Varsity rookies shine in
West Chicago-Streamwood draw
WC's Pereckas and Sabres' Colin account for each goal in 2-2 tie
By Jared Birchfield
STREAMWOOD -- Depending on how a match ends up in a draw, a coach can have differing views of the decision.
That is why the heads of West Chicago and Streamwood had divergent emotions Wednesday evening after their squads ended their Upstate Eight Conference-opening contest 2-2 at Millennium Field.
After West Chicago dropped its season-opener 7-0 to Wheaton North and then came from behind to tie Streamwood, coach J. Cesar Gomez saw the result as a win.
“I think all of us are very pleased. We faced Wheaton North on Sunday, which is like a freight train right now beating everybody. We did a couple of things which were worth applauding today,” Gomez said. “It it's always good to get back on the grass with some kind of victory, and this was one. Scoring a tie right now after being down on the scoreboard is still a little bit of a win.”
Matt Polovin, Gomez’ Streamwood opposite, took the decision as a defeat.
“I know we tied, but it kind of felt like a loss,” Polovin said “You're protecting the lead you have, and then you give up a goal.”
Both coaches were upbeat about the future for their young teams. Both squads featured untested freshman and sophomores in starting positions.
“It's our second game, and we have a lot of freshmen playing and people, who were freshman last year, are really freshman this year” said Gomez. “I'm happy with our progress. The stuff that we see can be fixed like small little touches and moving a little bit more. We're going to get it together very soon.”
Wednesday was Streamwood’s first match of the year.
“Having our first game of the season, I thought there was some good soccer out there. We have some things we know we have to work on, but it was great seeing some of the newer players” Polovin said. “We have a nice young team with girls that train really well in practice.”
In addition to the outcome, two opposing forwards will long remember the match. Each not only scored their first varsity goal, they added another.
West Chicago’s Heidi Pereckas scored her first high school goal in the 18th minute to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Her shot found the right corner of the net.
“There was a deflection off another shot, and it came back to me,” Pereckas said. “It was in my path, and I just took it. I saw the net, and I put it in there.”
With 9:20 left in the half, Streamwood sophomore striker Natalia Colin, who had 11 shots on goal in the first half, scored the equalizer. She dribbled past West Chicago’s defense and booted the ball from the penalty box boundary to the right of Wildcat freshman goalie Ariana Hernandez for her first varsity goal.
Colin scored her second goal in the 44th minute to put the Sabres up 2-1.
“She's a superstar in the making,” said Polovin. “She had both goals today, and she probably could have had six or seven more.”
Streamwood senior Kristina Kellogg scored an apparent goal in the 60th minute, but it was negated by an offside call.
Pereckas scored her second goal with 5:15 left to play to in the game.
“It was just really a lucky goal,” she said. “The ball was going back and forth. I just saw it and took a shot, and it went right over the goalie's head.”
Pereckas also gave a positive spin to the draw.
“I think this is a good start. I'm a freshman on varsity so I'm proud of myself for making the first two goals of this season,” said the forward. “I hope we can get somewhere throughout the rest of the season.”
Gomez believes Pereckas will become more of a scoring threat as the season progresses.
“We know what she can do. She has speed now, we just need have her control the ball better to her advantage and that will come with time,” said Gomez.
He also lauded the play of keeper Hernandez, a recent convert to The Beautiful Game.
“Ariana is unbelievable right now. We came in with no goalkeeper at all, and she came after playing volleyball. So far, she is one of the stars of the whole team. She made the right saves. She made a good one in the first half and that kind of play is what's going to take us to a next level.”
The West Chicago coach is glad that he has veteran senior Luciana Balzer leading his defense.
“Luciana’s done a great job with anchoring the backline,” Gomez said. “She can probably play in any position.”
Balzer is happy to be back on the pitch. She too has high expectations for the Wildcats.
“It's great to be back. I missed the rush of it, so it's been good. It was a disappointment not to be able to play last year, because I thought we had a pretty good team,” Balzer said. “I think we're stepping up this year, which is good.
“I think we did really well today. We had our first game last Sunday. I think we learned a lot from that game,” she continued. “We learned to be more aggressive and get our body in especially when there are players who are really fast on the ball. I think we also improved our calm when we're on the ball.”
Polovin liked what he saw with Streamwood’s backline.
“I thought the defense did very well. I think there's just one little miss in the last five minutes of the game,” he said. “Vanessa Colin and Esther Cardenas, our two center backs, I thought they held their own, did very well and started the attack the attack the best they could.
