BG stays perfect, stops Grayslake C.
Eloiza goal, assist lead Bison to 2-0 N'side Showcase opening win
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- Less than 24 hours after its thrilling 4-3 victory over league rival, Wheeling, reigning MSL East champion Buffalo Grove continued its 2018 flying start with a 2-0 win over Grayslake Central on Saturday in the first of three pool play contests in the Northside College Showcase.
Building on its successful Friday night win, the Bison (3-0-0) used goals on either side of fhe halves -- the first from Alex Berk and the last by the irrepressible Kevin Eloiza -- to close out a young Rams club which is a far better side than its 0-3-0 record indicates.
"We opened strong at the start of each half, then we were a little ragged in the last 15 minutes," began Buffalo Grove manager Darren Llewellyn, who is in his first year after coming over from Hersey to replace Brad Abel, who's taking a hiatus from coaching for awhile.
Llewellyn, who retired from teaching at Wheeling following the 2017-2018 school year, saw his lads race out of the gates against the Wildcats and build a 4-0 lead at the intermission, before holding off a late charge to earn three important points on the first day of action in the Mid-Suburban League.
"We're playing a little more wide open soccer right now, because we have a lot of attacking talent," Llewellyn said. "We just need to find out who and where to play some people in order to make us as dangerous a team as possible.
"Right now we have a couple of injuries we're dealing with that is stretching our depth a little bit. But as long as we keep our defensive shape and stay organized in the back, we should be okay while we wait to get some players back."
One player Llewellyn knew about before taking the manager's job was the aforementioned Eloiza, who is clearly one of the top players in the area, and perhaps the state.
The senior earned all-tournament honors here a year ago. Last season he bagged 11 goals, which came in part from two hat-tricks, and created a half dozen PKs for the Bison. He did all that with technical genius and fluency with both feet while featuring an unselfish, humble approach Llewellyn has appreciated from the very first day of training.
"Kevin is quite a player and young man," began his manager. "He's quiet and respectful of the sport, his teammates and opponents, but his game is loud because of the wonderful talent and soccer IQ he brings each time out."
"We've had a nice start to the season," said Eloiza, who bagged a brace Friday night. "Especially that big win over Wheeling ... when we put them on their heels in that first half and worked hard to finish it off.
"Today, we were a little tired, and it showed at times, but we started a big week of soccer with a win to open the tournament, and we have to continue to play well to compete at a tournament like this one."
The Bison showed little if any leftover fatigue from the night before with a sparkling opening quarter hour that featured several of their attacking players involved after the first whistle.
Senior Jon Peici, who scored both goals in the Bison' 2-1 victory over Maine West to kick off the fall season, went close on his first two touches of this steamy afternoon at host New Trier.
Peici took a ball over the top from Brian Perez and headed his attempt over the bar in the second minute, then showed good form when he brought down a Perez corner and on the turn fired wide of post five minutes later.
Peici was at it again when he combined with Michael Eloysa to earn a deep throw. The Rams initially defended it well but not far enough out of the area to prevent Sasha Tylnyy an opportunity after Llewellyn had just brought the junior on.
After his strike sailed wide, the Bison were rewarded for the quality of their play in the early stages when Alex Bert, who joined Tylnyy off the bench, finished with a sublime touch at 18 minutes.
The goal began from just atop the Bison box after Ryan Kim connected with Eloiza to jump-start a well-executed, and smartly played counter.
Eloiza' ability to place an inch-perfect pass onto the foot of Perez helped slice open Grayslake Central in its own end and allowed Bert to steer his attempt in after running up the right side.
"We took on a lot of pressure in that first 20-25 minutes (played) gritty defense, which I was pleased with despite the goal because that defending came from a group which is a brand net unit, led by one of our captains, Kevin O'Brien," said Grayslake Central's fine manager Tom Hamilton.
"Yes, we've conceded 12 goals in our first three games, but there's been so much progress along the back, and for that matter, the improvement in our overall play in just the 13 days we've trained and been together has been remarkable."
O'Brien is the perfect man for the job as Hamilton looks to build a solid side from the back forward in order to be inline with the competition in and around the area.
The senior read potential threats extremely well, plugged holes when they opened and was efficient and stealth-like in the tackle and interceptions.
"Kevin is the real deal back there, and he's making everyone around him that much better," said Hamilton.
"He plays hard, but then so does the rest of his teammates, which is something that will help keep us in games right until the very end."
Buffalo Grove should have added to its advantage at least once and likely another time if not for Rams keeper Alexis Garcia Perez, who earned praise from both managers afterwards and once out loud during the game from Llewellyn along the touchline when the sophomore stopped a sure goal.
