Canfield leads CLS over Streamwood
Sophomore's 62-minute tally gives Gators 1-0 win
By Mike Garofola
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Alex Canfield scored the game-winner to earn Crystal Lake South (2-0-0) a hard fought 1-0 win over Streamwood in a lively nonconference soccer match Thursday afternoon at the Gators' Soccer Park.
Streamwood (1-1-0) may have beaten Crystal Lake South with over 75 percent possession on the ball, but Brian Allen's host side never remotely looked like it would fold under the pressure. Then it found the counterpunch needed to get by the technically refined Sabres.
"We traditionally have not done well against teams like Streamwood who can possess, knock it around and flash their technical skill and ability. And you can talk (to the team) all you want about what to expect, but there's always a concern when you're up against someone like that," began the Gators manager.
"We had an early chance, but then we had to absorb and weather a lot of pressure during those first 10-15 minutes (and) we did, thanks to us keeping our shape and staying organized. And for the most part, I thought we did really well all throughout."
Despite its hold on the ball, Streamwood had its own issues.
"I thought we pretty much dominated the possession and run of play, but we were not sharp at all in the final third, and we didn't play well on the grass like we do on turf," said Sabres defender Rafa Gil, who along with forward Aldo Lazaro were Chicagoland Soccer all-staters last season. The pair of seniors, coupled with classmates Oscar Chavez and Alex Herrera, were up and running from the opening whistle.
"Playing on the grass was no excuse for the way we played," said a disappointed Lazaro. "We can play better than we did today, so we just have to go out and do it next time."
It was clear from the onset that if the Gators backline, which started Andrew Edge, Ricky Cristante, Ryan Yazel and Marcin Sliwinski, could hold firm as a unit and keep quality chances to a minimum against keeper Brandon Gorka, then the opportunity to find the frontline duo of Canfield and Nikolas Getzinger would improve greatly.
"I really felt coming into the season that both Alex and 'Zinger' gave us one of our better forward combos in awhile," said Allen. "And along with some terrific depth at the position, it could easily be a real strength for us. Today you saw just that." said Allen
Canfield has another fan in his running mate.
"Alex is so talented and has so much speed, and with him playing high, and me a little under him, I feel like we complement each really well," said Getzinger.
The two were a thorn in Streamwood's side all game long. Each displayed pace, grit, energy and a willingness to take people on, or just run at the Sabres backline to hopefully create opportunities for each other or their mates.
"Our guys did really well against their defense, which had a lot of talent, speed and the ability to distribute out of the back," said Allen. "But the one guy who really impressed me was their freshman, no. 19 (Jose Ibarra), who is going to be a beast back there for (manager) Matt (Polovin)."
"Yeah, Jose will be the building block of our backline while he's here," said the Streamwood head coach. "(He's) strong in the air, with his tackling, and you saw today how good his all-around game is (and) can be."
After the home side missed a chance in the early stages, it was the visiting Sabres who got on their front foot.
The aforementioned Gil rattled the post at 9 minutes. Then the four-year veteran hoisted a lovely ball to the spot intended for Kristian Niemiec which Gorka won in the air.
Net, Gil tricked his way into the box and watched Lazaro's header at the back post saved by Gorka.
"Brandon had a real solid day all the way around today, and so did their keeper (Daniel Dominguez) who was real active, in and out of his box," said Allen, a former star keeper himself at Rolling Meadows High School and DePaul University.
It was near the half hour that the speed of play and intensity began to pick up. Amid each dodgy tackle or a spot of chippy play, chances aplenty began to pop up as each side went close on several occasions.
Crystal Lake South began to get more play out of their men in the middle: Ryan Coughlin, Oscar Campos and Nick Langdon. Until that point, the trio was asked to defend more in an effort to keep the visitors at bay, rather than get forward.
"Another thing that was big for us after the break was the play of Jack (Wruck) who really stepped up in the second half to help us control the middle of the park," said Allen.
The three-year veteran, who was sitting just in front of his backline, began the second period winning nearly every ball or tackle in the air, or on the grass, forcing the Sabres attack wider than it wanted to be.
"We admit we're a turf team, so the grass and conditions, plus the fact that we didn't play fast and quick really allowed them to have a lot more of the play in the second half," lamented Polovin.
Streamwood bundled three chances together just after the intermission. Chavez had the best look but his angled shot went wide of the back post at 47 minutes.
On the other end, minutes later, Coughlin, Campos and Getzinger each had a go prior to the eventual game-winner.
