Tie leaves Steamwood short of U8 title
Elgin claims Upstate 8 River crown amidst controversy
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- In baseball the tie goes to the runner. In Tuesday’s Upstate Eight Conference River Division match that Streamwood hosted, the tie went to Elgin.
Streamwood was the team that erased a first half deficit with a goal with just 3:48 left in regulation to gain the draw, but the one point apiece meant the visiting Maroons gained the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title.
Entering the match both sides knew exactly what was at stake: a Streamwood win would enable the Sabres to win the division by a single point, but a victory or a tie was all Elgin needed to stay atop the standings. The Maroons (14-2-3 overall) completed league play at 4-1-1 with 13 points with the Sabres (10-5-2) finishing 3-1-2 with 11 points.
“We got the tie and that means a conference title and as best as I know, it’s Elgin’s first in boys soccer,” coach Dave Borg said. “(Playoff) seedings are already set, so this was two equally talented teams battling to a draw in less than ideal conditions.”
Elgin topped the no. 24 team in this week’s Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Sabres dipped from the no. 16 position the previous week.
However the outcome of the Tuesday game is in dispute.
Streamwood coach Matt Polovin feels reliable evidence exists that shows that at least one Elgin player has competed with a club team this fall and possibly in another soccer event outside of high school soccer this fall.
Polovin said both the Streamwood and Elgin athletic departments were informed of this information.
If the information reports are credible, the individual or individuals are in violation of the Illinois High School Association athletic bylaw 3.1.
"3.101 During the school season for a given sport, in a school which maintains a school team in that sport, a student shall not participate on any non-school team, nor as an individual unattached in non-school competition, in that given sport or in any competition that involves the skill of the sport in question. Violation shall cause ineligibility for a period not to exceed 365 days. An exception may be made by the Executive Director under the guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors for competitions sanctioned directly by the National Governing Body or its official Illinois affiliate for the sport.
3.103 The phrase, “participate on any non-school team,” as utilized in By-law 3.101, is defined to mean engaging in any team activity, including but not limited to, tryouts (except as defined in Section 3.102), drills, physical practice sessions, player
evaluations, team meetings, etc."
When contacted by email about the situation, Elgin athletic director Paul Pennington replied: "There is no comment at this time."
Elgin's boys varsity coach David Borg has not yet responded to an early evening email requesting comment sent Wednesday.
IHSA soccer administrator Beth Sauser has not yet responded to a late afternoon Wednesday email or early morning Thursday email.
The action in the game was befitted a conference championship match.
The early momentum favored Elgin, which tested Streamwood goalie Daniel Dominguez often throughout the match. In addition to the glow of his neon orange goalie apparel, the junior stood out for his team-saving play and earned Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor.
Just over four minutes in, Elgin’s Pablo Perez blasted a direct free kick that Dominguez caught. A minute later, the Maroons’ Christopher Colin had a breakaway run on which Dominguez raced out to cut off the angle but still had to breathe a sigh of relief when the shot was wide right. Then came a Colin corner kick that the Sabres goalie latched onto amid four Elgin players.
The weather early in the match did not seem to diminish the action after what began as a few drops shortly after the starting whistle became a steady rain. Nine minutes in, Streamwood’s Jose Ibarra had a header that required Elgin keeper Martin Jimenez-Estrada to make a tip save.
Dominguez rushed forward to help force the Maroons’ Omar Lopez into a shot that just missed the left post. But with 5:28 left before halftime, Lopez sent a nine-yard header just under the crossbar for his 25th goal of the year. It came from the sixth assist of the year for Colin.
“I saw the goalie come out, and I just put it in the back of the net. It was pretty cool,” said Lopez as he shivered in the damp conditions.
“We had a couple other opportunities just miss left or right, so it was good to finish one,” Borg noted. “At halftime I told them they had 40 minutes to play hard for a conference title, and I was proud of how they responded.”
Pablo Perez had a 22-yard volley for Elgin early in the second half and Dominguez made the save. At the other end, Streamwood’s Alex Herrera boomed a direct kick and the Maroons’ Jesus Lopez headed the ball off the line. That defensive save was added to the three by goalie Jimenez-Estrada to keep Elgin ahead.
For the match, Elgin finished with a 16-10 advantage for overall attempts and a 10-5 edge for shots on goal. The Maroons also led in corner kicks, 6-5.
