Streamwood stays in the league race, upsets St. Charles North
Build 2-0 lead and holds on, Hodzic earns 1st assist
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- When an honorable mention team beats the no. 3-rated squad in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, it’s an upset.
And for St. Charles North coach Eric Willson, Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at Streamwood was all that with a side order of annoyance.
“These guys are just a thorn in our side,” Willson said with a tone of frustration. “This is one of the more difficult places for North to win, so it comes down to preparation. It’s up to me to get these guys to play our style; that didn’t happen so put this (loss) on me.”
The defeat kept the North Stars from being able to claim the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title but perhaps just for a week.
St. Charles North, which had won eight of its previous nine matches, is now 11-3-3 and takes a 3-1-1 league record into its Oct. 11 regular season finale against Batavia. That 5 p.m. contest is part of the Tri-Cities Night showcase which takes place at Geneva this season.
Coincidentally, Geneva is where the North Stars just posted a 2-1 victory Thursday to get into position to become sole league champions, which would better 2015 when they shared the crown with St. Charles East.
A North Star victory over Batavia (UEC-R 0-4-1 and 3-9-2 with a seven-game winless streak) would override the Streamwood setback. However a tie would mean sharing the 2016 championship with Streamwood; and another North loss would put Streamwood (11-5-3, UEC-R 3-1-2) atop the division.
“At the end of the day we’ve got another game, making the Tri-Cities match more significant, and we’ve got a week to get ready,” Willson said. “(But) the whole idea was to win (the division) tonight.”
Unfortunately for North, Streamwood had other ideas, like a third one-goal victory over the North Stars within the last four seasons. The Sabres pulled out a 4-3 triumph in 2015 at Toyota Park, lost 2-0 in 2015 in St. Charles, but won 1-0 at Millenium Field in 2013.
“To these guys no matter where we play or who we play, they’re a confident group,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin insisted. “But this is a great win versus a great team. Despite this loss, North is one of the top teams in the state.”
Perhaps that motivation combined with a tactical change fueled the strong start by the Sabres.
Polovin opted to move Ivan Gonzalez to forward for the first time this year and the big-bodied senior co-captain proved to be a handful up-top. Three minutes in, Gonzalez blasted a shot off the near post. Seven minutes later, his blast left the crossbar shaking.
The Sabres managed two other caroms off the crossbar including a Michael Rubio try from distance.
But North wasn’t lacking in opportunities. Streamwood goalie Danny Dominguez handled a shot from the right side by Jonathan Acevedo, firmly caught a pair of David Gorniak bombs and also watched as a Bernard Elegbede header and Acevedo volley sailed over the goal.
The scoreless deadlock remained after halftime.
North sandwiched a pair of headers that Dominguez saved around an Edwin Peralta attempt for the Sabres that was simply too high. North Star tri-captain Ryan Olson made a strong effort from distance that became a grounder that Dominguez scooped up.
Streamwood was making what appeared to be another routine attack when substitute Tony Hodzic earned his first assist. He found Alex Chavez in the clear for a 29-yard firecracker into the right side with 14:29 left in regulation. That laser-like shot was just one reason Chavez earned Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match recognition.
“That was all about putting as much power behind the shot as possible against a good goalie,” Chavez said. “Whenever you get a goal in a match, it feels good, but it’s so much better coming against a top opponent and when it gives your team momentum.”
“I knew where Alex would run,” Hodzic said. “So my job was to just get the ball to him.”
“Helping us get to goal, especially against a great opponent, makes it (first assist) special. We’re a pretty strong team, so for us to come through with a win isn’t really a fluke.”
“That was the type of shot no goalie could save,” Polovin stated. “With his brother (Oscar) still nursing an injury, Alex has been stepping up and his overall play today was impossible to miss.
“He single-handedly took on North’s defense at times. His quick touches and moves allowed him to beat them with speed, so he worked really well alongside Ivan and Aldo (Lazaro). A one-touch kick with such pace against such a solid goalie is a game-changer.”