That occurred when Canfield fended off a pair of defenders, then broke free of Dominguez, who came far off his line. The 62th-minute goal put the exclamation point on a terrific effort and earned the sophomore Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor.
"It all happened really quick. (The) keeper was out, I was able to beat the defenders, and it was a big goal for us," said a humble Canfield, who bagged six goals in his rookie year.
"I was really happen for Alex today," said Allen. "He missed a couple the other day in our (8-1) win over Hononegah, so this was big for him."
Gators defender Cristante added to his contribution with block at close range on Chavez to preserve the Gators advantage. Afterward, some superb individual work by Streamwood's Lazaro forced Gorka to save another Niemiec chance at the back post.
The hosts could have gotten a coveted insurance goal if not for a sensational reaction kick-save by Dominguez on Canfield in the 74th minute.
The Sabres went to a 3-4-3 formation in the final five minutes in search of the equalizer. But the inability for the Sabres to solve Gorka and his backline mates kept the visitors off the scoreboard until the final whistle.
"Despite the result, it was still a good, intense game for us, now we'll get ready to play on the big (turf) field at the Barrington Classic all next week," said Polovin.
"It's a huge tournament, with a lot of great teams, so we're all looking forward to playing there," added Gil.
Crystal Lake South is off to its best start since it began the 2014 season with a pair of victories.
"This was a good win for us," said Getzinger. "A lot of the credit goes to our defense which played really well against a strong team that can attack so well."
The Gators host Antioch next week before competing in the Johnsburg tournament.
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK- David Dominguez
D- Gregorio Esteves
D- Jose Ibarra
D- Chris Pelico
D- Jorge Bracamontes
M- Michael Rubio
M- Rafa Gil
M- Kristian Niemiec
F- Aldo Lazaro
F- Oscar Chavez
F- Alex Herrera
Crystal Lake South
GK- Brandon Gorka
D- Andrew Edge
D- Ricky Cristante
D- Ryan Yazel
D- Marcin Sliwinski
M- Oscar Campos
M- Nick Langdon
M- Jack Wruck
M- Ryan Coughlin
F- Nikolas Getzinger
F- Alex Canfield
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Canfield, Crystal Lake South, so., F
Scoring summary
CLS: Canfield (U/A), 62nd minute
Officials: David Ganshaw (center); Tim Jackson (assistant); Scott Gessert (assistant)
Sophomore's 62-minute tally gives Gators 1-0 win
By Mike Garofola
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Alex Canfield scored the game-winner to earn Crystal Lake South (2-0-0) a hard fought 1-0 win over Streamwood in a lively nonconference soccer match Thursday afternoon at the Gators' Soccer Park.
Streamwood (1-1-0) may have beaten Crystal Lake South with over 75 percent possession on the ball, but Brian Allen's host side never remotely looked like it would fold under the pressure. Then it found the counterpunch needed to get by the technically refined Sabres.
"We traditionally have not done well against teams like Streamwood who can possess, knock it around and flash their technical skill and ability. And you can talk (to the team) all you want about what to expect, but there's always a concern when you're up against someone like that," began the Gators manager.
"We had an early chance, but then we had to absorb and weather a lot of pressure during those first 10-15 minutes (and) we did, thanks to us keeping our shape and staying organized. And for the most part, I thought we did really well all throughout."
Despite its hold on the ball, Streamwood had its own issues.
"I thought we pretty much dominated the possession and run of play, but we were not sharp at all in the final third, and we didn't play well on the grass like we do on turf," said Sabres defender Rafa Gil, who along with forward Aldo Lazaro were Chicagoland Soccer all-staters last season. The pair of seniors, coupled with classmates Oscar Chavez and Alex Herrera, were up and running from the opening whistle.
"Playing on the grass was no excuse for the way we played," said a disappointed Lazaro. "We can play better than we did today, so we just have to go out and do it next time."
It was clear from the onset that if the Gators backline, which started Andrew Edge, Ricky Cristante, Ryan Yazel and Marcin Sliwinski, could hold firm as a unit and keep quality chances to a minimum against keeper Brandon Gorka, then the opportunity to find the frontline duo of Canfield and Nikolas Getzinger would improve greatly.
"I really felt coming into the season that both Alex and 'Zinger' gave us one of our better forward combos in awhile," said Allen. "And along with some terrific depth at the position, it could easily be a real strength for us. Today you saw just that." said Allen
Canfield has another fan in his running mate.
"Alex is so talented and has so much speed, and with him playing high, and me a little under him, I feel like we complement each really well," said Getzinger.
