Streamwood survives wild start,
late PK try to tie Lake Park
Sabres goal in 64th minute produces 1-1 draw in ranked battle
By Dave Owen
ROSELLE – Lake Park got the incredible start it wished for Saturday against Streamwood.
But even with a late penalty kick attempt, the Lancers frustratingly couldn’t produce another finish for the next 79 minutes.
That kept the door open for visiting Streamwood (8-3-2), and junior forward Edwin Peralta kicked it down with an impressive late strike to earn the Sabres, ranked 17th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, a 1-1 tie with the red-hot no. 5 Lancers (12-1-2).
With top quality chances for Streamwood held to a minimum all day by the Lake Park defense, Peralta took a pass from Jesus Limon on the left side, and nicely curled an 18-yard drive inside the right post to tie the score 1-1 with 16:30 left.
“Jesus Limon passed it to me, I saw an opportunity and a gap, and they’ve told me whenever I’m in the final third to shoot,” Peralta said.
“I saw there was an opening, and I just tried to curl it in. And that’s what happened.”
Limon’s pass to Peralta set the table.
“Me and some of the other mids were talking about how we don’t switch it enough to the left side,” Limon said. “So when I got the ball and I heard Edwin calling for the ball, everyone expected me to send it to the right side. But I turned to the left and saw him running wide open. He was running wide open the whole game. I gave it to him, he went to the middle and hit it in.”
Nicknamed ‘Pee Wee,’ Peralta used his speed for gigantic results and a clutch third goal of the year.
“I told him, go at their big defenders,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “They’re big, strong guys, but with our speed we’ll beat them. And he finally goes at them, beats them, gets into the middle and takes a nice bending shot to the far post that was nice and composed.
“We’ve been harping about composure in and around the box, and that one that he finished was almost professional looking. He got the ball and put a nice little bending shot into the side netting.”
That finish offset an equally incredible opening minute of the match for Lake Park.
A goal just 36 seconds into play had all the perfect ingredients -- a nice sideline win of a 50-50 ball 35 yards out by Jesus Juarez and a pass to Franco Presta for a brilliantly struck high 28-yarder into the upper right corner of the net.
“Our mindset was to come out right away and play, because we knew they were really good,” Juarez said. “Streamwood was one of the best teams we’ve played.
“The first minute they tried to pass it to the middle; I came in. I pressured the ball, gave it to Franco and what an amazing goal right there. I didn’t expect it. That was unbelievable.”
The powerful putaway continued a huge offensive season for Presta, who has 12 goals in 2018. And it also added to a stretch of early game agony for Streamwood.
“It was reminiscent of a couple of days ago,” Polovin said. “We played Elgin and let up a goal the first 35 or 40 seconds as well. It’s so not us, and then it happens twice in two games. I’m hoping that stops, because it doesn’t help us, and it’s giving me a mild heart attack when that happens.”
More pain nearly came in just the third minute, when a Tommy Zakic throw-in 10 yards out was headed just wide of the near post by Presta.
Streamwood began to settle down in the 10th minute, when a sprinting Alex Chavez just missed a connection at the near post after a corner kick.
Chavez again caused havoc in the 33rd minute, nicely setting up a 15-yard Jose Pedro Banuelos shot saved by Lake Park goalkeeper Christian Lekki.
“We tried to stay with no. 11 (Chavez) a lot because we heard he was one of their top players,” Juarez said. “If he has the ball, get two players on him and get it away.
“Our defense played amazing. They scored on us, but the defense played amazing. Tommy Zakic was stopping them. And what Lekki did was really good. He was yelling, leading, and he was being a keeper. And our midfield, Paul (Grzybowicz) was dominating and Gabe (Mendrano) too.”
While the scoreboard read tie, Lake Park coach Sean Crosby had few complaints about the battle with the strong Sabres.
“We haven’t played our best soccer in the last couple matches, even with some wins in there,” Crosby said. “We’ve won because we got goals against teams that maybe had an error, but we weren’t playing our best soccer. Today very much was (our best).
