Elgin’s Ortiz unpacks scoring touch
for title win over Lockport
Maroons claim Streamwood Fall Classic title with 1-0 win
By Bill McLean
STREAMWOOD — Elgin senior forward Erick Ortiz woke up Saturday morning with exactly zero goals scored this season.
He hit the pillow Saturday night with two goals — make that two game-winning goals in a span of five hours that led the Maroons to the championship of the second annual Streamwood Fall Classic.
The speedy, crafty tri-captain netted the goal in the Maroons’ 1-0 defeat of Lockport’s Porters Saturday afternoon in the title match at Millennium Field.
Ortiz had struck for his first goal in host Elgin’s 2-1 semifinal win over Streamwood on his home pitch, Memorial Field, Saturday morning.
A different Ortiz had been on the receiving end of several toasts the night before: Erick’s sister Maria got married.
Little brother then got to bask in a couple of raise-the-glasses worthy moments in the daylight.
But grip and lift the goblets a third time, folks. Ortiz earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for notching the clincher in the final match of a highly competitive tourney that featured a surfeit of Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 teams.
Eric the Red discovered Greenland centuries ago.
Erick the Maroon found his scoring touch Saturday.
“We’d been trying to get Erick his first goal for a while,” first-year Elgin coach Jimmy Romano said after the title test in warm, windy conditions at the Upstate Eight Conference school. “He’s fast and hardworking and able to get behind defenders easily. Erick’s first two steps — explosive.”
Ortiz sped past Porters in the 64th minute after taming a 30-yard feed from sophomore teammate Beto Gaytan, a reserve forward. Then Ortiz churned about 40 yards before unleashing a 15-yard, near-post laser under the outstretched arms of Lockport junior goalkeeper Luke Cibula.
An ecstatic Ortiz then clenched both fists and shook them repeatedly at thigh level as he turned and sprinted toward his euphoric mates.
“Our subs count, too,” the soft-spoken Ortiz said, praising Elgin’s depth after Romano’s crew — ranked no. 14 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25— improved to 8-0-3 with its win over no. 24 Lockport (8-2-1).
As the teams set up for the ensuing kick-off, senior Omar Saldana, another captain, yelled a reminder to his teammates: “Lock in, stay mentally strong!”
Ortiz’s first goal of the day came in the 34th minute of the semifinal at Elgin. He was smooth, creative and cool in sunny, humid conditions.
In that Maroons semifinal win, junior forward Eduardo Nava tallied the first goal off an Ortiz assist. For the deciding goal, he dished the ball to Ortiz, who scooted across the top of the 18, took a hard left and dashed to a spot that must have made Streamwood junior keeper Jason Ramirez think, ‘There’s no way he’ll take a shot from there.”
The angle was that sharp.
But Ortiz took a try and booted his right-footed shot curling toward the bin’s upper-90 far post.
It bent in and gave Elgin what became an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
The checkmark box next to Ortiz’s name on Elgin’s season goal-scoring sheet was no longer blank.
In the championship match, the framework absorbed a combined three — three! — shots by Elgin senior forward Miguel Navarro, including a free kick in the 28th minute.
“Miguel … he’s magic,” Romano, a 2006 Streamwood graduate and former assistant coach at his alma mater, said. “So skilled, such a good finisher. He creates for us. He’s been a huge part of our success this season.”
Added Ortiz: “Miguel wins games for us, too.”
A Saldana shot also had a run-in with an inanimate, heartless foe, namely a right post in the 55th minute. The Maroon alertly got under the rebound and attempted another shot, this time with his head.
The game effort, alas, bounded just wide.
Lockport advanced to its finals berth with a 1-0 defeat of no. 22 St. Charles North Saturday morning at Streamwood. The original tournament format called for two 10-minute extra sessions in the event of a tie after 80 minutes, but a school official (probably because of the stifling weather conditions) ordered the game to be decided via golden goal.
Porters sophomore Ismael Gomez found twine, off an assist from senior back Ryan Pavelka, in the second OT. Cibula stopped “at least 10 shots,” a Porter estimated as Lockport rested before the start of the final.
“Nice win for us,” Lockport coach Chris Beal said. “St. Charles North is tough.”
Talented Elgin was tough, too.
“It was a hard-fought battle,” Beal said. “Two very good teams, going at it. We didn’t get the kind of high pressure we needed.
“Our players worked hard the entire tournament. I’m pleased with how we did against high-level competition.”
