Elk Grove gets back to business,
shuts down Hoffman Estates
Soto's efforts lead the way
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- The circumstances were unusual, but the result was just as Elk Grove desired when the Grendadiers returned to the pitch to best Hoffman Estates 2-0 Monday. The game was previously suspended by lightning with 19:12 remaining in the first half, but the host Grenadiers had little trouble adjusting.
Elk Grove scored a pair of goals during a 5-minute span after play
resumed and never looked back in a game that began on Sept. 17 before
inclement weather halted play.
Sophomore midfielder Misa Contreras tallied the first marker. With
8:22 left in the first half, Contreras booted in a short
shot following a tip pass from junior defender Noe Centeno after
senior mid Edgar Soto delivered a well-placed corner kick.
"It was weird starting off at 19 minutes of the first half," Contreras
said. "But we had a talk that we had to come out hard and get the win.
The goal, it gives you more energy to get the win. And we didn't stop
at one goal -- we kept fighting."
Exactly five minutes after Contreras dented the net, Soto made it 2-0
when he tracked down a deflected 50-yard free kick by senior defender
Jerry Benitez, and finished in front while falling to his right.
"I went behind the wall, saw the ball, turned and kicked it in," said
Soto, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "That made me want even
more. There's a saying: 'Why just win when you can dominate.' So we
kept on fighting. The first goal gave us confidence to keep on going
and keep attacking. Why stop there?"
Added Contreras: "You can't back down. You keep going. (Leading) 2-0,
you can't be comfortable."
Elk Grove head coach Rob Shepard said, "I felt like those were scrappy
goals ... dirty goals. But that's a good thing. That second goal, Soto
really wanted it. He's starting to shed any doubt. He's way more
confident right now."
The Grenadiers improved to 4-6-0 overall and 2-4-0 in conference play
with the win.
Hoffman Estates fell to 2-8-0, 2-5-0.
"It was hard getting our momentum back from the first time (on Sept.
17)," said Hawks' senior defender Mark Hauser. "Once they got up 2-0,
we put our heads down a bit. We tried coming back, but we didn't put
enough into it."
Hauser made a strong, sliding tackle to spoil a chance by Soto in the
38th minute. With 45 seconds left in the first half, a corner by Soto
was stopped at the goal line by Hoffman Estates senior goalkeeper
Christian Peralta; Elk Grove sophomore forward Dylan Ingebrigsten
pounced on the rebound but was foiled in a scramble.
In the 56th minute, junior forward Luis Villasenor -- who was just called up
from the Grenadiers' JV1 team -- broke through on a partial breakaway
and was stopped in close on a nice save by Peralta. Ten
minutes later, Ingebrigsten had another good opportunity after taking
a pass from Soto, but his shot zipped over the crossbar.
With seven minutes left in the game, Elk Grove senior midfielder Oscar
Suarez booted a 35-yard free kick over the top of the net. Senior
defender Jerry Benitez also launched a shot over the crossbar with 25
seconds to go after an initial try by senior mid Ivan Rodriguez was
blocked.
Senior keeper Pablo Ortiz earned the shutout. Ortiz wasn't tested
often, though he was called to duty on a few occasions in the second
half.
A throw-in by Hawks' sophomore midfielder Joey Sopikiotis in the 45th
minute found senior mid Noe Padilla, who fed senior mid Konrad
Kieruzal for a left-footed try that Ortiz stopped. With 23:45 to go,
Ortiz nabbed a long blast by Hauser, who found space after a smooth
passing sequence among senior defender Jesus Urbina, Kieruzal and soph
D-man Nelson Diaz Velasquez.
Elk Grove senior defender Chris Guadarrama helped nurse the goose egg
with spot-on play in the back, including an aggressive, sliding tackle
in the 55th minute to ruin a rush by Hawks' senior forward Remzi
Ahmeti. Benitez was active in the back as well.
