Lockport upsets Streamwood,
stands PepsiCo on its head
Impenetrable back line leads Porters to shootout victory
By Matt Le Cren
LA GRANGE – Streamwood earned the No. 3 seed at the PepsiCo Showdown on the strength of impressive shutout victories over traditional powers New Trier, Lyons and Buffalo Grove. Lockport was the 30th seed in the 32-team bracket and had blown a two-goal lead in a 4-2 loss to Romeoville on Wednesday.
So what happened when the two teams met Saturday morning at the Lyons Soccer Complex?
Well, Lockport won, of course.
Providing more proof that anything can happen in soccer, Lockport goalkeeper Jacob Krawczyk stopped two penalty kicks in the shootout, lifting the Porters to a stunning 1-0 upset of the Sabres in the opening round of the prestigious tournament.
“It’s huge because we’ve had a rough start to the season,” said Krawczyk, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. “We weren’t even seeded (officially only the top 16 teams earn seeds).
“We were trying to get our composure together, just figure out spots. We were having difficulty figuring out our backline. Our backline was shaky.”
The Porters were on their heels for most of the match but were anything but shaky, making sure to get at least four or five defenders behind the ball at all times. That made things easy for Krawczyk, who had to make just two saves during regulation and the two five-minute overtimes.
Lockport did that despite the absence of starting center back Zac Stojak, who was taking the ACT. The backline of Brian Moore, Nick Kowalczyk, Nicholas Calderaro and Linas Savickas did an admirable job of keeping the Sabres out of the penalty area, daring the Sabres to shoot from distance, which they were reluctant to do.
“We had good mentality,” said Krawczyk, who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “We stayed focused and kept our shape well. No matter what pressure they put on us, we didn’t get nervous. We kept our cool.”
That was a marked improvement from the surprise loss to Romeoville.
“We worked the last two days, and we changed our shape a little bit, changed our system and we challenged them to come back with a response after Wednesday night,” Lockport coach Chris Beal said. “We asked them to play with intensity and discipline, be organized but also lead themselves out there. Leadership can’t always come from off the field.
“I thought it paid off, it worked. We were very disciplined and organized. We played with intensity. They players were hungry.
“It was a great overall team effort. I’m real proud of the boys.”
The Porters were unable to mount much offense – Streamwood goalkeeper Daniel Dominguez had to make only two saves – but it didn’t matter once the game went to the shootout.
After Jack Dilger converted to give Lockport the lead, Krawczyk immediately gave the Porters (3-1-3) the upper hand by diving to deny Streamwood’s first shooter, Donnie Sosa.
Although Edwin Rueda and Aldo Lazaro converted for Streamwood (4-3-2), the game ended in the fourth round when Krawczyk dove to his right and easily got both hands on Brian Benitez’s attempt, securing the shootout by a 4-2 margin.
“It wasn’t the best shot I’ve ever seen,” Krawczyk said of his clinching save. “It was a pretty easy save for me. I just guessed the right way. I did my job.”
Despite the big stage and dramatic moment, Krawczyk said he felt no nerves.
“I just let my body take control,” the senior said. “I just let my instincts do what they had to.”
Beal wasn’t surprised to see Krawczyk make those stops.
“I knew Jacob could do it,” Beal said. “We challenged him to pull off two or three saves, and he did that. We knew he was capable of that.
“We practice PKs probably four times a week, and we practice them in a realistic environment. This is why we do it, for tournaments like this or conference or postseason. You've got to practice because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Lockport senior forward David Villa got a rare second chance to atone for failing to convert his penalty kick.
After Drake Silver had converted Lockport’s second kick, Villa took his team’s third attempt but his shot down the middle was kicked away by Dominguez.
Dominguez, however, was whistled for moving off his line, which is not allowed in shootouts, and Villa was allowed to retake the kick. This time he buried it to extend the Porters’ cushion to 3-1.
“I was really glad (to get the second chance),” said Villa, who is no relation to the Spanish international of the same name. “Usually when we take PKs during practice there’s no pressure; you just take the shot.
“But here it’s a lot different because everyone is looking at you. You have to make the shot. If the goalie blocks it, he did his job, because technically it’s kind of hard for a goalie to block that."