“We were free-flowing in the attack and balanced ourselves defensively. It was hard for them to counter and transition. We had Paul stepping on them right away. Jesus, Gabe, Andrew (Eliopoulos), our holding midfielders, stepped right in to prevent quick counterattacks from their midfielders.”
Goalkeeper Lekki made a nice recovery play himself 19:50 before halftime, first leaping to deflect Peralta’s high 40-yard free kick into the air, then grabbing the loose ball with Streamwood’s Rolando Martinez approaching.
But outside of a handful of Streamwood first half uprisings, the Lake Park offense kept rolling.
Presta was again a threat in the 18th minute. Off a Olyksandr Melynk 8-yard indirect free kick right of the box, Presta collected the send, turned and fired a 6-yard angle shot just wide of the back post.
In what has been a breakout season for the Lancers, Saturday produced another impressed opponent.
“Lake Park’s a great team,” Polovin said. “I’ve read about them and heard a couple things from coaches, but now to actually see them – they have some big strong players. No. 22 (Presta) is a workhorse in the middle.”
The Lake Park attack continued. Melynk first sent a 16-yard shot off a Presta pass just wide in the 23rd minute, then turned his own offensive end steal into an 18-yard one-timer wide right 35 seconds later.
With Lake Park up 1-0 at halftime and in control, Streamwood turned halftime words into actions.
“The speech we had at halftime was motivating,” Peralta said, “because we’ve been starting slow. He (Polovin) said we have to start fast the next half. Our defense has to wake up and our midfielders have to create chances as well.”
Said Polovin: “We seem to be a tale of two halves. We for some reason start a little slow and can’t connect passes in the first half. Then we have a nice little speech at halftime, and we come out, and we’re blazing. We’re making more passes and creating more chances.”
The half started with a key collision between standouts Chavez and Juarez 1:25 in, sending both briefly to the sidelines.
Then Lake Park continued its barrage. With 36:50 left, Matteo Costa’s 15-yard drive off a Mendrano pass was deflected just wide of the right post by diving Streamwood goalkeeper Hector Alfaro.
The Sabres’ first bid to respond was quelled by Lake Park defender Max Ellenbecker’s nice steal in the box with 33:40 to go.
Zakic followed in quick succession with two nice plays within 50 seconds – a 1-v.-1 steal 15 yards out along the sideline, then a win and clear of a Streamwood throw-in.
While Peralta’s goal would ultimately knot things, the second half solid play by Lake Park’s Costa (and a moment of bad luck) was another dominant factor.
After Juarez was fouled with 26:50 left, Costa’s well struck 25-yard free kick was denied on a diving save by Alfaro. Then with 19:20 to go, Costa’s nice send set up a foul and a 19-yard free kick – which was blocked by Streamwood’s Limon.
Costa was in on another chance with 17:25 left, when he took a pass from Presta and angled a 15-yarder inches wide of the vacant right post.
His biggest opportunity of all came with just 1:32 left in what was by then a 1-1 game.
After Costa was fouled at the right edge of the box off a Grzybowicz pass, Costa took the ensuing penalty kick – and lined the shot off the right post (with Peralta clearing the rebound upfield) to keep the game knotted at 1.
“It’s unfortunate you can’t get more than one (goal),” Crosby said. “And of course you want to get the PK in. But he (Costa) did everything he could to get chances, and that (PK) -- an inch to the left and it goes off the post and in.
“It’s a well-struck shot, and we trust Matteo to take them in any situation. He’ll get right over that and put the next one in. I have full confidence in him.”
In amongst the many great chances Costa created late, other players on both sides had near-misses.
After Peralta’s game-tying strike with 16:30 left, Lekki made a leaping catch of a 35-yard free kick by Streamwood’s Bryan Mora 90 seconds later.
Then with 14:15 to go, Chavez nicely sidestepped a Lake Park defender and lined a 20-yard shot inches over the crossbar.
“Alex Chavez just makes soccer look so easy sometimes,” Polovin said. “He makes players on our team so much stronger, and he had a heck of a game.
