Lake Park holds off Streamwood
Lancers post 1-0 supersectional win with man advantage
By Mike Garofola
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Lake Park's quest to earn another major trophy was realized Tuesday night at Charles Fuetz Stadium at Conant High School. The Lancers (21-3-3) overcame a gritty 80-minute effort from Streamwood, 43 of which were played a man down, to claim a 1-0 Conant Supersectional victory.
Matteo Costa bagged the game-winner in the 57th minute. The victory sends manager Sean Crosby's club into the Class 3A state tournament this Friday where they will play two-time defending state champion Naperville North in the 5 p.m. semifinal at Hoffman Estates High School.
"Well, that wasn't easy," said a relieved Crosby after his men survived a weather delay at six minutes, steady rain through most of the second period, and a Sabres club that proved playing a man down for 43 minutes was no problem.
"I thought we had a good feel for things in the first 15-20 minutes despite (Streamwood) having most of the possession. The last 15 minutes of the first half saw them have most of the play."
Crosby will bring his lads to the state tournament for the first time in his three-year tenure with the team. The Lancers finished fourth in their finals debut in 2013.
"Streamwood is such a good team, so technical, with talented guys like nos. 8, 10 and 11 (Bryan Mora, Jesus Limon, Alex Chavez). But we got ourselves a little break at the end of the half when we freed up Jesus (Juarez) on the outside, which changed things the rest of the way for both of us."
The "little break" Crosby spoke of came in the 37th minute when a yellow card booking on Josh Taboada for his tackle on Juarez, his second of the game, sent the junior off. The call gave the Lancers a man advantage the rest of the night.
The call did not sit well with the Streamwood sideline.
"The first yellow on Josh (early on) was the right call, he had a hold on the shirt of no. 20 (Gabriel Mendrano)," said disappointed Sabres manager Matt Polovin. "But that second one just didn't seem right, and it's a shame the ref just couldn't let the kids dictate how the game will be played instead of him.
"It kind of messed with the flow of the game. Nonetheless, I thought the guys did a tremendous job of playing against a quality team like Lake Park with a man down.
"We showed a lot of character, heart and fight. And in the end, we lost with a lot of pride and class, and that's something I was very proud of."
A close-range angled attempt from Lake Park's Presta in the sixth minute was the game's first solid try on goal and gave the Lancers faithful an early thrill. Moments later some nasty wind and rain blew through the area and forced a nearly hour-long delay until the skies cleared.
When officials brought both clubs back on, most of the play was measured. Each side tested the other but without any real purpose or industry.
Costa and Presta commented that Lake Park knew Streamwood was a fantastic team in possession. They knew the Lancers needed to figure a way to adjust to the quick passes and side-to-side switches of their foe in order to keep them out of their offensive flow.
Gray McClellan, who enjoyed a wonderful night up-top for Lake Park, created tons of high pressure with plenty of pace and work rate. After the weather delay, he recorded the first shot when he headed over the bar after Presta and Victor Pawlik orchestrated the opportunity.
Pawlik was active from his spot on the outside. He joined the attack at times in addition to providing service into the area or up-top to McClellan.
Streamwood's Chavez, whom Polovin called one of the top forwards in the state, was at the heart of most of the Sabres chances on the night whether through his enterprising and exciting runs up the flank or straight-on attacks at the Lancers' defense.
The senior, who led the Sabres with 21 goals and 10 assists, forced tackles from the Lancers defense on three-consecutive efforts into the box. The third was a marvelous carry at high speed which made it look like the senior had the ball super-glued to his boots.
"When opposing coaches tried to double or triple (Alex) he could find ways to beat the press with his speed to find a teammate or put more pressure on the keeper," Polovin said.
"He showed (it) in the sectional championship against Elgin when he beat three defenders down the side with great speed and composure. Then he went past their keeper after he moved off his line.
"Tonight, when we went a man down, he was all over the place defending and attacking and never looked to be tiring at all."
What looked to be a promising attack for Lake Park in the 29th minute saw the assistant referee raise his flag to end what Costa, Pawlik and Oleksandr Melnyk had started.
It would have been 1-0 Streamwood if not for a tremendous point-blank save by Lake Park keeper Christian Lekki on Limon at the half hour or moments later when the Lancers allowed Limon to tee-up a 20-yard blast that Max Ellenbecker blocked on the way in.
"We had some chances in the first half," said Limon, who tallied 12 goals for Streamwood (18-5-3) this season. "Too bad we didn't put one in before we went down a man, but that's the way it goes in this sport sometimes."
The Sabres' Jorge Bracamontes' snap-shot forced Lekki into action once again. Soon after Streamwood played a man down.
