Barrington tops Elk Grove on late goal
Free kick by Slingo saves the day for Broncos
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- It was a tale of two halves between host Elk Grove and Barrington in MSL crossover action Tuesday night, with the Broncos holding a 1-0 lead at the break -- and then holding off the pesky Grenadiers with a late, free kick goal to post a 2-1 win.
The winning tally came off the foot of senior midfielder Casey Slingo, who blasted in a shot from about 15 yards out on the left side after Elk Grove senior goalkeeper Alberto Centeno was sent to the sideline via a yellow card following a scramble in front of his net.
"After (Centeno) got the yellow card, I knew the new keeper (junior Pablo Ortiz) would be in, so I knew I could take a shot at it, and it dipped in," said Slingo, Chicagoland Soccer's choice for Man of the Match.
The yellow card on Centeno did not sit well with Elk Grove coach Rob Shepard, as the officials seemed unsure whether the goalkeeper needed to come out, causing a long delay in the process. Shepard filed a protest, then was issued a red card with 52 seconds left in the match after questioning official Vitali Hantsevich about another call.
"I thought the penalty (on Centeno) was a 50-50 ball, but it was a yellow card. Then it's tough for any keeper to come in cold in that situation," said Shepard, whose squad fell to 3-2-1 overall. "But Barrington is a good team -- well-coached -- and dangerous in the air. We made the adjustment in the second half, and our second half was much better. It made us realize we can hang with the class of the MSL."
Barrington, which snapped a two-game losing streak, improved to 4-3-0. The Broncos controlled play for much of the first half and finally dented the net when senior midfielder Giles Phillips scored from in close with 31 minutes remaining. Phillips and Co. had prior chances, missing high from short range in both the sixth and seventh minute, after junior defender Connor Emmerich was stopped by Diaz on a tight header with 35:20 remaining.
Keeping the Grens on their heels in the opening session was the back wall of Slingo, sophomore defender Nash Pirie, senior defenders Jason Frenk and Jack Harrington and junior defender Hans Pallan -- among others.
"We felt really strong back there. We clicked, and we knew what to do," Slingo said.
Pirie explained, "We work on defense every day in practice. If you have a weak 'D,' you can't win games. We had more heart in the first half, but it started to die down in the second half with the intensity. But we pushed through and came out with a win."
An inspired bunch of Grens took the pitch in the second half, marking the Broncos closely and frustrating the visitors' attack. At one point, with Elk Grove pressing the issue, Barrington head coach Scott Steib implored his troops to, "stop waiting to see what happens and then react."
The lead vanished when Elk Grove junior forward/midfielder Edgar Soto measured a 15-yarder from the center of the field to beat Broncos keeper Jaime Diaz for a 1-1 tie. Senior midfielder Ivan Corona assisted.
"I opened up and got the ball," Soto said. "I cut to the left and took the shot to see what would happen. Fortunately, it went in. Coach (Shepard) told us we had to step up and play tough in the second half. So we played like men and put a body on them -- and had a good half. I'm really proud of my guys -- unfortunately, that last ball went in. But we'll put the loss behind us and move forward."
Despite the win, Broncos head coach Scott Steib said he was "not very pleased" after all was said and done.
"The first half, we counted a lot of chances ... could have had three or four goals," Steib said. "But we couldn't execute, and then we let a team hang around in the second half, and they get a whiff of confidence. It's important to control the ball, and if you can't do that, at least be tenacious. I told the guys, you're either a competitor or you're not. The standard at Barrington is high, and we are not close to that standard right now.
"But after all those chances and the uncertainty with the interpretation of the rules, we buried that (free kick) when we needed it."
The victory came after the Broncos dropped the final two matches of the Barrington Classic last weekend.
"It was really important -- a conference game -- so we knew we had to come out strong," Slingo said.
Starting lineups
Barrington
G Jaime Diaz
D Jack Harrington
D Nash Pirie
D Hans Pallan
D Jason Frenk
M Brian Tapia
M Casey Slingo
M Giles Phillips
F Peyton Mohr
F Kyle Owen
F Austin Grzebieniak
Elk Grove
G Alberto Centeno
D Connor Emmerich
D Alexis Tijerin
D Bobby Hlavin
D Dan Hadler
M Oscar Suarez
M Ivan Perez
M Edgar Soto
F Jeronimo Benitez
F Noe Centeno
F Ivan Corona
Man of the Match: Casey Slingo, Barrington
Referees: Andy Sawicki, Vitali Hantsevich, Eddie Przybylski
Free kick by Slingo saves the day for Broncos
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- It was a tale of two halves between host Elk Grove and Barrington in MSL crossover action Tuesday night, with the Broncos holding a 1-0 lead at the break -- and then holding off the pesky Grenadiers with a late, free kick goal to post a 2-1 win.