“Jesus Limon up-top played really well, and ‘Pee Wee’ Edwin Peralta -- those three really stood out for us today.”
Lake Park also had its own great chance in that stretch. With 12:25 to go, a pass by Victor Pawlik and a Melynk cross set up a Presta 12-yard one-timer redirect in front that Alfaro dove to stop.
“Both teams obviously had their chances,” Presta said. “I thought we should have finished more, and it’s frustrating. When you play a team like that, you have to capitalize.
“But now we’re playing better teams, and it’s time to have fun in more playoff-like atmospheres. It’s enjoyable. And every team comes out hard (with Lake Park’s record). I like that too.”
Teammate Juarez was also pleased overall, except with the score.
“Honestly it was a good game,” he said. “They’re a really good team, but I hope we see them again at sectionals or something, and we can try to win it. I’m not the type to lose or tie, I like to win.”
And wins have become commonplace at Lake Park this fall.
“Our goal is just to go at teams,” Juarez said. “Our defense got way better than last year and with our attacking we do a lot of possession.
“We’re mostly a possessing team. And when we have a chance, we go shoot it, and we have strong corners and set pieces. When the ball’s on one side of the field, we all shift together as a team and stick together. And from there we just attack.”
On the Streamwood side, a solid second half response also brought mixed emotions.
“We didn’t play how we wanted to (early),” Limon said, “and we didn’t expect it to end like this (in a tie), but we’ll take what we can get out of it.
“That’s kind of how our season’s been. We’ve started shaky in the first half, but then we always turn it on in the second half. Our coach calls us a second half team.”
For Peralta, overcoming adversity against a top team was a valuable lesson.
“It gave us a confidence boost,” he said. “It made us learn that that’s a hard team going against us, but we can do anything now.”
In the aftermath of the PK near-miss, Lake Park’s Zakic sealed the 1-1 tie with first a block and clear of Peralta’s 40-yard free kick with 1:05 left, then a deflection of a pass to Chavez just beyond the box as time expired.
Crosby summed up his view of a match that started incredibly for his side and ended in a toe-to-toe battle through 80 minutes.
“I think we definitely had more of the chances and were more in the attacking rhythm,” Crosby said, “and they were off their rhythm a little because of our pressure in the first half.
“The second half there wasn’t a lot of time and space to handle the ball. Then later in the second half, they opened it up a little bit and had more time and space on the ball. And our legs were getting the best of us because we were high pressuring so much.
“But I love the way they played,” Crosby added about his team. “The rhythm that they had, the energy. The confidence they had on the ball. And working together – no one was selfish today.”
Results other than wins have been rare for the Lancers this year. But Saturday’s tie was only a mild disappointment.
“Overall I like how we brought the intensity today and played hard,” Juarez said. “But I have to give props to Streamwood. They played hard and with the mindset to come after us.
“Streamwood played with heart and dedication. We just both went at it. Hopefully we get to face them again.”
Regardless of future rematches, Saturday’s showdown was a good measuring stick.
“That’s a very good opponent,” Crosby said. “We couldn’t be more happy to have them on our schedule, to get a game like this leading into the second half of your season and the playoffs.
“Overall I’m thrilled with how the game went, how competitive and high energy it was for both sides.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK: Hector Alfaro
D: Jose Ibarra
D: Josh Taboada
D: Ethan Satsatin
D: Rolando Martinez
M: Bryan Mora
M: Jorge Bracamontes
M: Michael Rubio
M: Leo Magana
F: Edwin Peralta
F: Jesus Limon
Lake Park
GK: Cristian Lekki
D: Victor Pawlik
D: Tommy Zakic
D: Max Ellenbecker
D: Frankie Ciara
M: Franco Presta
M: Jesus Juarez
M: Paul Grzybowicz
M: Gabriel Mendrano
F: Gray McLellan
F: Matteo Costa
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jesus Juarez, sr. M, Lake Park
Edwin Peralta, jr. F, Streamwood
Scoring summary
First half
LP – Franco Presta (Jesus Juarez), 1st minute
Second half
S – Edwin Peralta (Jesus Limon), 64th minute
late PK try to tie Lake Park
Sabres goal in 64th minute produces 1-1 draw in ranked battle
By Dave Owen
ROSELLE – Lake Park got the incredible start it wished for Saturday against Streamwood.
