West Chicago looking to surpass
last season’s win total at Streamwood
Sabres seek to extend win streak of their own
By Chris Walker
West Chicago only won twice last year, but will attempt to pick up its third win of the young season when it travels to Streamwood on at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Wildcats incurred a rule infraction last year, which took away four potential victories. They only came away with two official victories. It appears as if they’ve used their struggles from last year as motivation this season. They’ve played three straight hard-fought one-goal games, winning the last two against Elgin and Marmion.
“We’re going to work hard no matter what,” Wildcats senior Antonio Velazquez said. “Last year when things didn’t go our way we’d put our heads down and things would just get worse. We’re working hard in practice and don’t want what happened last year to happen again this season.”
A big challenge awaits Velazquez and company on Wednesday.
After losing its season opener 3-2 to Waubonsie Valley, the Sabres have been on a roll, sweeping three straight to win the Jacobs tournament last weekend.
“The major difference between us and anyone else is our fitness level,” Sabres coach Matt Polovin said. “We can go all 80 minutes.”
The Wildcats beat Jacobs 2-0, Kaneland 3-1 and Harvard 7-0 in last weekend’s tournament.
“We were peppering shot after shot on goal,” Polovin said. “Our forwards have a tremendous amount of speed, and we ended up putting seven on Harvard to finish up the tournament. They’ve probably never seen a team like us making run after run and our forwards with the tremendous speed they have.”
Back when they were in the DVC, the Wildcats struggled matching up against larger and more physical teams. Once again, their roster is filled with players who rely on their quickness to make plays. Whether they’ve got the stamina to match the athleticism of the Sabres is a key question.
Streamwood has gotten a nice boost from three freshmen on the roster: Oscar Chavez, Alex Herrera and Jair Zuniga.
“They’re not there to watch, they’re learning on the field and can definitely play,” Polovin said. “Oscar has scored a couple of times and Rafael has been fantastic. He plays like a senior. I don’t know if these guys have been much of a surprise, but they’ve been good.”
Edwin Rueda continues to be the catalyst in the midfield for the Sabres, while Sergio Blanco is as good a goalie as you’ll find in the state.
“Blanco’s gotten even better every year, so it’s exciting to see him do so well,” Polovin said. “It’s pretty nice to have a preseason All-American in goal.”
last season’s win total at Streamwood
Sabres seek to extend win streak of their own
By Chris Walker
West Chicago only won twice last year, but will attempt to pick up its third win of the young season when it travels to Streamwood on at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Wildcats incurred a rule infraction last year, which took away four potential victories. They only came away with two official victories. It appears as if they’ve used their struggles from last year as motivation this season. They’ve played three straight hard-fought one-goal games, winning the last two against Elgin and Marmion.
“We’re going to work hard no matter what,” Wildcats senior Antonio Velazquez said. “Last year when things didn’t go our way we’d put our heads down and things would just get worse. We’re working hard in practice and don’t want what happened last year to happen again this season.”
A big challenge awaits Velazquez and company on Wednesday.
After losing its season opener 3-2 to Waubonsie Valley, the Sabres have been on a roll, sweeping three straight to win the Jacobs tournament last weekend.
“The major difference between us and anyone else is our fitness level,” Sabres coach Matt Polovin said. “We can go all 80 minutes.”
The Wildcats beat Jacobs 2-0, Kaneland 3-1 and Harvard 7-0 in last weekend’s tournament.
“We were peppering shot after shot on goal,” Polovin said. “Our forwards have a tremendous amount of speed, and we ended up putting seven on Harvard to finish up the tournament. They’ve probably never seen a team like us making run after run and our forwards with the tremendous speed they have.”
Back when they were in the DVC, the Wildcats struggled matching up against larger and more physical teams. Once again, their roster is filled with players who rely on their quickness to make plays. Whether they’ve got the stamina to match the athleticism of the Sabres is a key question.
Streamwood has gotten a nice boost from three freshmen on the roster: Oscar Chavez, Alex Herrera and Jair Zuniga.
“They’re not there to watch, they’re learning on the field and can definitely play,” Polovin said. “Oscar has scored a couple of times and Rafael has been fantastic. He plays like a senior. I don’t know if these guys have been much of a surprise, but they’ve been good.”
Edwin Rueda continues to be the catalyst in the midfield for the Sabres, while Sergio Blanco is as good a goalie as you’ll find in the state.
“Blanco’s gotten even better every year, so it’s exciting to see him do so well,” Polovin said. “It’s pretty nice to have a preseason All-American in goal.”