Zarate chops power
Rolling Meadows past Elk Grove
Grenadiers suffer fourth-straight defeat
By Ken Keenan
ROLLING MEADOWS -- Behind high-flying forward David Zarate's two goals and an assist, Rolling Meadows celebrated Senior Night with a 3-1 win over visiting Elk Grove on Tuesday night.
Zarate, one of 11 seniors on the Mustangs' roster this season, scored the first goal of the match with 9:15 remaining in the first half. The speedster --Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- burst through the Grenadiers' defense on a partial breakaway and fired a low shot from 12 yards out that landed inside the far post past Elk Grove goalkeeper Alberto Centeno, whose club fell to 3-5-1 overall (0-5 conference) while suffering its fourth-consecutive defeat.
Zarate's goal held up for a 1-0 lead at halftime. Rolling Meadows -- which improved to 6-4-0 overall and 2-0 in MSL East play -- then increased the margin to 2-0 when senior forward Sal D'Acquisto redirected a slicing Zarate cross from the left side in the 52nd minute.
"I saw Sal, and saw him make a run, and picked him out," Zarate said. "It's always nice getting an assist, too."
But with 18:18 to go, Elk Grove junior forward Edgar Soto cut the lead in half with a 30-foot shot that eluded Mustangs senior keeper Willie Mrofcza.
Less than a minute later, Zarate (who else?) gave Meadows a 3-1 lead with a shot from the left side that hit the far post before trickling in past a helpless Centeno.
"We needed to get the momentum back after they scored, so I took it down the line and was able to score," Zarate said.
Time after time, Zarate raced down the wing to create chances. Fifty seconds before he scored the first goal, Zarate bent a blast inches wide of the far post from the right side, and with 27:50 left in the match, he rifled a ball from the left side toward the front of the net that EG's defense tipped away at the last second.
Five minutes later, Zarate took a hard left-footed shot that Centeno stopped, and less than a minute after that he saw another good chance sail wide past the right-side post.
"David did a real good job getting down the line," Rolling Meadows head coach Peter Mikulak said. "He had a couple of strikes that just missed ... a couple of dangerous balls. When he was turning on the speed, he was difficult to catch up to."
Zarate, who admitted he was tiring as the game wore on, found a way to keep his foot on the gas.
"I knew I had to dig down deep," he said. "You have to put more goals in the back of the net and secure the win."
Mustangs senior midfielder Kou Glaser, who helped keep EG at bay with solid work in the center of the field, was as impressed as his skipper with Zarate's never-ending drive.
"He was bearing down, using his speed, and they had no answer," Glaser said.
Elk Grove head coach Rob Shepard was proud of his players.
"We worked real hard. Battling from behind is tough," Shepard said. "We played good, hard soccer. When it was 1-0, we had pressure but couldn't finish. We talked -- we had communication -- and then we got back to 2-1. So I'm OK with the effort. We battled 'em."
Mustangs junior defender A.J. Aluquin had the second half's first real scoring opportunity, firing high and wide less than two minutes in. About two minutes later, Glaser curled a shot wide right.
Elk Grove then had its share of chances, including a left-footed blast by senior forward Carlos Miranda that nipped the crossbar with 31:55 to go, followed by a short attempt that Mrofcza snagged with 29:38 remaining. Another Grens rush resulted in a deflection over the top of the net with 25:50 showing on the clock.
From there, bodies kept hitting the turf like it was "Friday Night Lights."
Mikulak acknowledged the rough-and-tumble element of the second half, and said it was par for the course in MSL play.
"Players were playing hard on both sides, going full speed down the field," he said. "There were probably five other games in the league tonight that were just as physical. As a team, we didn't hang our heads and let their momentum build too much. It's nice to get the three points."
Glaser said it was crucial for the Mustangs to keep their composure.
"It was important to play our game," he said. "It got a little sloppy, but we played through it. We played our game and stayed composed. It's a very important win."
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
G Alberto Centeno
D Bobby Hlavin
D Dan Hadler
D Connor Emmerich
D Alexis Tijerin
MF Ivan Perez
MF Oscar Suarez
MF Ivan Corona
MF Noe Centeno
F Edgar Soto
F Jeronimo Benitz
Rolling Meadows
G Willie Mrofcza
D A.J. Aluquin
D Brandon Rodriguez
D Jessie Perez
D Enrique Avellaneda
MF Andy Rueger
MF David Cruz
MF Jose Cruz
MF Brett Gibson
F Sal D'Acquisto
F David Zarate
Man of the Match: David Zarate, Rolling Meadows
Officials: Mohammed Mushtaq (center); Leszek Bielko; Daniel Szeliga.