So what was the difference between the two attempts?
“The first one was just a bad shot,” Villa said. “I had to relax and calm down, because I was really shaky on the first shot. I had too much pressure, and the second one I was like, ‘I got a second chance, not everyone gets these, so just relax and do it like practice. Let it flow.’ ”
Streamwood, ironically, proved to be a little too relaxed. The Sabres controlled most of the possession but seemed tentative, unwilling to move forcefully toward the goal.
“It’s funny because that’s what we talked about before the game, having that urgency for 80 minutes, just go at them, create some chances and put the ball in the back of the net,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “It seemed like no one wanted to be that leader out there and do what was talked about.”
The loss was the latest in a week full of head-scratching results for the Sabres, ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, who tied Geneva 3-3 on Tuesday and drew 1-1 with Elgin on Thursday.
“It was embarrassing,” Polovin said. “It’s shame. We had a bad week of soccer, and hopefully this is the end of it.”
The loss was not the fault of Streamwood’s defense. The backline led by Lazaro, Rueda, Rafa Gil and Aaron Villegas surrendered nothing against the Porters and were the only players to launch powerful shots anywhere near the Lockport net.
“They did everything they could do to keep it clean,” Polovin said. “I just wish our offensive guys would have done their job and put it in.
“I told them after the game that Lockport played like they were the third seed, and we played like we were the unseeded team. It’s a shame because in a game like that it shouldn’t have happened.
“The guys know that we were the better team. It didn’t show on the scoreboard.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK Daniel Dominguez
D Aldo Lazaro
D Edwin Rueda
D Aaron Villegas
D Rafa Gill
M Erie Ortiz
M Luis Segura
M Kristian Niemiec
M Bryan Mora
F Brian Benitez
F Donnie Sosa
Lockport
GK Jacob Krawczyk
D Brian Moore
D Jack Dilber
D Kezie Nwachukwu
D Estaban Hernandez
M Bryan Ramos
M Enrique Vargas
M Jesus Hernandez
M Alan Martinez
F Sergio Estrada
F Christina Rubio
Man of the Match: Jacob Krawczyk, GK, Lockport
stands PepsiCo on its head
Impenetrable back line leads Porters to shootout victory
By Matt Le Cren
LA GRANGE – Streamwood earned the No. 3 seed at the PepsiCo Showdown on the strength of impressive shutout victories over traditional powers New Trier, Lyons and Buffalo Grove. Lockport was the 30th seed in the 32-team bracket and had blown a two-goal lead in a 4-2 loss to Romeoville on Wednesday.
So what happened when the two teams met Saturday morning at the Lyons Soccer Complex?
Well, Lockport won, of course.
Providing more proof that anything can happen in soccer, Lockport goalkeeper Jacob Krawczyk stopped two penalty kicks in the shootout, lifting the Porters to a stunning 1-0 upset of the Sabres in the opening round of the prestigious tournament.
“It’s huge because we’ve had a rough start to the season,” said Krawczyk, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. “We weren’t even seeded (officially only the top 16 teams earn seeds).
“We were trying to get our composure together, just figure out spots. We were having difficulty figuring out our backline. Our backline was shaky.”
The Porters were on their heels for most of the match but were anything but shaky, making sure to get at least four or five defenders behind the ball at all times. That made things easy for Krawczyk, who had to make just two saves during regulation and the two five-minute overtimes.
Lockport did that despite the absence of starting center back Zac Stojak, who was taking the ACT. The backline of Brian Moore, Nick Kowalczyk, Nicholas Calderaro and Linas Savickas did an admirable job of keeping the Sabres out of the penalty area, daring the Sabres to shoot from distance, which they were reluctant to do.
“We had good mentality,” said Krawczyk, who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “We stayed focused and kept our shape well. No matter what pressure they put on us, we didn’t get nervous. We kept our cool.”
That was a marked improvement from the surprise loss to Romeoville.
“We worked the last two days, and we changed our shape a little bit, changed our system and we challenged them to come back with a response after Wednesday night,” Lockport coach Chris Beal said. “We asked them to play with intensity and discipline, be organized but also lead themselves out there. Leadership can’t always come from off the field.