Polovin did have to make a last-minute lineup change when one of his starters got hurt before the game.
“Unfortunately, we had an injury during warmups to Daniela Sanchez, one of our outside backs,” he said. “Hopefully it's nothing major. She should be OK for Saturday's game. She thinks she might have tweaked her hamstring.”
He was also pleased with Emma Skrgic.
“She plays as our holding mid. She did really well for our first varsity game,” said Polovin. “But within Natalia (Colin) and Diana (Herrera) at forward, she will be starting the attack and defend.”
Streamwood returns to action Saturday when it hosts Glenbard North in a nonconference match. West Chicago plays next on Wednesday in a home Upstate Eight clash with Glenbard South.
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK: Ariana Hernandez
D: Luciana Balzer
D: Jenny Espinal
D: Emily Ayala
D: Ruby Lebo
M: Daisy Garcia
M: Isabella Lopez
M: Lizbeth Orozco
F: Jenna Zeitoun
F: Natalie Fernandez
F: Heidi Pereckas
Streamwood
GK: Selina Chavez
D: Lily Ende
D: Ester Cardenas
D: Madison Rivera
D: Vanessa Colin
M: Emma Skrgic
M: Reyna Saldivar
M: Dayanara Huerta
F: Natalia Colin
F: Kristina Kellogg
F: Diana Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Heid Pereckas, fr., F, West Chicago;
Natalia Colin, so., F, Streamwood
Scoring
First half
WC: Pereckas (UA) 18 minutes
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 31 minutes
Second half
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 44 minutes
WC: Pereckas (UA) 75 minutes
By JARED BIRCHFIELD
STREAMWOOD – Depending on how a match ends up in a draw, a coach can differing views of the decision.
That is how the heads of the West Chicago and Streamwood felt Wednesday evening after their squads ended their Upstate Eight Conference-opening contest 2-2 at Millennium Field.
After West Chicago dropped its season-opener 7-0 to Wheaton North on Sunday and came from behind to tie Streamwood, coach J. Cesar Gomez saw the result as a win.
“I think all of us are very pleased. We faced Wheaton North (a 7-0 loss) Sunday, which is like a freight train right now beating everybody. We did a couple of things which were worth applauding today,” Gomez said. “It it's always good to get back on the grass with some kind of victory, and this was one. Scoring a tie right now after being down on the scoreboard is still a little bit of a win.”
Matt Polovin, Gomez’ Streamwood opposite, took the decision as a defeat.
“I know we tied, but it kind of felt like a loss,” Polovin said “You're protecting the lead you have, and then you give up a goal.”
Both coaches were upbeat about the future for their young teams. Both squads featured untested freshman and sophomores in starting positions.
“It's our second game, and we have a lot of freshmen playing and people, who were freshman last year, are really freshman this year” said Gomez. “I'm happy with our progress. The stuff that we see can be fixed like small little touches and moving a little bit more. We're going to get it together very soon.”
Wednesday was Streamwood’s first match of the year.
“Having our first game of the season, I thought there was some good soccer out there. We have some things we know we have to work on, but it was great seeing some of the newer players” Polovin said. “We have a nice young team with girls that train really well in practice.”
In addition to the outcome, two opposing forwards will long remember the match. Each not only scored their first varsity goal, they added another.
West Chicago’s Heidi Pereckas scored her first high school goal in the 18th minute to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Her shot found the right corner of the net.
“There was a deflection off another shot, and it came back to me,” Pereckas said. “It was in my path, and I just took it. I saw the net, and I put it in there.”
With 9:20 left in the half, Streamwood sophomore striker Natalia Colin, who had 11 shots on goal in the first half, scored the equalizer. She dribbled past West Chicago’s defense and booted the ball from the penalty box boundary to the right of Wildcat freshman goalie Ariana Hernandez for her first varsity goal.
Colin scored her second goal in the 44th minute to put the Sabres up 2-1.
“She's a superstar in the making,” said Polovin. “She had both goals today, and she probably could have had six or seven more.”
Streamwood senior Kristina Kellogg scored an apparent goal in the 60th minute, but it was negated by an offside call.
Pereckas scored her second goal with 5:15 left to play to in the game.
“It was just really a lucky goal,” she said. “The ball was going back and forth. I just saw it and took a shot, and it went right over the goalie's head.”
Pereckas also gave a positive spin to the draw.
“I think this is a good start. I'm a freshman on varsity so I'm proud of myself for making the first two goals of this season,” said the forward. “I hope we can get somewhere throughout the rest of the season.”