Keeper Cibula, who made two of his three saves in the 11th minute vs. Elgin, was grateful, too.
“We got opportunities to play against some very good teams, teams we usually don’t play,” he said. “We couldn’t break Elgin’s passing, Elgin’s ability to possess.”
Winning keeper Kleber Rodriguez, a senior, made one save. So did Maroons junior Edgar Perez, who wore a field jersey Saturday afternoon. Perez, a defender, used his right foot in the 78th minute to clear a dangerous ball from the middle of the box.
Elgin has a few days to enjoy its title before it returns to conference play. The Maroons host Bartlett on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Lockport visits Andrew in a Southwest Suburban Conference cross-over match at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Footnotes
St. Charles East won the inaugural Streamwood Fall Classic in 2021, downing Lake Park in the championship match. In consolation matches Saturday, East’s Fighting Saints defeated Dundee-Crown 5-1, and Lake Park’s Lancers edged Crystal Lake Central 1-0. … Nava netted his seventh goal of the season to open the scoring in Elgin’s 2-1 win over Streamwood in a Classic semifinal staged at Elgin on Saturday morning. … Senior back Julian Orozco serves as a captain with Omar Saldana and Ortiz. … Romano is a PE teacher at Huff Elementary School in Elgin. His soccer coach at Streamwood from 2002-2005 was PE teacher Matt Polovin, whose varsity staff from 2010-15 included an assistant coach named … Jimmy Romano. … Is there a more intense soccer player out there than Elgin senior midfielder Geo Catalan? Doubt it. The young man loves to play the beautiful game and battles with unmatched verve.
Starting lineups
Lockport
GK Luke Cibula
D Daniel Szkodon
D Ryan Pavelka
D Tyler Malczewski
D Dominic Williams
MF Ismael Gomez
MF Danny Jimenez
MF Nick Skiba
F Nate Blazewski
F Sean Flannery
F Jake Skiba
Elgin
GK Kleber Rodriguez
D Roberto Salinas
D Geovanny Aviles
D Edgar Perez
D Julian Orozco
MF Aaron Saldana
MF Omar Saldana
MF Miguel Navarro
MF Gio Catalan
F Erick Ortiz
F Eduardo Nava
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Erick Ortiz, sr., F, Elgin
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Elgin — Ortiz (Beto Gaytan), 64’
for title win over Lockport
Maroons claim Streamwood Fall Classic title with 1-0 win
By Bill McLean
STREAMWOOD — Elgin senior forward Erick Ortiz woke up Saturday morning with exactly zero goals scored this season.
He hit the pillow Saturday night with two goals — make that two game-winning goals in a span of five hours that led the Maroons to the championship of the second annual Streamwood Fall Classic.
The speedy, crafty tri-captain netted the goal in the Maroons’ 1-0 defeat of Lockport’s Porters Saturday afternoon in the title match at Millennium Field.
Ortiz had struck for his first goal in host Elgin’s 2-1 semifinal win over Streamwood on his home pitch, Memorial Field, Saturday morning.
A different Ortiz had been on the receiving end of several toasts the night before: Erick’s sister Maria got married.
Little brother then got to bask in a couple of raise-the-glasses worthy moments in the daylight.
But grip and lift the goblets a third time, folks. Ortiz earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for notching the clincher in the final match of a highly competitive tourney that featured a surfeit of Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 teams.
Eric the Red discovered Greenland centuries ago.
Erick the Maroon found his scoring touch Saturday.
“We’d been trying to get Erick his first goal for a while,” first-year Elgin coach Jimmy Romano said after the title test in warm, windy conditions at the Upstate Eight Conference school. “He’s fast and hardworking and able to get behind defenders easily. Erick’s first two steps — explosive.”
Ortiz sped past Porters in the 64th minute after taming a 30-yard feed from sophomore teammate Beto Gaytan, a reserve forward. Then Ortiz churned about 40 yards before unleashing a 15-yard, near-post laser under the outstretched arms of Lockport junior goalkeeper Luke Cibula.
An ecstatic Ortiz then clenched both fists and shook them repeatedly at thigh level as he turned and sprinted toward his euphoric mates.
“Our subs count, too,” the soft-spoken Ortiz said, praising Elgin’s depth after Romano’s crew — ranked no. 14 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25— improved to 8-0-3 with its win over no. 24 Lockport (8-2-1).
As the teams set up for the ensuing kick-off, senior Omar Saldana, another captain, yelled a reminder to his teammates: “Lock in, stay mentally strong!”