With 28:21 remaining in the match, Omar Lopez cranked a free kick that Dominguez stopped and six minutes later the Streamwood goalie had to come up big against a Jesus Lopez cannon shot. Midway through the second half, the Maroons had a cross parallel to the goal line that crossed through from left to right just begging for any kind of redirect.
As the rain went from steady to a downpour, Elgin resorted to a bunker mentality on defense and virtually clogged the middle in front of the goal leading to multiple efforts by Streamwood that simply ricocheted around.
But with 3:48 left to be played, the Sabres got the equalizer. Bryan Mora’s textbook through-ball led Aldo Lazaro on a sprint goalward. Jimenez-Estrada made a sliding attempt for the stop, but Lazaro tapped it by and then hopped over the netminder in order to bury a seven-yarder from left of center into an empty net.
“In the end it was too little too late. We waited 76 minutes, too long to equalize,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “We believe we were the better team, but gave up a bad corner kick. At the end we also didn’t put away any of the chances that came off scrambles out front. We kept doing a toe poke instead of cranking it.”
Dominguez was relieved but not happy with the tie.
“It’s not the end of the world, but this can’t happen in regional play,” Dominguez said. “We started off so slow, basically waiting 76 minutes to really attack hard. Our last four matches we’ve struggled to finish chances, so hopefully that’s out of our system.”
Polovin realized the conditions were tough, but didn’t believe it favored either side.
“Daniel came up big just like he normally does. Even in weather like this, he’s solid,” Polovin insisted. “I thought Jose (Ibarra) played really well, especially as a freshman (defender). He and Rafa (Gil) handled everything in the middle and took away a lot of Elgin attacks.”
Streamwood has one final tune-up with a Thursday visit to Wauconda and then begins the postseason on Oct. 17 in the Guilford Regional. As the no. 3 seed among the 19 schools assigned to a sectional the Sabres will host, they’ll start with the survivor of a prelim between no. 14 Hononegah and no. 18 Harlem. A victory would mean a title match with either the regional host, no. 6 seed Guilford, or no. 10 South Elgin. Streamwood defeat the latter 2-0 early in September.
After defeating Lake Zurich 3-1 Wedneday, Elgin, the no. 2 seed in the same sectional, faces the prelim winner between no. 17 Rockford East and no. 15 Jefferson. A win means a championship match against either regional host and no. 11-seed Hampshire or no. 7 McHenry. The Maroons beat Rockford East 5-2 and blanked Hampshire 4-0 during the regular season.
The Maroons’ tie and league win creates some momentum for next week’s Oct. 17 opening match in the Hampshire Class 3A regional. Elgin is unbeaten in its last six (5-0-1) contests and a rematch between the teams could potentially happen in Streamwood's sectional semifinals.
Starting lineups
Elgin
GK Martin Jimenez-Estrada
D Andy Zavala
D Alex Kunicki
D Manuel Ramirez
D Julian Garfias
M Rafael Perez
M Jesus Lopez
M Christopher Colin
M Pablo Perez
F Omar Lopez
F Jean Padilla-Gomez
Streamwood
GK Daniel Dominguez
D Carlos Gonzalez
D Jose Ibarra
D Chris Pelico
D Gregorio Esteves
D Rafa Gil
M Alex Chavez
M Kristian Niemiec
M Bryan Mora
M Jorge Bracamontes
F Aldo Lazaro
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Daniel Dominguez, Streamwood, jr. GK
Game summary
Elgin 1, Streamwood 1
Elgin 1 0 ---- 1 14-2-3 (UEC-R 4-1-1)
Streamwood 0 1 ---- 1 10-5-2 (UEC-R 3-1-2)
Scoring
E – O. Lopez nine-yard header from the middle (Colin assist), 34:32 gone
S – Lazaro eludes keeper seven-yarder from left into empty net (Mora assist), 76:12 gone
Shots
E 7 – 9 --- 16
S 4 – 6 --- 10
Shots on goal
E 4 – 6 --- 10
S 2 – 3 --- 5
Saves (goalie/player)
E 4 (Jimenez-Estrada, 2/1; J. Lopez 1)
S 9 (Dominguez 3/6)
Corner kicks
E 2 – 4 --- 6
S 3 – 2 --- 5
Offsides
E 2 – 0 --- 2
S 0 – 1 --- 1
Officials: Tom Guidara (center), Jeff Goodlove, James McKinnon
Elgin claims Upstate 8 River crown amidst controversy
By Steve Nemeth
STREAMWOOD -- In baseball the tie goes to the runner. In Tuesday’s Upstate Eight Conference River Division match that Streamwood hosted, the tie went to Elgin.