Momentum clearly swung in Streamwood’s favor and the Sabres were on the attack again just under three minutes later when the North Stars were whistled for a handball in the box. With 11:33 left, Lazaro parked the penalty-kick to give him a team-best 10 goals for the year, one ahead of each of the Chavez brothers.
“Penalty-kicks are like any other goal in that you have to focus simply on putting it on target,” Lazaro explained. “It’s an awesome feeling to score against a quality goalie and to help your team win.”
Of course a no. 3-ranked team doesn’t go quietly into the night. The clock just ticked under 10 minutes when Noah Linn had an opportunity that rose over the goal.
But then with 9:26 still to play, Gorniak made a pivot move and nailed a 32-yard rocket inside the right post beyond the reach of Dominguez’s dive.
“Those last (10) minutes we started playing as we’re capable. That goal came off two-touch soccer in midfield allowing Dave to make the moves needed to hit it,” Willson noted. “But we needed that level of play to be consistent. Streamwood outplayed us for much of the match, and the second ball killed us tonight. You can’t allow any opponent to have second chances.”
With 5:56 remaining, the North Stars' Sean O’Leary booted a long bomb that Dominguez gathered up. Two minutes later, the junior goalie punched a potentially dangerous service wide, and with 1:41 to go he covered a ball sent in from the right corner.
“We’re not a perfect team,” North senior tri-captain Luke Denson acknowledged. “We obviously have to learn from this experience especially with the postseason just after Batavia. In this case, they played with a lot of guys in the middle and if anyone else does that, we’ll have learned to track that scenario.”
The North Stars are the no. 1 seed among 17 schools in the Glenbard East Sectional. North begins play Oct. 18 in the Glenbard North Regional facing the victor from a Schaumburg-Wheaton North prelim.
The result was a great one for Streamwood side that will look to build to a consistent high level of play into the playoffs.
“I thought the key for us was shutting down North’s center mids as a unit,” Polovin said. “Gorniak is a very good player and when we made a little bloop, he punished us with that shot. It was good to see us not back down considering they’d recently beaten their friend (St. Charles East), who had spanked us (7-1).
“Number 11 (Elegbede) is another dangerous player, and he didn’t touch the ball much because Gregorio (Esteves) did a phenomenal job against him,” Polovin added.
“While we still should’ve played much better, our last loss (1-0 to Wauconda) involved the need to sit some of starters. Now we need to stay fresh, sharp and uninjured the rest of the way.”
Streamwood is the top seed among nine schools comprising one subsectional of the Huntley Sectional.
The Sabres canceled their game at Dundee-Crown on Saturday because they faced the Chargers earlier this season, and will again in their regional opener. Streamwood's final game of the season is still at home against Bartlett on Oct. 11.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Piercarlo Ricossa
D Mitch Bricker
D Sean O’Leary
D Kyle Kolodziej
D Peter Willis
M David Gorniak
M Luke Denson
M Ryan Olson
F Bernard Elegbede
F Dylan Mientus
F Jonathan Acevedo
Streamwood
GK Danny Dominguez
D Gregorio Esteves
D Nick Gaviria
D Rafa Gil
D Jorge Bracamontes
M Bryan Mora
M Kristian Niemiec
M Michael Rubio
M Alex Chavez
F Aldo Lazaro
F Ivan Gonzalez
Man of the Match: Alex Chavez, M, Streamwood
Referees: Brett Richter (center), Jim Franklin, Richard Quathamer
Game summary
Streamwood 2, St. Charles North 1
St. Charles North 0 1 --- 1
Streamwood 0 2 --- 2
Scoring
S – A. Chavez 29-yard one-touch firecracker (Hodzic assist), 65th minute
S – Lazaro penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 68th minute
SCN – Gorniak 32-yard rocket inside right post (unassisted), 70th minute
Shots
SCN 7 – 11 --- 18
S 6 – 9 --- 15
Shots on goal
SCN 3 – 5 --- 8
S 1 – 3 --- 4
Saves
SCN (Ricossa) 1 – 1 --- 2
S (Dominguez) 3 – 4 --- 7
Build 2-0 lead and holds on, Hodzic earns 1st assist
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- When an honorable mention team beats the no. 3-rated squad in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, it’s an upset.
