Bison top CLS for 8th-straight win
Eloiza hat-trick the difference in 4-2 nonconference victory
By Mike Garofola
CRYSTAL LAKE -- After an emotional Homecoming victory Friday, Kevin Eloiza got Buffalo Grove up and running less than 24 hours later with his second hat-trick of the season to lead the Bison to a 4-2 victory over Crystal Lake South on Saturday morning at the Gators soccer complex.
The first of Eloiza's triple came in the 10th minute, and his last on a PK conversion in the 72nd minute to close out the home side, which despite dropping its sixth straight, still came away with a moral victory of sorts.
"We've been without four starters due to injuries, and we're coming off two difficult losses to Dundee-Crown (2-1 in double overtime Sept. 19) and Prairie Ridge (3-1 Sept. 21) in which we were in position to win each of them," said Gators assistant, Tony Allen, in charge on this day while manager Brian Allen attended to his father who was ill.
"But I am so proud of the way we played today in this awful heat and humidity with an undermanned roster, and against a real quality opponent also.
"Our injuries, the heat and everything else that's gone on recently is no excuse for our loss, and not meant any disrespect for (manager) Brad's (Abel) team, but the effort was tremendous today from our entire roster. And that's about all you can ask until we are 100% fit and healthy."
The Gators staff is hoping the quartet of those on the injured list will return shortly. But on this day during this nonconference friendly, the club brought two from its reserve team to add numbers and fresh legs against the Bison (11-4-0), who continue to put pressure on Mid-Suburban League East Division-leading Wheeling.
"Yes, this is considered a 'friendly,' but every game we play is important and has meaning. And this was a good win for us against a team that might be struggling a little with injuries, but still brought a lot of energy and who took it to us at times," said Abel.
"We had a really tough game on Friday afternoon against Rolling Meadows," began the junior Elioza.
"It was Homecoming, and it was so hot, and that game was very important to us because we're chasing Wheeling. And if the both of us keep winning, then our game with them next Friday (Sept. 29) is for first place."
When league play resumes Tuesday, the Bison have a fixture with Schaumburg, while Wheeling takes on MSL West-leading Barrington.
"We hope to get some help from Barrington on Tuesday, while we try to take care of Schaumburg," said Eloiza.
Wheeling currently has 21 points to Buffalo Grove's 18 in the division.
During the early stages of this contest, it appeared both clubs had trouble finding any sort of flow in their respective games. That came long before the heat and humidity intensified and led to a handful of stoppages to allow for water breaks.
Buffalo Grove sophomore Shane Adams played a properly weighted ball up and over the Gators last man. When keeper Brandon Gorka came off his line to challenge the onrushing Eloiza, the crafty forward used a hint of a touch to chip the senior for the opening goal.
"We see all that kind of stuff from Kevin all of the time, he's a very special player," said Shane Adams, who was steady all throughout as an outside back in Abel's 4-4-2 formation.
The goal stung Crystal Lake South (6-8-1) into action and would open things up for the rest of the next half hour as both managers brought fresh legs on to combat the rising temperatures. The play, although frantic at times, did see plenty of up-and-down action, much to the delight of the crowd.
Alex Canfield, missing his top-flight running mate Nikolas Getzinger (concussion protocol) up-top, was at times a one-man show for the home side. In the 13th minute, the sophomore, on the turn, went just wide to awaken the Gators attack.
Both clubs recorded a handful of half-chances, along with a couple of quality attempts on frame. Then the Bison failed to clear the area after long throw -- which allowed both Colton Weidner and Tommy Ciezadlo to keep thing alive. Junior Jack Wruck found a sitter and smashed it past Buffalo Grove keeper Daniel Sempoch to tie the game 1-1.
"The shot was there for me, and I guess I was just in the right place at the right time to score," said Wruck, whose work rate in the middle of the park for the Gators was outstanding. So too was his ability to provide a link between the midfield and his mates up-top.
The 27th minute equalizer was soon erased when Eloiza hammered home a free kick from just outside the box.
"Kevin can do a lot of things offensively that we haven't seen before, and today, he did some real good things for us," Abel said afterwards.
The Gators responded with great determination, and they soon would draw back even when Oscar Campos sent Canfield through. He struck a superb equalizer of his own just three minutes before the intermission.
"We showed a lot of fight, and I thought we held our own pretty well for most of this game, which says a lot about this team," said Wruck.
Added Allen: "That second, and later (the) third goals they scored were very good. There was nothing we do about both of them, but we never lost focus today, even when we had to chase the game for most of the day."
The Gators opened the second period with some urgency, which resulted in a corner in the 42nd minute. After the ball was whipped into the box, Sempoch went high into the air to pull down to avoid trouble.