Streamwood was the team that erased a first half deficit with a goal with just 3:48 left in regulation to gain the draw, but the one point apiece meant the visiting Maroons gained the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title.
Entering the match both sides knew exactly what was at stake: a Streamwood win would enable the Sabres to win the division by a single point, but a victory or a tie was all Elgin needed to stay atop the standings. The Maroons (14-2-3 overall) completed league play at 4-1-1 with 13 points with the Sabres (10-5-2) finishing 3-1-2 with 11 points.
“We got the tie and that means a conference title and as best as I know, it’s Elgin’s first in boys soccer,” coach Dave Borg said. “(Playoff) seedings are already set, so this was two equally talented teams battling to a draw in less than ideal conditions.”
Elgin topped the no. 24 team in this week’s Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Sabres dipped from the no. 16 position the previous week.
However the outcome of the Tuesday game is in dispute.
Streamwood coach Matt Polovin feels reliable evidence exists that shows that at least one Elgin player has competed with a club team this fall and possibly in another soccer event outside of high school soccer this fall.
Polovin said both the Streamwood and Elgin athletic departments were informed of this information.
If the information reports are credible, the individual or individuals are in violation of the Illinois High School Association athletic bylaw 3.1.
"3.101 During the school season for a given sport, in a school which maintains a school team in that sport, a student shall not participate on any non-school team, nor as an individual unattached in non-school competition, in that given sport or in any competition that involves the skill of the sport in question. Violation shall cause ineligibility for a period not to exceed 365 days. An exception may be made by the Executive Director under the guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors for competitions sanctioned directly by the National Governing Body or its official Illinois affiliate for the sport.
3.103 The phrase, “participate on any non-school team,” as utilized in By-law 3.101, is defined to mean engaging in any team activity, including but not limited to, tryouts (except as defined in Section 3.102), drills, physical practice sessions, player
evaluations, team meetings, etc."
When contacted by email about the situation, Elgin athletic director Paul Pennington replied: "There is no comment at this time."
Elgin's boys varsity coach David Borg has not yet responded to an early evening email requesting comment sent Wednesday.
IHSA soccer administrator Beth Sauser has not yet responded to a late afternoon Wednesday email or early morning Thursday email.
The action in the game was befitted a conference championship match.
The early momentum favored Elgin, which tested Streamwood goalie Daniel Dominguez often throughout the match. In addition to the glow of his neon orange goalie apparel, the junior stood out for his team-saving play and earned Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor.
Just over four minutes in, Elgin’s Pablo Perez blasted a direct free kick that Dominguez caught. A minute later, the Maroons’ Christopher Colin had a breakaway run on which Dominguez raced out to cut off the angle but still had to breathe a sigh of relief when the shot was wide right. Then came a Colin corner kick that the Sabres goalie latched onto amid four Elgin players.
The weather early in the match did not seem to diminish the action after what began as a few drops shortly after the starting whistle became a steady rain. Nine minutes in, Streamwood’s Jose Ibarra had a header that required Elgin keeper Martin Jimenez-Estrada to make a tip save.
Dominguez rushed forward to help force the Maroons’ Omar Lopez into a shot that just missed the left post. But with 5:28 left before halftime, Lopez sent a nine-yard header just under the crossbar for his 25th goal of the year. It came from the sixth assist of the year for Colin.
“I saw the goalie come out, and I just put it in the back of the net. It was pretty cool,” said Lopez as he shivered in the damp conditions.
“We had a couple other opportunities just miss left or right, so it was good to finish one,” Borg noted. “At halftime I told them they had 40 minutes to play hard for a conference title, and I was proud of how they responded.”
Pablo Perez had a 22-yard volley for Elgin early in the second half and Dominguez made the save. At the other end, Streamwood’s Alex Herrera boomed a direct kick and the Maroons’ Jesus Lopez headed the ball off the line. That defensive save was added to the three by goalie Jimenez-Estrada to keep Elgin ahead.
For the match, Elgin finished with a 16-10 advantage for overall attempts and a 10-5 edge for shots on goal. The Maroons also led in corner kicks, 6-5.