And for St. Charles North coach Eric Willson, Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at Streamwood was all that with a side order of annoyance.
“These guys are just a thorn in our side,” Willson said with a tone of frustration. “This is one of the more difficult places for North to win, so it comes down to preparation. It’s up to me to get these guys to play our style; that didn’t happen so put this (loss) on me.”
The defeat kept the North Stars from being able to claim the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title but perhaps just for a week.
St. Charles North, which had won eight of its previous nine matches, is now 11-3-3 and takes a 3-1-1 league record into its Oct. 11 regular season finale against Batavia. That 5 p.m. contest is part of the Tri-Cities Night showcase which takes place at Geneva this season.
Coincidentally, Geneva is where the North Stars just posted a 2-1 victory Thursday to get into position to become sole league champions, which would better 2015 when they shared the crown with St. Charles East.
A North Star victory over Batavia (UEC-R 0-4-1 and 3-9-2 with a seven-game winless streak) would override the Streamwood setback. However a tie would mean sharing the 2016 championship with Streamwood; and another North loss would put Streamwood (11-5-3, UEC-R 3-1-2) atop the division.
“At the end of the day we’ve got another game, making the Tri-Cities match more significant, and we’ve got a week to get ready,” Willson said. “(But) the whole idea was to win (the division) tonight.”
Unfortunately for North, Streamwood had other ideas, like a third one-goal victory over the North Stars within the last four seasons. The Sabres pulled out a 4-3 triumph in 2015 at Toyota Park, lost 2-0 in 2015 in St. Charles, but won 1-0 at Millenium Field in 2013.
“To these guys no matter where we play or who we play, they’re a confident group,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin insisted. “But this is a great win versus a great team. Despite this loss, North is one of the top teams in the state.”
Perhaps that motivation combined with a tactical change fueled the strong start by the Sabres.
Polovin opted to move Ivan Gonzalez to forward for the first time this year and the big-bodied senior co-captain proved to be a handful up-top. Three minutes in, Gonzalez blasted a shot off the near post. Seven minutes later, his blast left the crossbar shaking.
The Sabres managed two other caroms off the crossbar including a Michael Rubio try from distance.
But North wasn’t lacking in opportunities. Streamwood goalie Danny Dominguez handled a shot from the right side by Jonathan Acevedo, firmly caught a pair of David Gorniak bombs and also watched as a Bernard Elegbede header and Acevedo volley sailed over the goal.
The scoreless deadlock remained after halftime.
North sandwiched a pair of headers that Dominguez saved around an Edwin Peralta attempt for the Sabres that was simply too high. North Star tri-captain Ryan Olson made a strong effort from distance that became a grounder that Dominguez scooped up.
Streamwood was making what appeared to be another routine attack when substitute Tony Hodzic earned his first assist. He found Alex Chavez in the clear for a 29-yard firecracker into the right side with 14:29 left in regulation. That laser-like shot was just one reason Chavez earned Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match recognition.
“That was all about putting as much power behind the shot as possible against a good goalie,” Chavez said. “Whenever you get a goal in a match, it feels good, but it’s so much better coming against a top opponent and when it gives your team momentum.”
“I knew where Alex would run,” Hodzic said. “So my job was to just get the ball to him.”
“Helping us get to goal, especially against a great opponent, makes it (first assist) special. We’re a pretty strong team, so for us to come through with a win isn’t really a fluke.”
“That was the type of shot no goalie could save,” Polovin stated. “With his brother (Oscar) still nursing an injury, Alex has been stepping up and his overall play today was impossible to miss.
“He single-handedly took on North’s defense at times. His quick touches and moves allowed him to beat them with speed, so he worked really well alongside Ivan and Aldo (Lazaro). A one-touch kick with such pace against such a solid goalie is a game-changer.”