"I was still concentrating on the game," Guadarrama said. "I felt like
it was our game (at 2-0), but I kept doing what I was supposed to do
-- defend."
Shepard said, "You can see that Chris (Guadarrama) has natural speed,
and he reads the game well. He's a tough, hard-nosed kid. Hoffman
Estates was starting to pick it up in the second half, but our defense
adjusted well."
All in all, Shepard also was pleased that his squad seized the moment,
especially considering the Grenadiers were coming off a heartbreaking,
2-1 overtime loss to Conant two days prior.
"Emotionally, for that continued sense of belief, it was important to
win (Monday night) ... nice to get a positive result," he said. "But
the last three games (including a 4-1 win over Rolling Meadows on
Sept. 24), I feel some of the results are mirroring our style of play.
The guys are taking pride in all the little details, and we haven't
had that all the time. The guys see that adds up to a good result."
Both teams have little time to rest; each returns to action Tuesday
night. The Grenadiers host Wheeling, while Hoffman Estates stays on
the road at Prospect.
Elk Grove is gaining confidence as it enters its killer season-closing
run that includes games against league-leading Schaumburg on Friday, and Barrington, Buffalo Grove and Fremd.
Soto added: "We feel like we're doing the right things, so we want to
keep on doing what we're doing."
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK: Christian Peralta
D: Mark Hauser
D: Gilberto Perez
D: Sebestien Cajiao
D: Nelson Diaz Velasquez
M: Noe Padilla
M: Konrad Kieruzal
M: Luis Gurrola
M: Joey Sopikiotis
F: Declan Rustay
F: Remzi Ahmeti
Elk Grove
GK: Pablo Ortiz
D: Jerry Benitez
D: Noe Centeno
D: Chris Guadarrama
D: Ronaldo Olague
M: Joey Weber
M: Oscar Suarez
M: Ivan Rodriguez
M: Edgar Soto
M: Misa Contreras
F: Dylan Ingebrigsten
Man of the Match: Edgar Soto, M, Elk Grove
shuts down Hoffman Estates
Soto's efforts lead the way
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- The circumstances were unusual, but the result was just as Elk Grove desired when the Grendadiers returned to the pitch to best Hoffman Estates 2-0 Monday. The game was previously suspended by lightning with 19:12 remaining in the first half, but the host Grenadiers had little trouble adjusting.
Elk Grove scored a pair of goals during a 5-minute span after play
resumed and never looked back in a game that began on Sept. 17 before
inclement weather halted play.
Sophomore midfielder Misa Contreras tallied the first marker. With
8:22 left in the first half, Contreras booted in a short
shot following a tip pass from junior defender Noe Centeno after
senior mid Edgar Soto delivered a well-placed corner kick.
"It was weird starting off at 19 minutes of the first half," Contreras
said. "But we had a talk that we had to come out hard and get the win.
The goal, it gives you more energy to get the win. And we didn't stop
at one goal -- we kept fighting."
Exactly five minutes after Contreras dented the net, Soto made it 2-0
when he tracked down a deflected 50-yard free kick by senior defender
Jerry Benitez, and finished in front while falling to his right.
"I went behind the wall, saw the ball, turned and kicked it in," said
Soto, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "That made me want even
more. There's a saying: 'Why just win when you can dominate.' So we
kept on fighting. The first goal gave us confidence to keep on going
and keep attacking. Why stop there?"
Added Contreras: "You can't back down. You keep going. (Leading) 2-0,
you can't be comfortable."
Elk Grove head coach Rob Shepard said, "I felt like those were scrappy
goals ... dirty goals. But that's a good thing. That second goal, Soto
really wanted it. He's starting to shed any doubt. He's way more
confident right now."
The Grenadiers improved to 4-6-0 overall and 2-4-0 in conference play
with the win.
Hoffman Estates fell to 2-8-0, 2-5-0.
"It was hard getting our momentum back from the first time (on Sept.