“I thought it paid off, it worked. We were very disciplined and organized. We played with intensity. They players were hungry.
“It was a great overall team effort. I’m real proud of the boys.”
The Porters were unable to mount much offense – Streamwood goalkeeper Daniel Dominguez had to make only two saves – but it didn’t matter once the game went to the shootout.
After Jack Dilger converted to give Lockport the lead, Krawczyk immediately gave the Porters (3-1-3) the upper hand by diving to deny Streamwood’s first shooter, Donnie Sosa.
Although Edwin Rueda and Aldo Lazaro converted for Streamwood (4-3-2), the game ended in the fourth round when Krawczyk dove to his right and easily got both hands on Brian Benitez’s attempt, securing the shootout by a 4-2 margin.
“It wasn’t the best shot I’ve ever seen,” Krawczyk said of his clinching save. “It was a pretty easy save for me. I just guessed the right way. I did my job.”
Despite the big stage and dramatic moment, Krawczyk said he felt no nerves.
“I just let my body take control,” the senior said. “I just let my instincts do what they had to.”
Beal wasn’t surprised to see Krawczyk make those stops.
“I knew Jacob could do it,” Beal said. “We challenged him to pull off two or three saves, and he did that. We knew he was capable of that.
“We practice PKs probably four times a week, and we practice them in a realistic environment. This is why we do it, for tournaments like this or conference or postseason. You've got to practice because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Lockport senior forward David Villa got a rare second chance to atone for failing to convert his penalty kick.
After Drake Silver had converted Lockport’s second kick, Villa took his team’s third attempt but his shot down the middle was kicked away by Dominguez.
Dominguez, however, was whistled for moving off his line, which is not allowed in shootouts, and Villa was allowed to retake the kick. This time he buried it to extend the Porters’ cushion to 3-1.
“I was really glad (to get the second chance),” said Villa, who is no relation to the Spanish international of the same name. “Usually when we take PKs during practice there’s no pressure; you just take the shot.
“But here it’s a lot different because everyone is looking at you. You have to make the shot. If the goalie blocks it, he did his job, because technically it’s kind of hard for a goalie to block that."
So what was the difference between the two attempts?
“The first one was just a bad shot,” Villa said. “I had to relax and calm down, because I was really shaky on the first shot. I had too much pressure, and the second one I was like, ‘I got a second chance, not everyone gets these, so just relax and do it like practice. Let it flow.’ ”
Streamwood, ironically, proved to be a little too relaxed. The Sabres controlled most of the possession but seemed tentative, unwilling to move forcefully toward the goal.
“It’s funny because that’s what we talked about before the game, having that urgency for 80 minutes, just go at them, create some chances and put the ball in the back of the net,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “It seemed like no one wanted to be that leader out there and do what was talked about.”
The loss was the latest in a week full of head-scratching results for the Sabres, ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, who tied Geneva 3-3 on Tuesday and drew 1-1 with Elgin on Thursday.
“It was embarrassing,” Polovin said. “It’s shame. We had a bad week of soccer, and hopefully this is the end of it.”
The loss was not the fault of Streamwood’s defense. The backline led by Lazaro, Rueda, Rafa Gil and Aaron Villegas surrendered nothing against the Porters and were the only players to launch powerful shots anywhere near the Lockport net.
“They did everything they could do to keep it clean,” Polovin said. “I just wish our offensive guys would have done their job and put it in.
“I told them after the game that Lockport played like they were the third seed, and we played like we were the unseeded team. It’s a shame because in a game like that it shouldn’t have happened.
“The guys know that we were the better team. It didn’t show on the scoreboard.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK Daniel Dominguez
D Aldo Lazaro
D Edwin Rueda
D Aaron Villegas
D Rafa Gill
M Erie Ortiz
M Luis Segura
M Kristian Niemiec
M Bryan Mora
F Brian Benitez
F Donnie Sosa
Lockport
GK Jacob Krawczyk
D Brian Moore
D Jack Dilber
D Kezie Nwachukwu
D Estaban Hernandez
M Bryan Ramos
M Enrique Vargas
M Jesus Hernandez
M Alan Martinez
F Sergio Estrada
F Christina Rubio
Man of the Match: Jacob Krawczyk, GK, Lockport