Ortiz’s first goal of the day came in the 34th minute of the semifinal at Elgin. He was smooth, creative and cool in sunny, humid conditions.
In that Maroons semifinal win, junior forward Eduardo Nava tallied the first goal off an Ortiz assist. For the deciding goal, he dished the ball to Ortiz, who scooted across the top of the 18, took a hard left and dashed to a spot that must have made Streamwood junior keeper Jason Ramirez think, ‘There’s no way he’ll take a shot from there.”
The angle was that sharp.
But Ortiz took a try and booted his right-footed shot curling toward the bin’s upper-90 far post.
It bent in and gave Elgin what became an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
The checkmark box next to Ortiz’s name on Elgin’s season goal-scoring sheet was no longer blank.
In the championship match, the framework absorbed a combined three — three! — shots by Elgin senior forward Miguel Navarro, including a free kick in the 28th minute.
“Miguel … he’s magic,” Romano, a 2006 Streamwood graduate and former assistant coach at his alma mater, said. “So skilled, such a good finisher. He creates for us. He’s been a huge part of our success this season.”
Added Ortiz: “Miguel wins games for us, too.”
A Saldana shot also had a run-in with an inanimate, heartless foe, namely a right post in the 55th minute. The Maroon alertly got under the rebound and attempted another shot, this time with his head.
The game effort, alas, bounded just wide.
Lockport advanced to its finals berth with a 1-0 defeat of no. 22 St. Charles North Saturday morning at Streamwood. The original tournament format called for two 10-minute extra sessions in the event of a tie after 80 minutes, but a school official (probably because of the stifling weather conditions) ordered the game to be decided via golden goal.
Porters sophomore Ismael Gomez found twine, off an assist from senior back Ryan Pavelka, in the second OT. Cibula stopped “at least 10 shots,” a Porter estimated as Lockport rested before the start of the final.
“Nice win for us,” Lockport coach Chris Beal said. “St. Charles North is tough.”
Talented Elgin was tough, too.
“It was a hard-fought battle,” Beal said. “Two very good teams, going at it. We didn’t get the kind of high pressure we needed.
“Our players worked hard the entire tournament. I’m pleased with how we did against high-level competition.”
Keeper Cibula, who made two of his three saves in the 11th minute vs. Elgin, was grateful, too.
“We got opportunities to play against some very good teams, teams we usually don’t play,” he said. “We couldn’t break Elgin’s passing, Elgin’s ability to possess.”
Winning keeper Kleber Rodriguez, a senior, made one save. So did Maroons junior Edgar Perez, who wore a field jersey Saturday afternoon. Perez, a defender, used his right foot in the 78th minute to clear a dangerous ball from the middle of the box.
Elgin has a few days to enjoy its title before it returns to conference play. The Maroons host Bartlett on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Lockport visits Andrew in a Southwest Suburban Conference cross-over match at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Footnotes
St. Charles East won the inaugural Streamwood Fall Classic in 2021, downing Lake Park in the championship match. In consolation matches Saturday, East’s Fighting Saints defeated Dundee-Crown 5-1, and Lake Park’s Lancers edged Crystal Lake Central 1-0. … Nava netted his seventh goal of the season to open the scoring in Elgin’s 2-1 win over Streamwood in a Classic semifinal staged at Elgin on Saturday morning. … Senior back Julian Orozco serves as a captain with Omar Saldana and Ortiz. … Romano is a PE teacher at Huff Elementary School in Elgin. His soccer coach at Streamwood from 2002-2005 was PE teacher Matt Polovin, whose varsity staff from 2010-15 included an assistant coach named … Jimmy Romano. … Is there a more intense soccer player out there than Elgin senior midfielder Geo Catalan? Doubt it. The young man loves to play the beautiful game and battles with unmatched verve.
Starting lineups
Lockport
GK Luke Cibula
D Daniel Szkodon
D Ryan Pavelka
D Tyler Malczewski
D Dominic Williams
MF Ismael Gomez
MF Danny Jimenez
MF Nick Skiba
F Nate Blazewski
F Sean Flannery
F Jake Skiba
Elgin
GK Kleber Rodriguez
D Roberto Salinas
D Geovanny Aviles
D Edgar Perez
D Julian Orozco
MF Aaron Saldana
MF Omar Saldana
MF Miguel Navarro
MF Gio Catalan
F Erick Ortiz
F Eduardo Nava
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Erick Ortiz, sr., F, Elgin
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Elgin — Ortiz (Beto Gaytan), 64’