But even with a late penalty kick attempt, the Lancers frustratingly couldn’t produce another finish for the next 79 minutes.
That kept the door open for visiting Streamwood (8-3-2), and junior forward Edwin Peralta kicked it down with an impressive late strike to earn the Sabres, ranked 17th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, a 1-1 tie with the red-hot no. 5 Lancers (12-1-2).
With top quality chances for Streamwood held to a minimum all day by the Lake Park defense, Peralta took a pass from Jesus Limon on the left side, and nicely curled an 18-yard drive inside the right post to tie the score 1-1 with 16:30 left.
“Jesus Limon passed it to me, I saw an opportunity and a gap, and they’ve told me whenever I’m in the final third to shoot,” Peralta said.
“I saw there was an opening, and I just tried to curl it in. And that’s what happened.”
Limon’s pass to Peralta set the table.
“Me and some of the other mids were talking about how we don’t switch it enough to the left side,” Limon said. “So when I got the ball and I heard Edwin calling for the ball, everyone expected me to send it to the right side. But I turned to the left and saw him running wide open. He was running wide open the whole game. I gave it to him, he went to the middle and hit it in.”
Nicknamed ‘Pee Wee,’ Peralta used his speed for gigantic results and a clutch third goal of the year.
“I told him, go at their big defenders,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. “They’re big, strong guys, but with our speed we’ll beat them. And he finally goes at them, beats them, gets into the middle and takes a nice bending shot to the far post that was nice and composed.
“We’ve been harping about composure in and around the box, and that one that he finished was almost professional looking. He got the ball and put a nice little bending shot into the side netting.”
That finish offset an equally incredible opening minute of the match for Lake Park.
A goal just 36 seconds into play had all the perfect ingredients -- a nice sideline win of a 50-50 ball 35 yards out by Jesus Juarez and a pass to Franco Presta for a brilliantly struck high 28-yarder into the upper right corner of the net.
“Our mindset was to come out right away and play, because we knew they were really good,” Juarez said. “Streamwood was one of the best teams we’ve played.
“The first minute they tried to pass it to the middle; I came in. I pressured the ball, gave it to Franco and what an amazing goal right there. I didn’t expect it. That was unbelievable.”
The powerful putaway continued a huge offensive season for Presta, who has 12 goals in 2018. And it also added to a stretch of early game agony for Streamwood.
“It was reminiscent of a couple of days ago,” Polovin said. “We played Elgin and let up a goal the first 35 or 40 seconds as well. It’s so not us, and then it happens twice in two games. I’m hoping that stops, because it doesn’t help us, and it’s giving me a mild heart attack when that happens.”
More pain nearly came in just the third minute, when a Tommy Zakic throw-in 10 yards out was headed just wide of the near post by Presta.
Streamwood began to settle down in the 10th minute, when a sprinting Alex Chavez just missed a connection at the near post after a corner kick.
Chavez again caused havoc in the 33rd minute, nicely setting up a 15-yard Jose Pedro Banuelos shot saved by Lake Park goalkeeper Christian Lekki.
“We tried to stay with no. 11 (Chavez) a lot because we heard he was one of their top players,” Juarez said. “If he has the ball, get two players on him and get it away.
“Our defense played amazing. They scored on us, but the defense played amazing. Tommy Zakic was stopping them. And what Lekki did was really good. He was yelling, leading, and he was being a keeper. And our midfield, Paul (Grzybowicz) was dominating and Gabe (Mendrano) too.”
While the scoreboard read tie, Lake Park coach Sean Crosby had few complaints about the battle with the strong Sabres.
“We haven’t played our best soccer in the last couple matches, even with some wins in there,” Crosby said. “We’ve won because we got goals against teams that maybe had an error, but we weren’t playing our best soccer. Today very much was (our best).