Momentum clearly swung in Streamwood’s favor and the Sabres were on the attack again just under three minutes later when the North Stars were whistled for a handball in the box. With 11:33 left, Lazaro parked the penalty-kick to give him a team-best 10 goals for the year, one ahead of each of the Chavez brothers.
“Penalty-kicks are like any other goal in that you have to focus simply on putting it on target,” Lazaro explained. “It’s an awesome feeling to score against a quality goalie and to help your team win.”
Of course a no. 3-ranked team doesn’t go quietly into the night. The clock just ticked under 10 minutes when Noah Linn had an opportunity that rose over the goal.
But then with 9:26 still to play, Gorniak made a pivot move and nailed a 32-yard rocket inside the right post beyond the reach of Dominguez’s dive.
“Those last (10) minutes we started playing as we’re capable. That goal came off two-touch soccer in midfield allowing Dave to make the moves needed to hit it,” Willson noted. “But we needed that level of play to be consistent. Streamwood outplayed us for much of the match, and the second ball killed us tonight. You can’t allow any opponent to have second chances.”
With 5:56 remaining, the North Stars' Sean O’Leary booted a long bomb that Dominguez gathered up. Two minutes later, the junior goalie punched a potentially dangerous service wide, and with 1:41 to go he covered a ball sent in from the right corner.
“We’re not a perfect team,” North senior tri-captain Luke Denson acknowledged. “We obviously have to learn from this experience especially with the postseason just after Batavia. In this case, they played with a lot of guys in the middle and if anyone else does that, we’ll have learned to track that scenario.”
The North Stars are the no. 1 seed among 17 schools in the Glenbard East Sectional. North begins play Oct. 18 in the Glenbard North Regional facing the victor from a Schaumburg-Wheaton North prelim.
The result was a great one for Streamwood side that will look to build to a consistent high level of play into the playoffs.
“I thought the key for us was shutting down North’s center mids as a unit,” Polovin said. “Gorniak is a very good player and when we made a little bloop, he punished us with that shot. It was good to see us not back down considering they’d recently beaten their friend (St. Charles East), who had spanked us (7-1).
“Number 11 (Elegbede) is another dangerous player, and he didn’t touch the ball much because Gregorio (Esteves) did a phenomenal job against him,” Polovin added.
“While we still should’ve played much better, our last loss (1-0 to Wauconda) involved the need to sit some of starters. Now we need to stay fresh, sharp and uninjured the rest of the way.”
Streamwood is the top seed among nine schools comprising one subsectional of the Huntley Sectional.
The Sabres canceled their game at Dundee-Crown on Saturday because they faced the Chargers earlier this season, and will again in their regional opener. Streamwood's final game of the season is still at home against Bartlett on Oct. 11.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Piercarlo Ricossa
D Mitch Bricker
D Sean O’Leary
D Kyle Kolodziej
D Peter Willis
M David Gorniak
M Luke Denson
M Ryan Olson
F Bernard Elegbede
F Dylan Mientus
F Jonathan Acevedo
Streamwood
GK Danny Dominguez
D Gregorio Esteves
D Nick Gaviria
D Rafa Gil
D Jorge Bracamontes
M Bryan Mora
M Kristian Niemiec
M Michael Rubio
M Alex Chavez
F Aldo Lazaro
F Ivan Gonzalez
Man of the Match: Alex Chavez, M, Streamwood
Referees: Brett Richter (center), Jim Franklin, Richard Quathamer
Game summary
Streamwood 2, St. Charles North 1
St. Charles North 0 1 --- 1
Streamwood 0 2 --- 2
Scoring
S – A. Chavez 29-yard one-touch firecracker (Hodzic assist), 65th minute
S – Lazaro penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 68th minute
SCN – Gorniak 32-yard rocket inside right post (unassisted), 70th minute
Shots
SCN 7 – 11 --- 18
S 6 – 9 --- 15
Shots on goal
SCN 3 – 5 --- 8
S 1 – 3 --- 4
Saves
SCN (Ricossa) 1 – 1 --- 2
S (Dominguez) 3 – 4 --- 7