17)," said Hawks' senior defender Mark Hauser. "Once they got up 2-0,
we put our heads down a bit. We tried coming back, but we didn't put
enough into it."
Hauser made a strong, sliding tackle to spoil a chance by Soto in the
38th minute. With 45 seconds left in the first half, a corner by Soto
was stopped at the goal line by Hoffman Estates senior goalkeeper
Christian Peralta; Elk Grove sophomore forward Dylan Ingebrigsten
pounced on the rebound but was foiled in a scramble.
In the 56th minute, junior forward Luis Villasenor -- who was just called up
from the Grenadiers' JV1 team -- broke through on a partial breakaway
and was stopped in close on a nice save by Peralta. Ten
minutes later, Ingebrigsten had another good opportunity after taking
a pass from Soto, but his shot zipped over the crossbar.
With seven minutes left in the game, Elk Grove senior midfielder Oscar
Suarez booted a 35-yard free kick over the top of the net. Senior
defender Jerry Benitez also launched a shot over the crossbar with 25
seconds to go after an initial try by senior mid Ivan Rodriguez was
blocked.
Senior keeper Pablo Ortiz earned the shutout. Ortiz wasn't tested
often, though he was called to duty on a few occasions in the second
half.
A throw-in by Hawks' sophomore midfielder Joey Sopikiotis in the 45th
minute found senior mid Noe Padilla, who fed senior mid Konrad
Kieruzal for a left-footed try that Ortiz stopped. With 23:45 to go,
Ortiz nabbed a long blast by Hauser, who found space after a smooth
passing sequence among senior defender Jesus Urbina, Kieruzal and soph
D-man Nelson Diaz Velasquez.
Elk Grove senior defender Chris Guadarrama helped nurse the goose egg
with spot-on play in the back, including an aggressive, sliding tackle
in the 55th minute to ruin a rush by Hawks' senior forward Remzi
Ahmeti. Benitez was active in the back as well.
"I was still concentrating on the game," Guadarrama said. "I felt like
it was our game (at 2-0), but I kept doing what I was supposed to do
-- defend."
Shepard said, "You can see that Chris (Guadarrama) has natural speed,
and he reads the game well. He's a tough, hard-nosed kid. Hoffman
Estates was starting to pick it up in the second half, but our defense
adjusted well."
All in all, Shepard also was pleased that his squad seized the moment,
especially considering the Grenadiers were coming off a heartbreaking,
2-1 overtime loss to Conant two days prior.
"Emotionally, for that continued sense of belief, it was important to
win (Monday night) ... nice to get a positive result," he said. "But
the last three games (including a 4-1 win over Rolling Meadows on
Sept. 24), I feel some of the results are mirroring our style of play.
The guys are taking pride in all the little details, and we haven't
had that all the time. The guys see that adds up to a good result."
Both teams have little time to rest; each returns to action Tuesday
night. The Grenadiers host Wheeling, while Hoffman Estates stays on
the road at Prospect.
Elk Grove is gaining confidence as it enters its killer season-closing
run that includes games against league-leading Schaumburg on Friday, and Barrington, Buffalo Grove and Fremd.
Soto added: "We feel like we're doing the right things, so we want to
keep on doing what we're doing."
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK: Christian Peralta
D: Mark Hauser
D: Gilberto Perez
D: Sebestien Cajiao
D: Nelson Diaz Velasquez
M: Noe Padilla
M: Konrad Kieruzal
M: Luis Gurrola
M: Joey Sopikiotis
F: Declan Rustay
F: Remzi Ahmeti
Elk Grove
GK: Pablo Ortiz
D: Jerry Benitez
D: Noe Centeno
D: Chris Guadarrama
D: Ronaldo Olague
M: Joey Weber
M: Oscar Suarez
M: Ivan Rodriguez
M: Edgar Soto
M: Misa Contreras
F: Dylan Ingebrigsten
Man of the Match: Edgar Soto, M, Elk Grove