With 28:21 remaining in the match, Omar Lopez cranked a free kick that Dominguez stopped and six minutes later the Streamwood goalie had to come up big against a Jesus Lopez cannon shot. Midway through the second half, the Maroons had a cross parallel to the goal line that crossed through from left to right just begging for any kind of redirect.
As the rain went from steady to a downpour, Elgin resorted to a bunker mentality on defense and virtually clogged the middle in front of the goal leading to multiple efforts by Streamwood that simply ricocheted around.
But with 3:48 left to be played, the Sabres got the equalizer. Bryan Mora’s textbook through-ball led Aldo Lazaro on a sprint goalward. Jimenez-Estrada made a sliding attempt for the stop, but Lazaro tapped it by and then hopped over the netminder in order to bury a seven-yarder from left of center into an empty net.
“In the end it was too little too late. We waited 76 minutes, too long to equalize,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “We believe we were the better team, but gave up a bad corner kick. At the end we also didn’t put away any of the chances that came off scrambles out front. We kept doing a toe poke instead of cranking it.”
Dominguez was relieved but not happy with the tie.
“It’s not the end of the world, but this can’t happen in regional play,” Dominguez said. “We started off so slow, basically waiting 76 minutes to really attack hard. Our last four matches we’ve struggled to finish chances, so hopefully that’s out of our system.”
Polovin realized the conditions were tough, but didn’t believe it favored either side.
“Daniel came up big just like he normally does. Even in weather like this, he’s solid,” Polovin insisted. “I thought Jose (Ibarra) played really well, especially as a freshman (defender). He and Rafa (Gil) handled everything in the middle and took away a lot of Elgin attacks.”
Streamwood has one final tune-up with a Thursday visit to Wauconda and then begins the postseason on Oct. 17 in the Guilford Regional. As the no. 3 seed among the 19 schools assigned to a sectional the Sabres will host, they’ll start with the survivor of a prelim between no. 14 Hononegah and no. 18 Harlem. A victory would mean a title match with either the regional host, no. 6 seed Guilford, or no. 10 South Elgin. Streamwood defeat the latter 2-0 early in September.
After defeating Lake Zurich 3-1 Wedneday, Elgin, the no. 2 seed in the same sectional, faces the prelim winner between no. 17 Rockford East and no. 15 Jefferson. A win means a championship match against either regional host and no. 11-seed Hampshire or no. 7 McHenry. The Maroons beat Rockford East 5-2 and blanked Hampshire 4-0 during the regular season.
The Maroons’ tie and league win creates some momentum for next week’s Oct. 17 opening match in the Hampshire Class 3A regional. Elgin is unbeaten in its last six (5-0-1) contests and a rematch between the teams could potentially happen in Streamwood's sectional semifinals.
Starting lineups
Elgin
GK Martin Jimenez-Estrada
D Andy Zavala
D Alex Kunicki
D Manuel Ramirez
D Julian Garfias
M Rafael Perez
M Jesus Lopez
M Christopher Colin
M Pablo Perez
F Omar Lopez
F Jean Padilla-Gomez
Streamwood
GK Daniel Dominguez
D Carlos Gonzalez
D Jose Ibarra
D Chris Pelico
D Gregorio Esteves
D Rafa Gil
M Alex Chavez
M Kristian Niemiec
M Bryan Mora
M Jorge Bracamontes
F Aldo Lazaro
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Daniel Dominguez, Streamwood, jr. GK
Game summary
Elgin 1, Streamwood 1
Elgin 1 0 ---- 1 14-2-3 (UEC-R 4-1-1)
Streamwood 0 1 ---- 1 10-5-2 (UEC-R 3-1-2)
Scoring
E – O. Lopez nine-yard header from the middle (Colin assist), 34:32 gone
S – Lazaro eludes keeper seven-yarder from left into empty net (Mora assist), 76:12 gone
Shots
E 7 – 9 --- 16
S 4 – 6 --- 10
Shots on goal
E 4 – 6 --- 10
S 2 – 3 --- 5
Saves (goalie/player)
E 4 (Jimenez-Estrada, 2/1; J. Lopez 1)
S 9 (Dominguez 3/6)
Corner kicks
E 2 – 4 --- 6
S 3 – 2 --- 5
Offsides
E 2 – 0 --- 2
S 0 – 1 --- 1
Officials: Tom Guidara (center), Jeff Goodlove, James McKinnon