Sixty seconds later, Wruck's well-aimed free kick nearly found Canfield, whose full-stretched dive and attempted header just missed its connection.
Buffalo Grove's leading scorer Kyle Adams added another to his total when he ran onto a free kick from Brian Hanus before redirecting it past Nicholas McDaniel, who was brought on for Gorka in the second half.
Moments later Eloiza put Kyle Adams into the box, and if not for a sharp tackle from newcomer Brady Weidner, the senior would have had McDaniel all to himself.
Eloiza would put the icing on the cake after a debatable call put Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match on the spot.
The scoreline belied the fact the home side played some up-tempo soccer, and although their reward never made its way onto the scoreboard, their purpose and effort was recognized by Abel and their manager after the final whistle.
"South forced us to grind this one out today. (So) give Tony's guys a lot of credit for coming out and playing us hard for 80 minutes, while giving us our share of trouble during the game," said Abel.
"Buffalo Grove is a very good team, and when I found out they didn't concede a goal in their last four games, it made me that much more proud of our guys," began Allen.
"We spent all of our energy against Dundee-Crown before losing in two overtimes, then had a chance to get even with Prairie Ridge two days later but missed a PK. But with that said, the guys didn't hang their heads and showed a lot against Buffalo Grove, which is well-coached, plays smart and was able to take advantage of us when we had a lapse or two."
Starting lineups
Buffalo Grove (4-4-2 starting formation)
GK- Daniel Sempoch
D- Jack Keady
D- Christian Kozaczka
D- Brian Hanus
D- Shane Adams
M- Manny Mazariegos
M- Michael Botello
M- Ryan Kim
M- Shane Adams
F- Kevin Eloiza
F- Kyle Adams
Crystal Lake South (4-4-2)
GK- Brandon Gorka
D- Ryan Osterberg
D- Evan Carlson
D- Brad Grabowski
D- Brandon Wilson
M- Oscar Campos
M- John Wruck
M- Brad Grabowski
M- Thomas Ciezadlo
F- Alex Canfield
F- Sabien Bell Raymond
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Kevin Eloiza, sr., F, Buffalo Grove
Scoring summary
Buffalo Grove: Eloiza (S. Adams) 10', Eloiza (FK) 29', K. Adams (Hanus) 51', Eloiza (PK) 72'
Crystal Lake South: Wruck (U/A) 27', Canfield (Campos) 37'
Eloiza hat-trick the difference in 4-2 nonconference victory
By Mike Garofola
CRYSTAL LAKE -- After an emotional Homecoming victory Friday, Kevin Eloiza got Buffalo Grove up and running less than 24 hours later with his second hat-trick of the season to lead the Bison to a 4-2 victory over Crystal Lake South on Saturday morning at the Gators soccer complex.
The first of Eloiza's triple came in the 10th minute, and his last on a PK conversion in the 72nd minute to close out the home side, which despite dropping its sixth straight, still came away with a moral victory of sorts.
"We've been without four starters due to injuries, and we're coming off two difficult losses to Dundee-Crown (2-1 in double overtime Sept. 19) and Prairie Ridge (3-1 Sept. 21) in which we were in position to win each of them," said Gators assistant, Tony Allen, in charge on this day while manager Brian Allen attended to his father who was ill.
"But I am so proud of the way we played today in this awful heat and humidity with an undermanned roster, and against a real quality opponent also.
"Our injuries, the heat and everything else that's gone on recently is no excuse for our loss, and not meant any disrespect for (manager) Brad's (Abel) team, but the effort was tremendous today from our entire roster. And that's about all you can ask until we are 100% fit and healthy."
The Gators staff is hoping the quartet of those on the injured list will return shortly. But on this day during this nonconference friendly, the club brought two from its reserve team to add numbers and fresh legs against the Bison (11-4-0), who continue to put pressure on Mid-Suburban League East Division-leading Wheeling.
"Yes, this is considered a 'friendly,' but every game we play is important and has meaning. And this was a good win for us against a team that might be struggling a little with injuries, but still brought a lot of energy and who took it to us at times," said Abel.
"We had a really tough game on Friday afternoon against Rolling Meadows," began the junior Elioza.
"It was Homecoming, and it was so hot, and that game was very important to us because we're chasing Wheeling. And if the both of us keep winning, then our game with them next Friday (Sept. 29) is for first place."
When league play resumes Tuesday, the Bison have a fixture with Schaumburg, while Wheeling takes on MSL West-leading Barrington.
"We hope to get some help from Barrington on Tuesday, while we try to take care of Schaumburg," said Eloiza.
Wheeling currently has 21 points to Buffalo Grove's 18 in the division.