"If I'm Matt (Polovin) I would likely be upset with that second yellow card," said Crosby. "It's a tough call regardless of when it's made. For us, it gave us a chance, but we still had to take advantage of it."
Streamwood looked unfazed by the change for the remaining three minutes before the intermission and appeared to cope well with the situation during the early exchanges of the second half.
Lake Park began to turn the tables.
"We were a little lucky in that first half because of what Chavez and Mora were doing to us," Crosby said. "We finally got into the game by winning the play in the midfield, putting a lot of pressure on their backs and just keeping the ball in their end with possession or quality direct balls out of the back."
The first sign of bigger and better things from the Lancers (21-3-3) came with a handful of well-executed, build-up plays. The first came after four different players had a touch with the last coming from Costa, who connected with Juarez.
The senior unloaded a wicked left-footed attempt that Sabres keeper Hector Alfaro turned around the post with a late horizontal dive.
McClellan headed wide moments later, and then it was Paul Grzybowicz whose sharp interception led to a chance for Melnyk.
"We knew with the way we were playing that a goal was coming," said Costa. "So we just had to keep working hard, because a goal at that point might be the game."
Both Costa and Presta praised the effort of Mendrano, who stepped in on a tackle to earn the ball and quickly played through to Presta in the center channel.
The senior dribbled through a crowd before watching his point-blank blast brilliantly stopped by Alfaro. The ball spilled free, and Presta regathered it within 10 yards of the endline with an open passing lane.
"It was all happening so quickly," said Costa. "But I trusted that Franco would get the ball on my foot, and when he did, all I had to do was direct it into the back of the net."
The 57th-minute goal sent shockwaves through the large, rain-soaked crowd and insured a frantic final 23 minutes.
Lake Park would have doubled its advantage just after the Costa opener if not for another sensational save by Alfaro. The near-miss inspired strong play from Juarez, McClellan and Mendrano, who made sure their club stayed in the Sabres' end for the next 10 minutes.
On the other end with time ebbing away, Streamwood came to life once more as it went in search of the equalizer and overtime.
While Lake Park sat in a little deeper than Crosby and his staff had wanted, Streamwood began to throw more numbers forward, including its gifted center back Jose Ibarra.
"In my opinion, Ibarra and Colin Iverson, of Naperville North, are the two best center backs in the state," offered Polovin.
"Even though Jose is just a sophomore, he makes playing in the center seem like a walk in the park. He plays at such a high level with great awareness and uncanny discipline, and composure with and without the ball."
Playing with more confidence and plenty of urgency, Streamwood's Chavez drove a free kick directly at Lekki in the 69th minute. That was folllowed by another from Mora, plus three corners before the contest came to an end.
"Lake Park was a very good team," Limon said. "They deserved the result they got, but we don't have anything to hang our heads on. We played as hard as we could tonight."
Lake Park could let out a sigh of relief after the game.
"There was extra pressure because of what this game meant," said Costa.
"For many of us, this could have been our last game of our high school careers. We all wanted to get Lake Park back to the state tournament after being there only once before."
Streamwood gave its respect to the victors.
"Credit Lake Park, they're a very good team, well coached, and deserving of going downstate," began Polovin. "I really thought if we were able to sneak one in at the end, things might have gone our way.
"But we'll reload for next season, albeit without a terrific group of seniors, including a player like Bryan (Mora) who was a four-year starter. He just loved the game and worked so hard to develop into a first-rate player. I thought I'd never see (one) here again after having Nestor Ascencio."
Crosby and his men enter their state opener on a roll with a seven-game winning streak, 12 clean-sheets, and the experience of three anxiety-filled postseason games.
"This is a very special group that I recognized from the very first day was capable of putting a run together to get themselves into position to get to state," said a proud Crosby.
"We survived back-to-back shootouts over St. Charles East and Benet to get ourselves into this game tonight then did what we had to do in order to advance and stay alive.
"It's been a great ride so far."
Starting lineups
Streamwood (4-3-3)
G- Hector Alfaro
D- Fernando Mancero
D- Jose Ibarra
D- Josh Taboada
D- Alejandro Morales
M- Edwin Peralta
M- Bryan Mora
M- Leo Magana
F- Roland Martinez
F- Jesus Limon
F- Alex Chavez
Lake Park (4-5-1)
G- Christian Lekki
D- Thomas Zakic
D- Paul Grzybowicz
D- Max Ellenbecker
D- Anthony Magnar
M- Victor Pawlik
M- Matteo Costa
M- Franco Presta
M- Gabriel Mendrano
M- Jesus Juarez
F- Gray McClellan
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Chavez, sr., F, Streamwood
Referee: Chris Rudolph
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Lake Park: Costa (Presta), 57'
Lancers post 1-0 supersectional win with man advantage
By Mike Garofola
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Lake Park's quest to earn another major trophy was realized Tuesday night at Charles Fuetz Stadium at Conant High School. The Lancers (21-3-3) overcame a gritty 80-minute effort from Streamwood, 43 of which were played a man down, to claim a 1-0 Conant Supersectional victory.