Garcia Perez turned away a wicked strike from Bert at 20 minutes, then, after another sharp, well-played counter by Anshul Biswas, Peici and Tylnyy - the young keeper watched teammate Mitchell Kocialkowski block a Tylnyy strike - before being called upon to smartly save the rebound effort.
"When you don't take advantage of your chances on your own, and the opponent's keeper comes up big when he's needed (games) remain far too close for comfort," cautioned Llewellyn.
Llewellyn moved Eloiza up-top to begin the second period, and the switch paid immediate dividends when he tricked his way free and into the box, where he was brought down.
He finished his spot-kick with ease to make it 2-0 just sixty seconds into the new half.
"I'm not altogether (sure) the call should have given them a PK -- seemed a little soft," Hamilton said. "But it is what it is, and we have to learn to play through that kind of situation (which) we did."
The Eloiza conversion inspired the Bison to impose themselves on this game and the Rams, but instead of building on their second goal, Buffalo Grove was frustrated by its inability to solve the Gryaslake Central keeper, whose terrific play eventually forced the Buffalo Grove attack to run out of gas.
A sensational flick from Eloiza to Brian Perez led to a brilliant stop by Garcia Perez in the 48th minute.
Eloiza nearly made something from nothing happen when he unloaded a 25-yard cracker that Garcia Perez handled despite the pace and movement on the attempt.
The Bison center-back duo of Brian Hanus and Christian Kozaczka, which was quiet for most of the first hour or so, was called upon to help bring their mates alongside them into play when Grayslake Central finally got into the game and on their front feet.
Much of the success of the Rams attack came when they played simple, using quick short passes with width and pace to force the Bison to defend more than they would have liked.
It was a thing of beauty to Hamilton, who watched Dani Orozco, Owen Aaberg, Eric Filas, Thomas Ramsey and Henry Morrison get involved with touches during the final quarter hour of play.
"During those last 15-20 minutes of the second half we had most of, if not all of the run of play," said a thrilled Hamilton. "We needed Alexis to come through for us, but after (that) we showed a lot of patience with our possession which basically negated the attack of Buffalo Grove."
A Filas half-chance was saved by Raman Kudrautsau, who was inserted into Llewellyn's first 11 after starting keeper Adam Sempoch broke a pinky finger against Wheeling.
Ramsey went over the bar before Kudrautsau came off his line to smother a potential attempt by Aaberg. He allowed a rebound after Peder Harvey's nasty, low-driving smash but nothing came of it.
The Rams best, and final chance at breaking the Bison clean-sheet came nine minutes from time. Ramsey had an open net but steered his attempt wide.
Buffalo Grove is off and running to start the new season.
"We lost some great players from last year, but we're playing with a lot of confidence right now, and that's why I feel we can be even better than last year when we won the division title," said Perez, who looks to have what it takes to be a terrific compliment to Eloiza, Peici, Berk and the rest in the Bison attack as just a sophomore.
"We played some very good soccer against Wheeling to show we can play with the best, now we're looking to do the same at this tournament."
Buffalo Grove will play Lyons on Tuesday, while Hamiltons' club takes on Class 3A state runner-up Libertyvile.
"It doesn't get any easier for us, but that's okay," said Hamilton. "We wanted to upgrade our schedule this season and having the opportunity to play in a high-profile tournament like this one is the way for us to do so.
"We will learn a lot about ourselves during this stretch of games, and we'll be better for it."
Starting lineups
Grayslake Central (4-5-1)
GK- Alexis Garcia Perez
D- Dapo Osinaike
D- Kevin O'Brien
D- James Rohlfing
D- Mitchell Kocialkowski
M- Nick Murphy
M- Peder Harvey
M- Henry Morrison
M- Dani Orozco
M- Owen Aaberg
F- Jack Kulis
Buffalo Grove (4-1-4-1)
GK- Raman Kudrautsau
D- Shane Adams
D- Brian Hanus
D- Christian Kozaczka
D- Ansul Biswas
M- Marcin Czaplinski
M- Kevin Eloiza
M- Michael Eloyza
M- Ryan Kim
M- Brian Perez
F- Jon Peici
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Kevin Eloiza, sr., F/MF, Buffalo Grove
Brian Hanus, sr., D, Buffalo Grove
Referee: Lukasz Zielinski
Scoring summary
First half
Buffalo Grove: Berk (Perez, Eloiza), 18'
Second half
Buffalo Grove: Eloiza (PK), 41'
Eloiza goal, assist lead Bison to 2-0 N'side Showcase opening win
By Mike Garofola
NORTHFIELD -- Less than 24 hours after its thrilling 4-3 victory over league rival, Wheeling, reigning MSL East champion Buffalo Grove continued its 2018 flying start with a 2-0 win over Grayslake Central on Saturday in the first of three pool play contests in the Northside College Showcase.