The winning tally came off the foot of senior midfielder Casey Slingo, who blasted in a shot from about 15 yards out on the left side after Elk Grove senior goalkeeper Alberto Centeno was sent to the sideline via a yellow card following a scramble in front of his net.
"After (Centeno) got the yellow card, I knew the new keeper (junior Pablo Ortiz) would be in, so I knew I could take a shot at it, and it dipped in," said Slingo, Chicagoland Soccer's choice for Man of the Match.
The yellow card on Centeno did not sit well with Elk Grove coach Rob Shepard, as the officials seemed unsure whether the goalkeeper needed to come out, causing a long delay in the process. Shepard filed a protest, then was issued a red card with 52 seconds left in the match after questioning official Vitali Hantsevich about another call.
"I thought the penalty (on Centeno) was a 50-50 ball, but it was a yellow card. Then it's tough for any keeper to come in cold in that situation," said Shepard, whose squad fell to 3-2-1 overall. "But Barrington is a good team -- well-coached -- and dangerous in the air. We made the adjustment in the second half, and our second half was much better. It made us realize we can hang with the class of the MSL."
Barrington, which snapped a two-game losing streak, improved to 4-3-0. The Broncos controlled play for much of the first half and finally dented the net when senior midfielder Giles Phillips scored from in close with 31 minutes remaining. Phillips and Co. had prior chances, missing high from short range in both the sixth and seventh minute, after junior defender Connor Emmerich was stopped by Diaz on a tight header with 35:20 remaining.
Keeping the Grens on their heels in the opening session was the back wall of Slingo, sophomore defender Nash Pirie, senior defenders Jason Frenk and Jack Harrington and junior defender Hans Pallan -- among others.
"We felt really strong back there. We clicked, and we knew what to do," Slingo said.
Pirie explained, "We work on defense every day in practice. If you have a weak 'D,' you can't win games. We had more heart in the first half, but it started to die down in the second half with the intensity. But we pushed through and came out with a win."
An inspired bunch of Grens took the pitch in the second half, marking the Broncos closely and frustrating the visitors' attack. At one point, with Elk Grove pressing the issue, Barrington head coach Scott Steib implored his troops to, "stop waiting to see what happens and then react."
The lead vanished when Elk Grove junior forward/midfielder Edgar Soto measured a 15-yarder from the center of the field to beat Broncos keeper Jaime Diaz for a 1-1 tie. Senior midfielder Ivan Corona assisted.
"I opened up and got the ball," Soto said. "I cut to the left and took the shot to see what would happen. Fortunately, it went in. Coach (Shepard) told us we had to step up and play tough in the second half. So we played like men and put a body on them -- and had a good half. I'm really proud of my guys -- unfortunately, that last ball went in. But we'll put the loss behind us and move forward."
Despite the win, Broncos head coach Scott Steib said he was "not very pleased" after all was said and done.
"The first half, we counted a lot of chances ... could have had three or four goals," Steib said. "But we couldn't execute, and then we let a team hang around in the second half, and they get a whiff of confidence. It's important to control the ball, and if you can't do that, at least be tenacious. I told the guys, you're either a competitor or you're not. The standard at Barrington is high, and we are not close to that standard right now.
"But after all those chances and the uncertainty with the interpretation of the rules, we buried that (free kick) when we needed it."
The victory came after the Broncos dropped the final two matches of the Barrington Classic last weekend.
"It was really important -- a conference game -- so we knew we had to come out strong," Slingo said.
Starting lineups
Barrington
G Jaime Diaz
D Jack Harrington
D Nash Pirie
D Hans Pallan
D Jason Frenk
M Brian Tapia
M Casey Slingo
M Giles Phillips
F Peyton Mohr
F Kyle Owen
F Austin Grzebieniak
Elk Grove
G Alberto Centeno
D Connor Emmerich
D Alexis Tijerin
D Bobby Hlavin
D Dan Hadler
M Oscar Suarez
M Ivan Perez
M Edgar Soto
F Jeronimo Benitez
F Noe Centeno
F Ivan Corona
Man of the Match: Casey Slingo, Barrington
Referees: Andy Sawicki, Vitali Hantsevich, Eddie Przybylski