During the early stages of this contest, it appeared both clubs had trouble finding any sort of flow in their respective games. That came long before the heat and humidity intensified and led to a handful of stoppages to allow for water breaks.
Buffalo Grove sophomore Shane Adams played a properly weighted ball up and over the Gators last man. When keeper Brandon Gorka came off his line to challenge the onrushing Eloiza, the crafty forward used a hint of a touch to chip the senior for the opening goal.
"We see all that kind of stuff from Kevin all of the time, he's a very special player," said Shane Adams, who was steady all throughout as an outside back in Abel's 4-4-2 formation.
The goal stung Crystal Lake South (6-8-1) into action and would open things up for the rest of the next half hour as both managers brought fresh legs on to combat the rising temperatures. The play, although frantic at times, did see plenty of up-and-down action, much to the delight of the crowd.
Alex Canfield, missing his top-flight running mate Nikolas Getzinger (concussion protocol) up-top, was at times a one-man show for the home side. In the 13th minute, the sophomore, on the turn, went just wide to awaken the Gators attack.
Both clubs recorded a handful of half-chances, along with a couple of quality attempts on frame. Then the Bison failed to clear the area after long throw -- which allowed both Colton Weidner and Tommy Ciezadlo to keep thing alive. Junior Jack Wruck found a sitter and smashed it past Buffalo Grove keeper Daniel Sempoch to tie the game 1-1.
"The shot was there for me, and I guess I was just in the right place at the right time to score," said Wruck, whose work rate in the middle of the park for the Gators was outstanding. So too was his ability to provide a link between the midfield and his mates up-top.
The 27th minute equalizer was soon erased when Eloiza hammered home a free kick from just outside the box.
"Kevin can do a lot of things offensively that we haven't seen before, and today, he did some real good things for us," Abel said afterwards.
The Gators responded with great determination, and they soon would draw back even when Oscar Campos sent Canfield through. He struck a superb equalizer of his own just three minutes before the intermission.
"We showed a lot of fight, and I thought we held our own pretty well for most of this game, which says a lot about this team," said Wruck.
Added Allen: "That second, and later (the) third goals they scored were very good. There was nothing we do about both of them, but we never lost focus today, even when we had to chase the game for most of the day."
The Gators opened the second period with some urgency, which resulted in a corner in the 42nd minute. After the ball was whipped into the box, Sempoch went high into the air to pull down to avoid trouble.
Sixty seconds later, Wruck's well-aimed free kick nearly found Canfield, whose full-stretched dive and attempted header just missed its connection.
Buffalo Grove's leading scorer Kyle Adams added another to his total when he ran onto a free kick from Brian Hanus before redirecting it past Nicholas McDaniel, who was brought on for Gorka in the second half.
Moments later Eloiza put Kyle Adams into the box, and if not for a sharp tackle from newcomer Brady Weidner, the senior would have had McDaniel all to himself.
Eloiza would put the icing on the cake after a debatable call put Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match on the spot.
The scoreline belied the fact the home side played some up-tempo soccer, and although their reward never made its way onto the scoreboard, their purpose and effort was recognized by Abel and their manager after the final whistle.
"South forced us to grind this one out today. (So) give Tony's guys a lot of credit for coming out and playing us hard for 80 minutes, while giving us our share of trouble during the game," said Abel.
"Buffalo Grove is a very good team, and when I found out they didn't concede a goal in their last four games, it made me that much more proud of our guys," began Allen.
"We spent all of our energy against Dundee-Crown before losing in two overtimes, then had a chance to get even with Prairie Ridge two days later but missed a PK. But with that said, the guys didn't hang their heads and showed a lot against Buffalo Grove, which is well-coached, plays smart and was able to take advantage of us when we had a lapse or two."
Starting lineups
Buffalo Grove (4-4-2 starting formation)
GK- Daniel Sempoch
D- Jack Keady
D- Christian Kozaczka
D- Brian Hanus
D- Shane Adams
M- Manny Mazariegos
M- Michael Botello
M- Ryan Kim
M- Shane Adams
F- Kevin Eloiza
F- Kyle Adams
Crystal Lake South (4-4-2)
GK- Brandon Gorka
D- Ryan Osterberg
D- Evan Carlson
D- Brad Grabowski
D- Brandon Wilson
M- Oscar Campos
M- John Wruck
M- Brad Grabowski
M- Thomas Ciezadlo
F- Alex Canfield
F- Sabien Bell Raymond
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Kevin Eloiza, sr., F, Buffalo Grove
Scoring summary
Buffalo Grove: Eloiza (S. Adams) 10', Eloiza (FK) 29', K. Adams (Hanus) 51', Eloiza (PK) 72'
Crystal Lake South: Wruck (U/A) 27', Canfield (Campos) 37'