“We were free-flowing in the attack and balanced ourselves defensively. It was hard for them to counter and transition. We had Paul stepping on them right away. Jesus, Gabe, Andrew (Eliopoulos), our holding midfielders, stepped right in to prevent quick counterattacks from their midfielders.”
Goalkeeper Lekki made a nice recovery play himself 19:50 before halftime, first leaping to deflect Peralta’s high 40-yard free kick into the air, then grabbing the loose ball with Streamwood’s Rolando Martinez approaching.
But outside of a handful of Streamwood first half uprisings, the Lake Park offense kept rolling.
Presta was again a threat in the 18th minute. Off a Olyksandr Melynk 8-yard indirect free kick right of the box, Presta collected the send, turned and fired a 6-yard angle shot just wide of the back post.
In what has been a breakout season for the Lancers, Saturday produced another impressed opponent.
“Lake Park’s a great team,” Polovin said. “I’ve read about them and heard a couple things from coaches, but now to actually see them – they have some big strong players. No. 22 (Presta) is a workhorse in the middle.”
The Lake Park attack continued. Melynk first sent a 16-yard shot off a Presta pass just wide in the 23rd minute, then turned his own offensive end steal into an 18-yard one-timer wide right 35 seconds later.
With Lake Park up 1-0 at halftime and in control, Streamwood turned halftime words into actions.
“The speech we had at halftime was motivating,” Peralta said, “because we’ve been starting slow. He (Polovin) said we have to start fast the next half. Our defense has to wake up and our midfielders have to create chances as well.”
Said Polovin: “We seem to be a tale of two halves. We for some reason start a little slow and can’t connect passes in the first half. Then we have a nice little speech at halftime, and we come out, and we’re blazing. We’re making more passes and creating more chances.”
The half started with a key collision between standouts Chavez and Juarez 1:25 in, sending both briefly to the sidelines.
Then Lake Park continued its barrage. With 36:50 left, Matteo Costa’s 15-yard drive off a Mendrano pass was deflected just wide of the right post by diving Streamwood goalkeeper Hector Alfaro.
The Sabres’ first bid to respond was quelled by Lake Park defender Max Ellenbecker’s nice steal in the box with 33:40 to go.
Zakic followed in quick succession with two nice plays within 50 seconds – a 1-v.-1 steal 15 yards out along the sideline, then a win and clear of a Streamwood throw-in.
While Peralta’s goal would ultimately knot things, the second half solid play by Lake Park’s Costa (and a moment of bad luck) was another dominant factor.
After Juarez was fouled with 26:50 left, Costa’s well struck 25-yard free kick was denied on a diving save by Alfaro. Then with 19:20 to go, Costa’s nice send set up a foul and a 19-yard free kick – which was blocked by Streamwood’s Limon.
Costa was in on another chance with 17:25 left, when he took a pass from Presta and angled a 15-yarder inches wide of the vacant right post.
His biggest opportunity of all came with just 1:32 left in what was by then a 1-1 game.
After Costa was fouled at the right edge of the box off a Grzybowicz pass, Costa took the ensuing penalty kick – and lined the shot off the right post (with Peralta clearing the rebound upfield) to keep the game knotted at 1.
“It’s unfortunate you can’t get more than one (goal),” Crosby said. “And of course you want to get the PK in. But he (Costa) did everything he could to get chances, and that (PK) -- an inch to the left and it goes off the post and in.
“It’s a well-struck shot, and we trust Matteo to take them in any situation. He’ll get right over that and put the next one in. I have full confidence in him.”
In amongst the many great chances Costa created late, other players on both sides had near-misses.
After Peralta’s game-tying strike with 16:30 left, Lekki made a leaping catch of a 35-yard free kick by Streamwood’s Bryan Mora 90 seconds later.
Then with 14:15 to go, Chavez nicely sidestepped a Lake Park defender and lined a 20-yard shot inches over the crossbar.
“Alex Chavez just makes soccer look so easy sometimes,” Polovin said. “He makes players on our team so much stronger, and he had a heck of a game.
“Jesus Limon up-top played really well, and ‘Pee Wee’ Edwin Peralta -- those three really stood out for us today.”