The two were a thorn in Streamwood's side all game long. Each displayed pace, grit, energy and a willingness to take people on, or just run at the Sabres backline to hopefully create opportunities for each other or their mates.
"Our guys did really well against their defense, which had a lot of talent, speed and the ability to distribute out of the back," said Allen. "But the one guy who really impressed me was their freshman, no. 19 (Jose Ibarra), who is going to be a beast back there for (manager) Matt (Polovin)."
"Yeah, Jose will be the building block of our backline while he's here," said the Streamwood head coach. "(He's) strong in the air, with his tackling, and you saw today how good his all-around game is (and) can be."
After the home side missed a chance in the early stages, it was the visiting Sabres who got on their front foot.
The aforementioned Gil rattled the post at 9 minutes. Then the four-year veteran hoisted a lovely ball to the spot intended for Kristian Niemiec which Gorka won in the air.
Net, Gil tricked his way into the box and watched Lazaro's header at the back post saved by Gorka.
"Brandon had a real solid day all the way around today, and so did their keeper (Daniel Dominguez) who was real active, in and out of his box," said Allen, a former star keeper himself at Rolling Meadows High School and DePaul University.
It was near the half hour that the speed of play and intensity began to pick up. Amid each dodgy tackle or a spot of chippy play, chances aplenty began to pop up as each side went close on several occasions.
Crystal Lake South began to get more play out of their men in the middle: Ryan Coughlin, Oscar Campos and Nick Langdon. Until that point, the trio was asked to defend more in an effort to keep the visitors at bay, rather than get forward.
"Another thing that was big for us after the break was the play of Jack (Wruck) who really stepped up in the second half to help us control the middle of the park," said Allen.
The three-year veteran, who was sitting just in front of his backline, began the second period winning nearly every ball or tackle in the air, or on the grass, forcing the Sabres attack wider than it wanted to be.
"We admit we're a turf team, so the grass and conditions, plus the fact that we didn't play fast and quick really allowed them to have a lot more of the play in the second half," lamented Polovin.
Streamwood bundled three chances together just after the intermission. Chavez had the best look but his angled shot went wide of the back post at 47 minutes.
On the other end, minutes later, Coughlin, Campos and Getzinger each had a go prior to the eventual game-winner.
That occurred when Canfield fended off a pair of defenders, then broke free of Dominguez, who came far off his line. The 62th-minute goal put the exclamation point on a terrific effort and earned the sophomore Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor.
"It all happened really quick. (The) keeper was out, I was able to beat the defenders, and it was a big goal for us," said a humble Canfield, who bagged six goals in his rookie year.
"I was really happen for Alex today," said Allen. "He missed a couple the other day in our (8-1) win over Hononegah, so this was big for him."
Gators defender Cristante added to his contribution with block at close range on Chavez to preserve the Gators advantage. Afterward, some superb individual work by Streamwood's Lazaro forced Gorka to save another Niemiec chance at the back post.
The hosts could have gotten a coveted insurance goal if not for a sensational reaction kick-save by Dominguez on Canfield in the 74th minute.
The Sabres went to a 3-4-3 formation in the final five minutes in search of the equalizer. But the inability for the Sabres to solve Gorka and his backline mates kept the visitors off the scoreboard until the final whistle.
"Despite the result, it was still a good, intense game for us, now we'll get ready to play on the big (turf) field at the Barrington Classic all next week," said Polovin.
"It's a huge tournament, with a lot of great teams, so we're all looking forward to playing there," added Gil.
Crystal Lake South is off to its best start since it began the 2014 season with a pair of victories.
"This was a good win for us," said Getzinger. "A lot of the credit goes to our defense which played really well against a strong team that can attack so well."
The Gators host Antioch next week before competing in the Johnsburg tournament.
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK- David Dominguez
D- Gregorio Esteves
D- Jose Ibarra
D- Chris Pelico
D- Jorge Bracamontes
M- Michael Rubio
M- Rafa Gil
M- Kristian Niemiec
F- Aldo Lazaro
F- Oscar Chavez
F- Alex Herrera
Crystal Lake South
GK- Brandon Gorka
D- Andrew Edge
D- Ricky Cristante
D- Ryan Yazel
D- Marcin Sliwinski
M- Oscar Campos
M- Nick Langdon
M- Jack Wruck
M- Ryan Coughlin
F- Nikolas Getzinger
F- Alex Canfield
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Canfield, Crystal Lake South, so., F
Scoring summary
CLS: Canfield (U/A), 62nd minute
Officials: David Ganshaw (center); Tim Jackson (assistant); Scott Gessert (assistant)