Matteo Costa bagged the game-winner in the 57th minute. The victory sends manager Sean Crosby's club into the Class 3A state tournament this Friday where they will play two-time defending state champion Naperville North in the 5 p.m. semifinal at Hoffman Estates High School.
"Well, that wasn't easy," said a relieved Crosby after his men survived a weather delay at six minutes, steady rain through most of the second period, and a Sabres club that proved playing a man down for 43 minutes was no problem.
"I thought we had a good feel for things in the first 15-20 minutes despite (Streamwood) having most of the possession. The last 15 minutes of the first half saw them have most of the play."
Crosby will bring his lads to the state tournament for the first time in his three-year tenure with the team. The Lancers finished fourth in their finals debut in 2013.
"Streamwood is such a good team, so technical, with talented guys like nos. 8, 10 and 11 (Bryan Mora, Jesus Limon, Alex Chavez). But we got ourselves a little break at the end of the half when we freed up Jesus (Juarez) on the outside, which changed things the rest of the way for both of us."
The "little break" Crosby spoke of came in the 37th minute when a yellow card booking on Josh Taboada for his tackle on Juarez, his second of the game, sent the junior off. The call gave the Lancers a man advantage the rest of the night.
The call did not sit well with the Streamwood sideline.
"The first yellow on Josh (early on) was the right call, he had a hold on the shirt of no. 20 (Gabriel Mendrano)," said disappointed Sabres manager Matt Polovin. "But that second one just didn't seem right, and it's a shame the ref just couldn't let the kids dictate how the game will be played instead of him.
"It kind of messed with the flow of the game. Nonetheless, I thought the guys did a tremendous job of playing against a quality team like Lake Park with a man down.
"We showed a lot of character, heart and fight. And in the end, we lost with a lot of pride and class, and that's something I was very proud of."
A close-range angled attempt from Lake Park's Presta in the sixth minute was the game's first solid try on goal and gave the Lancers faithful an early thrill. Moments later some nasty wind and rain blew through the area and forced a nearly hour-long delay until the skies cleared.
When officials brought both clubs back on, most of the play was measured. Each side tested the other but without any real purpose or industry.
Costa and Presta commented that Lake Park knew Streamwood was a fantastic team in possession. They knew the Lancers needed to figure a way to adjust to the quick passes and side-to-side switches of their foe in order to keep them out of their offensive flow.
Gray McClellan, who enjoyed a wonderful night up-top for Lake Park, created tons of high pressure with plenty of pace and work rate. After the weather delay, he recorded the first shot when he headed over the bar after Presta and Victor Pawlik orchestrated the opportunity.
Pawlik was active from his spot on the outside. He joined the attack at times in addition to providing service into the area or up-top to McClellan.
Streamwood's Chavez, whom Polovin called one of the top forwards in the state, was at the heart of most of the Sabres chances on the night whether through his enterprising and exciting runs up the flank or straight-on attacks at the Lancers' defense.
The senior, who led the Sabres with 21 goals and 10 assists, forced tackles from the Lancers defense on three-consecutive efforts into the box. The third was a marvelous carry at high speed which made it look like the senior had the ball super-glued to his boots.
"When opposing coaches tried to double or triple (Alex) he could find ways to beat the press with his speed to find a teammate or put more pressure on the keeper," Polovin said.
"He showed (it) in the sectional championship against Elgin when he beat three defenders down the side with great speed and composure. Then he went past their keeper after he moved off his line.
"Tonight, when we went a man down, he was all over the place defending and attacking and never looked to be tiring at all."
What looked to be a promising attack for Lake Park in the 29th minute saw the assistant referee raise his flag to end what Costa, Pawlik and Oleksandr Melnyk had started.
It would have been 1-0 Streamwood if not for a tremendous point-blank save by Lake Park keeper Christian Lekki on Limon at the half hour or moments later when the Lancers allowed Limon to tee-up a 20-yard blast that Max Ellenbecker blocked on the way in.
"We had some chances in the first half," said Limon, who tallied 12 goals for Streamwood (18-5-3) this season. "Too bad we didn't put one in before we went down a man, but that's the way it goes in this sport sometimes."
The Sabres' Jorge Bracamontes' snap-shot forced Lekki into action once again. Soon after Streamwood played a man down.