Gomez believes Pereckas will become more of a scoring threat as the season progresses.
“We know what she can do. She has speed now, we just need have her control the ball better to her advantage and that will come with time,” said Gomez.
He also lauded the play of keeper Hernandez, a recent convert to The Beautiful Game.
“Ariana is unbelievable right now. We came in with no goalkeeper at all, and she came after playing volleyball. So far, she is one of the stars of the whole team. She made the right saves. She made a good one in the first half and that kind of play is what's going to take us to a next level.”
The West Chicago coach is glad that he has veteran senior Luciana Balzer leading his defense.
“Luciana’s done a great job with anchoring the backline,” Gomez said. “She can probably play in any position.”
Balzer is happy to be back on the pitch. She too has high expectations for the Wildcats.
“It's great to be back. I missed the rush of it, so it's been good. It was a disappointment not to be able to play last year, because I thought we had a pretty good team,” Balzer said. “I think we're stepping up this year, which is good.
“I think we did really well today. We had our first game last Sunday. I think we learned a lot from that game,” she continued. “We learned to be more aggressive and get our body in especially when there are players who are really fast on the ball. I think we also improved our calm when we're on the ball.”
Polovin liked what he saw with Streamwood’s backline.
“I thought the defense did very well. I think there's just one little miss in the last five minutes of the game,” he said. “Vanessa Colin and Esther Cardenas, our two center backs, I thought they held their own, did very well and started the attack the attack the best they could.
Polovin did have to make a last-minute lineup change when one of his starters got hurt before the game.
“Unfortunately, we had an injury during warmups to Daniela Sanchez, one of our outside backs,” he said. “Hopefully it's nothing major. She should be OK for Saturday's game. She thinks she might have tweaked her hamstring.”
He was also pleased with Emma Skrgic.
“She plays as our holding mid. She did really well for our first varsity game,” said Polovin. “But within Natalia (Colin) and Diana (Herrera) at forward, she will be starting the attack and defend.”
Streamwood returns to action Saturday when it hosts Glenbard North in a nonconference match. West Chicago plays next on Wednesday in a home Upstate Eight clash with Glenbard South.
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK: Ariana Hernandez
D: Luciana Balzer
D: Jenny Espinal
D: Emily Ayala
D: Ruby Lebo
M: Daisy Garcia
M: Isabella Lopez
M: Lizbeth Orozco
F: Jenna Zeitoun
F: Natalie Fernandez
F: Heidi Pereckas
Streamwood
GK: Selina Chavez
D: Lily Ende
D: Ester Cardenas
D: Madison Rivera
D: Vanessa Colin
M: Emma Skrgic
M: Reyna Saldivar
M: Dayanara Huerta
F: Natalia Colin
F: Kristina Kellogg
F: Diana Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Heidi Pereckas, fr., F, West Chicago;
Natalia Colin, so., F, Streamwood
Scoring
First half
WC: Pereckas (UA) 18 minutes
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 31 minutes
Second half
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 44 minutes
WC: Pereckas (UA) 75 minutes
West Chicago-Streamwood draw
WC's Pereckas and Sabres' Colin account for each goal in 2-2 tie
By Jared Birchfield
STREAMWOOD -- Depending on how a match ends up in a draw, a coach can have differing views of the decision.
That is why the heads of West Chicago and Streamwood had divergent emotions Wednesday evening after their squads ended their Upstate Eight Conference-opening contest 2-2 at Millennium Field.
After West Chicago dropped its season-opener 7-0 to Wheaton North and then came from behind to tie Streamwood, coach J. Cesar Gomez saw the result as a win.
“I think all of us are very pleased. We faced Wheaton North on Sunday, which is like a freight train right now beating everybody. We did a couple of things which were worth applauding today,” Gomez said. “It it's always good to get back on the grass with some kind of victory, and this was one. Scoring a tie right now after being down on the scoreboard is still a little bit of a win.”
Matt Polovin, Gomez’ Streamwood opposite, took the decision as a defeat.
“I know we tied, but it kind of felt like a loss,” Polovin said “You're protecting the lead you have, and then you give up a goal.”
Both coaches were upbeat about the future for their young teams. Both squads featured untested freshman and sophomores in starting positions.
“It's our second game, and we have a lot of freshmen playing and people, who were freshman last year, are really freshman this year” said Gomez. “I'm happy with our progress. The stuff that we see can be fixed like small little touches and moving a little bit more. We're going to get it together very soon.”