Rolling Meadows past Elk Grove
Grenadiers suffer fourth-straight defeat
By Ken Keenan
ROLLING MEADOWS -- Behind high-flying forward David Zarate's two goals and an assist, Rolling Meadows celebrated Senior Night with a 3-1 win over visiting Elk Grove on Tuesday night.
Zarate, one of 11 seniors on the Mustangs' roster this season, scored the first goal of the match with 9:15 remaining in the first half. The speedster --Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- burst through the Grenadiers' defense on a partial breakaway and fired a low shot from 12 yards out that landed inside the far post past Elk Grove goalkeeper Alberto Centeno, whose club fell to 3-5-1 overall (0-5 conference) while suffering its fourth-consecutive defeat.
Zarate's goal held up for a 1-0 lead at halftime. Rolling Meadows -- which improved to 6-4-0 overall and 2-0 in MSL East play -- then increased the margin to 2-0 when senior forward Sal D'Acquisto redirected a slicing Zarate cross from the left side in the 52nd minute.
"I saw Sal, and saw him make a run, and picked him out," Zarate said. "It's always nice getting an assist, too."
But with 18:18 to go, Elk Grove junior forward Edgar Soto cut the lead in half with a 30-foot shot that eluded Mustangs senior keeper Willie Mrofcza.
Less than a minute later, Zarate (who else?) gave Meadows a 3-1 lead with a shot from the left side that hit the far post before trickling in past a helpless Centeno.
"We needed to get the momentum back after they scored, so I took it down the line and was able to score," Zarate said.
Time after time, Zarate raced down the wing to create chances. Fifty seconds before he scored the first goal, Zarate bent a blast inches wide of the far post from the right side, and with 27:50 left in the match, he rifled a ball from the left side toward the front of the net that EG's defense tipped away at the last second.
Five minutes later, Zarate took a hard left-footed shot that Centeno stopped, and less than a minute after that he saw another good chance sail wide past the right-side post.
"David did a real good job getting down the line," Rolling Meadows head coach Peter Mikulak said. "He had a couple of strikes that just missed ... a couple of dangerous balls. When he was turning on the speed, he was difficult to catch up to."
Zarate, who admitted he was tiring as the game wore on, found a way to keep his foot on the gas.
"I knew I had to dig down deep," he said. "You have to put more goals in the back of the net and secure the win."
Mustangs senior midfielder Kou Glaser, who helped keep EG at bay with solid work in the center of the field, was as impressed as his skipper with Zarate's never-ending drive.
"He was bearing down, using his speed, and they had no answer," Glaser said.
Elk Grove head coach Rob Shepard was proud of his players.
"We worked real hard. Battling from behind is tough," Shepard said. "We played good, hard soccer. When it was 1-0, we had pressure but couldn't finish. We talked -- we had communication -- and then we got back to 2-1. So I'm OK with the effort. We battled 'em."
Mustangs junior defender A.J. Aluquin had the second half's first real scoring opportunity, firing high and wide less than two minutes in. About two minutes later, Glaser curled a shot wide right.
Elk Grove then had its share of chances, including a left-footed blast by senior forward Carlos Miranda that nipped the crossbar with 31:55 to go, followed by a short attempt that Mrofcza snagged with 29:38 remaining. Another Grens rush resulted in a deflection over the top of the net with 25:50 showing on the clock.
From there, bodies kept hitting the turf like it was "Friday Night Lights."
Mikulak acknowledged the rough-and-tumble element of the second half, and said it was par for the course in MSL play.
"Players were playing hard on both sides, going full speed down the field," he said. "There were probably five other games in the league tonight that were just as physical. As a team, we didn't hang our heads and let their momentum build too much. It's nice to get the three points."
Glaser said it was crucial for the Mustangs to keep their composure.
"It was important to play our game," he said. "It got a little sloppy, but we played through it. We played our game and stayed composed. It's a very important win."
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
G Alberto Centeno
D Bobby Hlavin
D Dan Hadler
D Connor Emmerich
D Alexis Tijerin
MF Ivan Perez
MF Oscar Suarez
MF Ivan Corona
MF Noe Centeno
F Edgar Soto
F Jeronimo Benitz
Rolling Meadows
G Willie Mrofcza
D A.J. Aluquin
D Brandon Rodriguez
D Jessie Perez
D Enrique Avellaneda
MF Andy Rueger
MF David Cruz
MF Jose Cruz
MF Brett Gibson
F Sal D'Acquisto
F David Zarate
Man of the Match: David Zarate, Rolling Meadows
Officials: Mohammed Mushtaq (center); Leszek Bielko; Daniel Szeliga.