Lake Park also had its own great chance in that stretch. With 12:25 to go, a pass by Victor Pawlik and a Melynk cross set up a Presta 12-yard one-timer redirect in front that Alfaro dove to stop.
“Both teams obviously had their chances,” Presta said. “I thought we should have finished more, and it’s frustrating. When you play a team like that, you have to capitalize.
“But now we’re playing better teams, and it’s time to have fun in more playoff-like atmospheres. It’s enjoyable. And every team comes out hard (with Lake Park’s record). I like that too.”
Teammate Juarez was also pleased overall, except with the score.
“Honestly it was a good game,” he said. “They’re a really good team, but I hope we see them again at sectionals or something, and we can try to win it. I’m not the type to lose or tie, I like to win.”
And wins have become commonplace at Lake Park this fall.
“Our goal is just to go at teams,” Juarez said. “Our defense got way better than last year and with our attacking we do a lot of possession.
“We’re mostly a possessing team. And when we have a chance, we go shoot it, and we have strong corners and set pieces. When the ball’s on one side of the field, we all shift together as a team and stick together. And from there we just attack.”
On the Streamwood side, a solid second half response also brought mixed emotions.
“We didn’t play how we wanted to (early),” Limon said, “and we didn’t expect it to end like this (in a tie), but we’ll take what we can get out of it.
“That’s kind of how our season’s been. We’ve started shaky in the first half, but then we always turn it on in the second half. Our coach calls us a second half team.”
For Peralta, overcoming adversity against a top team was a valuable lesson.
“It gave us a confidence boost,” he said. “It made us learn that that’s a hard team going against us, but we can do anything now.”
In the aftermath of the PK near-miss, Lake Park’s Zakic sealed the 1-1 tie with first a block and clear of Peralta’s 40-yard free kick with 1:05 left, then a deflection of a pass to Chavez just beyond the box as time expired.
Crosby summed up his view of a match that started incredibly for his side and ended in a toe-to-toe battle through 80 minutes.
“I think we definitely had more of the chances and were more in the attacking rhythm,” Crosby said, “and they were off their rhythm a little because of our pressure in the first half.
“The second half there wasn’t a lot of time and space to handle the ball. Then later in the second half, they opened it up a little bit and had more time and space on the ball. And our legs were getting the best of us because we were high pressuring so much.
“But I love the way they played,” Crosby added about his team. “The rhythm that they had, the energy. The confidence they had on the ball. And working together – no one was selfish today.”
Results other than wins have been rare for the Lancers this year. But Saturday’s tie was only a mild disappointment.
“Overall I like how we brought the intensity today and played hard,” Juarez said. “But I have to give props to Streamwood. They played hard and with the mindset to come after us.
“Streamwood played with heart and dedication. We just both went at it. Hopefully we get to face them again.”
Regardless of future rematches, Saturday’s showdown was a good measuring stick.
“That’s a very good opponent,” Crosby said. “We couldn’t be more happy to have them on our schedule, to get a game like this leading into the second half of your season and the playoffs.
“Overall I’m thrilled with how the game went, how competitive and high energy it was for both sides.”
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK: Hector Alfaro
D: Jose Ibarra
D: Josh Taboada
D: Ethan Satsatin
D: Rolando Martinez
M: Bryan Mora
M: Jorge Bracamontes
M: Michael Rubio
M: Leo Magana
F: Edwin Peralta
F: Jesus Limon
Lake Park
GK: Cristian Lekki
D: Victor Pawlik
D: Tommy Zakic
D: Max Ellenbecker
D: Frankie Ciara
M: Franco Presta
M: Jesus Juarez
M: Paul Grzybowicz
M: Gabriel Mendrano
F: Gray McLellan
F: Matteo Costa
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jesus Juarez, sr. M, Lake Park
Edwin Peralta, jr. F, Streamwood
Scoring summary
First half
LP – Franco Presta (Jesus Juarez), 1st minute
Second half
S – Edwin Peralta (Jesus Limon), 64th minute