-Friedrich
D Zach Nelson
D Jack Kempf
M Rajin Baines
M Truitt Battin
F Justin Stepien
F Kieran Patel
F Aldo Bautista
Man of the Match: Bernard Elegbede, D, St. Charles North
East in battle of St. Charles
Junior completes brace with late game-winner for 3-2 league win
By Dave Surico
ST. CHARLES -- When St. Charles North needed him, Bernard Elegbede was there in the flick of time.
The opportunistic forward converted good fortune, borne of his team's solid work rate, into bookend goals that led the North Stars to a 3-2 win over St. Charles East on Tuesday afternoon at Norris Stadium.
The brace did not come as a surprise to St. Charles North coach Eric Willson.
"He's been fantastic for us -- starting to really produce some results," Willson said of the junior. "A lot of it is from how hard he works off the ball and putting himself in the right position.
"And then, obviously, you have to have the composure to put the ball in the back of the net, and he's been doing that lately."
The run-up to Elegbede's 75th minute game-winner started when senior midfielder Ryan Olson used his head to block a St. Charles East clearing attempt at the top of the Saints defensive third. The ball went toward the left corner and wound up in front of the net on a deflected centering attempt.
Elegbede made a curled run from left to right to get to the free-rolling ball and face helpless second half Saints' keeper Steven Owens.
"I thought just get it on frame and good things will happen, and it went in the back of the net," said the junior forward, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his calmly flicked finishes. "When the time comes as a soccer player at this age, you know what to do with the ball. So it was just kind of like second nature to me to find the best way to put the ball in the back of the net.
"I saw it going over the keeper, and I knew it wasn't coming back. I'm happy we got the win."
St. Charles North, ranked fourth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, held off their second-ranked hosts the rest of the way.
It was an especially welcome result for the visitors after losing a 2-0 first half advantage.
"I guess your typical East and North game -- pretty evenly matched," said Willson. "It's got a little craziness in it. You kind of know even when you come out and jump on 'em, a 2-0 lead, that's not going to be safe.
"Disappointing in the way we gave up the two goals to go equal at half, but a lot of it is how you respond to that kind of adversity."
Elegbede started the scoring in the 12th minute with the North Stars first shot. He raced to a loose ball to become the recipient of a St. Charles East defensive breakdown. St. Charles North's pressure on the right side led to a back pass to no one in particular.
"I was just lucky enough to get a dink over the keeper, and I'm just thankful that I was in the right place at the right time," said the junior, who now has six goals on the season. "I just saw the ball ... and went to it first. Nothing too fancy, just trying to get the goal, get the win. ... Dylan Mientus, the other forward, he started the pressure, and I just finished it off."
St. Charles East starting keeper Kevin Cook tried to rush out but had no chance.
The lead expanded to 2-0 in the 26th minute thanks to a clever play by Luke Denson.
The defender pushed up on the attack and carried the ball across the field between the hash marks at about 22 yards out. With the defense and keeper moving with him, he slotted a misdirected, easy-rolling, left-footed diagonal shot that had eyes. It nestled inside the right post.
"We got the throw-in on the sideline, and I saw my defender was a little off me," said Denson. "He dove in. I shot it in the opposite direction I was going and luckily, in a big game like this, it went in.
"I thought we had the momentum, and then they got a lucky tap-in. Then they got back in the game, and it was frustrating."
Despite having the better of the early play, St. Charles East found itself down a pair of goals.
In the last 10 minutes of the first half, the Saints' fortunes changed.
Colin Coine's pass was deflected and found the foot of midfielder Mitch Lucatorto, who completed an easy finish to halve the lead in the 32nd minute.
Coine then tied the game with 17.4 seconds left in the half on a penalty-kick after St. Charles North was called for a foul in the box on a free-kick.
St. Charles East came out of the break with good energy, but the game turned more physical and swung in St. Charles North's favor. The North Stars (9-2-3, 2-0-1) hope they have started a new winning streak after Morton ended their 9-game unbeaten skein with its 2-1 win in a PepsiCo Showdown championship game Sunday.
The win left the visitors as the only team in the Upstate Eight Conference River Division without a loss. The North Stars control their own destiny, but road games at Geneva (Sept. 29) and Streamwood (Oct. 4) and a neutral site game vs. Batavia (Sept. 11) provide a gauntlet.
St. Charles East slipped to 11-2-2 and saw its 7-game unbeaten string end.
"Hard fought by both teams," said St. Charles East defender Zach Nelson. "Came out a little flat, they got the upper hand. But then I feel like we had momentum going to the start of the second half.
"We couldn't control the game and kind of lost it. Then it was kind of a stalemate from then on, and all it took was one mistake. That was the end result.
"It's never fun learning you're not going to win conference. It's even a little more bitter when your no. 1 rival is taking it from you. It's not the end of the world. We're hoping to look at the postseason. We're hoping we can go far."
The Saints, who played without starters Chris Edgerton and Peter Clancy, fell to 3-2-0 in conference mark and have their final league date at Geneva on Tri-Cities Night on Oct. 11.
They'll need a lot of help to get back into the conference race with Streamwood (2-1-2), Geneva (2-1-0) and Larkin (1-1-2) also ahead of them in the loss column.
Coach Paul Jennison was pleased with his team's effort.
"It was a great comeback,. Unfortunately I don't think we should have put ourselves in that position," he said. "First 2o minutes we were absolutely fantastic. We give them one opportunity, a defensive error from us, a miscommunication, and obviously that changed the complexion of the game.
"We lost focus, and they put a second in on us. They certainly seized the moment. Great response from our lads, but we felt we shouldn't have put ourselves in that position. In the second half ... it was going to come down to that moment, and North was ready to seize it.
"You've got to give North the credit," Jennison said. "They've come in here and done what they needed to do. It's their day, and we wish them all the best.
"It's a learning curve. No excuses from us. If you concede three goals, as far as I'm concerned, you probably haven't done enought to win the game regardless of how well you played.
"We have to learn from it; we need to tidy up. And I think these boys will use this as a big positive going forward. Sometimes the best thing for a team is a loss. And if they don't feel like this again this season, I think it's going to end up just how they want it to."
And there's always that little thing called the state tournament to look forward to.
"Eric and I have talked," Jennison said. "If things go well, we'll see each other in the sectional final again. So we keep our fingers crossed that that will happen."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Piercarlo Ricossa
D Mitchell Bricker
D Luke Denson
D Kyle Kolodziej
D Sean O'Leary
D Peter Willis
MF David Gorniak
MF Ryan Olson
F Jonathan Acevedo
F Bernard Elegbede
F Dylan Mientus
St. Charles East
GK Kevin Cook
D Riley Arnold
D Mitch Lucatorto
D Keiran Willig-Friedrich
D Zach Nelson
D Jack Kempf
M Rajin Baines
M Truitt Battin
F Justin Stepien
F Kieran Patel
F Aldo Bautista
Man of the Match: Bernard Elegbede, D, St. Charles North