Building on its successful Friday night win, the Bison (3-0-0) used goals on either side of fhe halves -- the first from Alex Berk and the last by the irrepressible Kevin Eloiza -- to close out a young Rams club which is a far better side than its 0-3-0 record indicates.
"We opened strong at the start of each half, then we were a little ragged in the last 15 minutes," began Buffalo Grove manager Darren Llewellyn, who is in his first year after coming over from Hersey to replace Brad Abel, who's taking a hiatus from coaching for awhile.
Llewellyn, who retired from teaching at Wheeling following the 2017-2018 school year, saw his lads race out of the gates against the Wildcats and build a 4-0 lead at the intermission, before holding off a late charge to earn three important points on the first day of action in the Mid-Suburban League.
"We're playing a little more wide open soccer right now, because we have a lot of attacking talent," Llewellyn said. "We just need to find out who and where to play some people in order to make us as dangerous a team as possible.
"Right now we have a couple of injuries we're dealing with that is stretching our depth a little bit. But as long as we keep our defensive shape and stay organized in the back, we should be okay while we wait to get some players back."
One player Llewellyn knew about before taking the manager's job was the aforementioned Eloiza, who is clearly one of the top players in the area, and perhaps the state.
The senior earned all-tournament honors here a year ago. Last season he bagged 11 goals, which came in part from two hat-tricks, and created a half dozen PKs for the Bison. He did all that with technical genius and fluency with both feet while featuring an unselfish, humble approach Llewellyn has appreciated from the very first day of training.
"Kevin is quite a player and young man," began his manager. "He's quiet and respectful of the sport, his teammates and opponents, but his game is loud because of the wonderful talent and soccer IQ he brings each time out."
"We've had a nice start to the season," said Eloiza, who bagged a brace Friday night. "Especially that big win over Wheeling ... when we put them on their heels in that first half and worked hard to finish it off.
"Today, we were a little tired, and it showed at times, but we started a big week of soccer with a win to open the tournament, and we have to continue to play well to compete at a tournament like this one."
The Bison showed little if any leftover fatigue from the night before with a sparkling opening quarter hour that featured several of their attacking players involved after the first whistle.
Senior Jon Peici, who scored both goals in the Bison' 2-1 victory over Maine West to kick off the fall season, went close on his first two touches of this steamy afternoon at host New Trier.
Peici took a ball over the top from Brian Perez and headed his attempt over the bar in the second minute, then showed good form when he brought down a Perez corner and on the turn fired wide of post five minutes later.
Peici was at it again when he combined with Michael Eloysa to earn a deep throw. The Rams initially defended it well but not far enough out of the area to prevent Sasha Tylnyy an opportunity after Llewellyn had just brought the junior on.
After his strike sailed wide, the Bison were rewarded for the quality of their play in the early stages when Alex Bert, who joined Tylnyy off the bench, finished with a sublime touch at 18 minutes.
The goal began from just atop the Bison box after Ryan Kim connected with Eloiza to jump-start a well-executed, and smartly played counter.
Eloiza' ability to place an inch-perfect pass onto the foot of Perez helped slice open Grayslake Central in its own end and allowed Bert to steer his attempt in after running up the right side.
"We took on a lot of pressure in that first 20-25 minutes (played) gritty defense, which I was pleased with despite the goal because that defending came from a group which is a brand net unit, led by one of our captains, Kevin O'Brien," said Grayslake Central's fine manager Tom Hamilton.
"Yes, we've conceded 12 goals in our first three games, but there's been so much progress along the back, and for that matter, the improvement in our overall play in just the 13 days we've trained and been together has been remarkable."
O'Brien is the perfect man for the job as Hamilton looks to build a solid side from the back forward in order to be inline with the competition in and around the area.
The senior read potential threats extremely well, plugged holes when they opened and was efficient and stealth-like in the tackle and interceptions.
"Kevin is the real deal back there, and he's making everyone around him that much better," said Hamilton.
"He plays hard, but then so does the rest of his teammates, which is something that will help keep us in games right until the very end."
Buffalo Grove should have added to its advantage at least once and likely another time if not for Rams keeper Alexis Garcia Perez, who earned praise from both managers afterwards and once out loud during the game from Llewellyn along the touchline when the sophomore stopped a sure goal.