"If I'm Matt (Polovin) I would likely be upset with that second yellow card," said Crosby. "It's a tough call regardless of when it's made. For us, it gave us a chance, but we still had to take advantage of it."
Streamwood looked unfazed by the change for the remaining three minutes before the intermission and appeared to cope well with the situation during the early exchanges of the second half.
Lake Park began to turn the tables.
"We were a little lucky in that first half because of what Chavez and Mora were doing to us," Crosby said. "We finally got into the game by winning the play in the midfield, putting a lot of pressure on their backs and just keeping the ball in their end with possession or quality direct balls out of the back."
The first sign of bigger and better things from the Lancers (21-3-3) came with a handful of well-executed, build-up plays. The first came after four different players had a touch with the last coming from Costa, who connected with Juarez.
The senior unloaded a wicked left-footed attempt that Sabres keeper Hector Alfaro turned around the post with a late horizontal dive.
McClellan headed wide moments later, and then it was Paul Grzybowicz whose sharp interception led to a chance for Melnyk.
"We knew with the way we were playing that a goal was coming," said Costa. "So we just had to keep working hard, because a goal at that point might be the game."
Both Costa and Presta praised the effort of Mendrano, who stepped in on a tackle to earn the ball and quickly played through to Presta in the center channel.
The senior dribbled through a crowd before watching his point-blank blast brilliantly stopped by Alfaro. The ball spilled free, and Presta regathered it within 10 yards of the endline with an open passing lane.
"It was all happening so quickly," said Costa. "But I trusted that Franco would get the ball on my foot, and when he did, all I had to do was direct it into the back of the net."
The 57th-minute goal sent shockwaves through the large, rain-soaked crowd and insured a frantic final 23 minutes.
Lake Park would have doubled its advantage just after the Costa opener if not for another sensational save by Alfaro. The near-miss inspired strong play from Juarez, McClellan and Mendrano, who made sure their club stayed in the Sabres' end for the next 10 minutes.
On the other end with time ebbing away, Streamwood came to life once more as it went in search of the equalizer and overtime.
While Lake Park sat in a little deeper than Crosby and his staff had wanted, Streamwood began to throw more numbers forward, including its gifted center back Jose Ibarra.
"In my opinion, Ibarra and Colin Iverson, of Naperville North, are the two best center backs in the state," offered Polovin.
"Even though Jose is just a sophomore, he makes playing in the center seem like a walk in the park. He plays at such a high level with great awareness and uncanny discipline, and composure with and without the ball."
Playing with more confidence and plenty of urgency, Streamwood's Chavez drove a free kick directly at Lekki in the 69th minute. That was folllowed by another from Mora, plus three corners before the contest came to an end.
"Lake Park was a very good team," Limon said. "They deserved the result they got, but we don't have anything to hang our heads on. We played as hard as we could tonight."
Lake Park could let out a sigh of relief after the game.
"There was extra pressure because of what this game meant," said Costa.
"For many of us, this could have been our last game of our high school careers. We all wanted to get Lake Park back to the state tournament after being there only once before."
Streamwood gave its respect to the victors.
"Credit Lake Park, they're a very good team, well coached, and deserving of going downstate," began Polovin. "I really thought if we were able to sneak one in at the end, things might have gone our way.
"But we'll reload for next season, albeit without a terrific group of seniors, including a player like Bryan (Mora) who was a four-year starter. He just loved the game and worked so hard to develop into a first-rate player. I thought I'd never see (one) here again after having Nestor Ascencio."
Crosby and his men enter their state opener on a roll with a seven-game winning streak, 12 clean-sheets, and the experience of three anxiety-filled postseason games.
"This is a very special group that I recognized from the very first day was capable of putting a run together to get themselves into position to get to state," said a proud Crosby.
"We survived back-to-back shootouts over St. Charles East and Benet to get ourselves into this game tonight then did what we had to do in order to advance and stay alive.
"It's been a great ride so far."
Starting lineups
Streamwood (4-3-3)
G- Hector Alfaro
D- Fernando Mancero
D- Jose Ibarra
D- Josh Taboada
D- Alejandro Morales
M- Edwin Peralta
M- Bryan Mora
M- Leo Magana
F- Roland Martinez
F- Jesus Limon
F- Alex Chavez
Lake Park (4-5-1)
G- Christian Lekki
D- Thomas Zakic
D- Paul Grzybowicz
D- Max Ellenbecker
D- Anthony Magnar
M- Victor Pawlik
M- Matteo Costa
M- Franco Presta
M- Gabriel Mendrano
M- Jesus Juarez
F- Gray McClellan
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Chavez, sr., F, Streamwood
Referee: Chris Rudolph
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Lake Park: Costa (Presta), 57'