Garcia Perez turned away a wicked strike from Bert at 20 minutes, then, after another sharp, well-played counter by Anshul Biswas, Peici and Tylnyy - the young keeper watched teammate Mitchell Kocialkowski block a Tylnyy strike - before being called upon to smartly save the rebound effort.
"When you don't take advantage of your chances on your own, and the opponent's keeper comes up big when he's needed (games) remain far too close for comfort," cautioned Llewellyn.
Llewellyn moved Eloiza up-top to begin the second period, and the switch paid immediate dividends when he tricked his way free and into the box, where he was brought down.
He finished his spot-kick with ease to make it 2-0 just sixty seconds into the new half.
"I'm not altogether (sure) the call should have given them a PK -- seemed a little soft," Hamilton said. "But it is what it is, and we have to learn to play through that kind of situation (which) we did."
The Eloiza conversion inspired the Bison to impose themselves on this game and the Rams, but instead of building on their second goal, Buffalo Grove was frustrated by its inability to solve the Gryaslake Central keeper, whose terrific play eventually forced the Buffalo Grove attack to run out of gas.
A sensational flick from Eloiza to Brian Perez led to a brilliant stop by Garcia Perez in the 48th minute.
Eloiza nearly made something from nothing happen when he unloaded a 25-yard cracker that Garcia Perez handled despite the pace and movement on the attempt.
The Bison center-back duo of Brian Hanus and Christian Kozaczka, which was quiet for most of the first hour or so, was called upon to help bring their mates alongside them into play when Grayslake Central finally got into the game and on their front feet.
Much of the success of the Rams attack came when they played simple, using quick short passes with width and pace to force the Bison to defend more than they would have liked.
It was a thing of beauty to Hamilton, who watched Dani Orozco, Owen Aaberg, Eric Filas, Thomas Ramsey and Henry Morrison get involved with touches during the final quarter hour of play.
"During those last 15-20 minutes of the second half we had most of, if not all of the run of play," said a thrilled Hamilton. "We needed Alexis to come through for us, but after (that) we showed a lot of patience with our possession which basically negated the attack of Buffalo Grove."
A Filas half-chance was saved by Raman Kudrautsau, who was inserted into Llewellyn's first 11 after starting keeper Adam Sempoch broke a pinky finger against Wheeling.
Ramsey went over the bar before Kudrautsau came off his line to smother a potential attempt by Aaberg. He allowed a rebound after Peder Harvey's nasty, low-driving smash but nothing came of it.
The Rams best, and final chance at breaking the Bison clean-sheet came nine minutes from time. Ramsey had an open net but steered his attempt wide.
Buffalo Grove is off and running to start the new season.
"We lost some great players from last year, but we're playing with a lot of confidence right now, and that's why I feel we can be even better than last year when we won the division title," said Perez, who looks to have what it takes to be a terrific compliment to Eloiza, Peici, Berk and the rest in the Bison attack as just a sophomore.
"We played some very good soccer against Wheeling to show we can play with the best, now we're looking to do the same at this tournament."
Buffalo Grove will play Lyons on Tuesday, while Hamiltons' club takes on Class 3A state runner-up Libertyvile.
"It doesn't get any easier for us, but that's okay," said Hamilton. "We wanted to upgrade our schedule this season and having the opportunity to play in a high-profile tournament like this one is the way for us to do so.
"We will learn a lot about ourselves during this stretch of games, and we'll be better for it."
Starting lineups
Grayslake Central (4-5-1)
GK- Alexis Garcia Perez
D- Dapo Osinaike
D- Kevin O'Brien
D- James Rohlfing
D- Mitchell Kocialkowski
M- Nick Murphy
M- Peder Harvey
M- Henry Morrison
M- Dani Orozco
M- Owen Aaberg
F- Jack Kulis
Buffalo Grove (4-1-4-1)
GK- Raman Kudrautsau
D- Shane Adams
D- Brian Hanus
D- Christian Kozaczka
D- Ansul Biswas
M- Marcin Czaplinski
M- Kevin Eloiza
M- Michael Eloyza
M- Ryan Kim
M- Brian Perez
F- Jon Peici
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Kevin Eloiza, sr., F/MF, Buffalo Grove
Brian Hanus, sr., D, Buffalo Grove
Referee: Lukasz Zielinski
Scoring summary
First half
Buffalo Grove: Berk (Perez, Eloiza), 18'
Second half
Buffalo Grove: Eloiza (PK), 41'