Wednesday was Streamwood’s first match of the year.
“Having our first game of the season, I thought there was some good soccer out there. We have some things we know we have to work on, but it was great seeing some of the newer players” Polovin said. “We have a nice young team with girls that train really well in practice.”
In addition to the outcome, two opposing forwards will long remember the match. Each not only scored their first varsity goal, they added another.
West Chicago’s Heidi Pereckas scored her first high school goal in the 18th minute to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Her shot found the right corner of the net.
“There was a deflection off another shot, and it came back to me,” Pereckas said. “It was in my path, and I just took it. I saw the net, and I put it in there.”
With 9:20 left in the half, Streamwood sophomore striker Natalia Colin, who had 11 shots on goal in the first half, scored the equalizer. She dribbled past West Chicago’s defense and booted the ball from the penalty box boundary to the right of Wildcat freshman goalie Ariana Hernandez for her first varsity goal.
Colin scored her second goal in the 44th minute to put the Sabres up 2-1.
“She's a superstar in the making,” said Polovin. “She had both goals today, and she probably could have had six or seven more.”
Streamwood senior Kristina Kellogg scored an apparent goal in the 60th minute, but it was negated by an offside call.
Pereckas scored her second goal with 5:15 left to play to in the game.
“It was just really a lucky goal,” she said. “The ball was going back and forth. I just saw it and took a shot, and it went right over the goalie's head.”
Pereckas also gave a positive spin to the draw.
“I think this is a good start. I'm a freshman on varsity so I'm proud of myself for making the first two goals of this season,” said the forward. “I hope we can get somewhere throughout the rest of the season.”
Gomez believes Pereckas will become more of a scoring threat as the season progresses.
“We know what she can do. She has speed now, we just need have her control the ball better to her advantage and that will come with time,” said Gomez.
He also lauded the play of keeper Hernandez, a recent convert to The Beautiful Game.
“Ariana is unbelievable right now. We came in with no goalkeeper at all, and she came after playing volleyball. So far, she is one of the stars of the whole team. She made the right saves. She made a good one in the first half and that kind of play is what's going to take us to a next level.”
The West Chicago coach is glad that he has veteran senior Luciana Balzer leading his defense.
“Luciana’s done a great job with anchoring the backline,” Gomez said. “She can probably play in any position.”
Balzer is happy to be back on the pitch. She too has high expectations for the Wildcats.
“It's great to be back. I missed the rush of it, so it's been good. It was a disappointment not to be able to play last year, because I thought we had a pretty good team,” Balzer said. “I think we're stepping up this year, which is good.
“I think we did really well today. We had our first game last Sunday. I think we learned a lot from that game,” she continued. “We learned to be more aggressive and get our body in especially when there are players who are really fast on the ball. I think we also improved our calm when we're on the ball.”
Polovin liked what he saw with Streamwood’s backline.
“I thought the defense did very well. I think there's just one little miss in the last five minutes of the game,” he said. “Vanessa Colin and Esther Cardenas, our two center backs, I thought they held their own, did very well and started the attack the attack the best they could.
Polovin did have to make a last-minute lineup change when one of his starters got hurt before the game.
“Unfortunately, we had an injury during warmups to Daniela Sanchez, one of our outside backs,” he said. “Hopefully it's nothing major. She should be OK for Saturday's game. She thinks she might have tweaked her hamstring.”
He was also pleased with Emma Skrgic.
“She plays as our holding mid. She did really well for our first varsity game,” said Polovin. “But within Natalia (Colin) and Diana (Herrera) at forward, she will be starting the attack and defend.”
Streamwood returns to action Saturday when it hosts Glenbard North in a nonconference match. West Chicago plays next on Wednesday in a home Upstate Eight clash with Glenbard South.
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK: Ariana Hernandez
D: Luciana Balzer
D: Jenny Espinal
D: Emily Ayala
D: Ruby Lebo
M: Daisy Garcia
M: Isabella Lopez
M: Lizbeth Orozco
F: Jenna Zeitoun
F: Natalie Fernandez
F: Heidi Pereckas
Streamwood
GK: Selina Chavez
D: Lily Ende
D: Ester Cardenas
D: Madison Rivera
D: Vanessa Colin
M: Emma Skrgic
M: Reyna Saldivar
M: Dayanara Huerta
F: Natalia Colin
F: Kristina Kellogg
F: Diana Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Heid Pereckas, fr., F, West Chicago;
Natalia Colin, so., F, Streamwood
Scoring
First half
WC: Pereckas (UA) 18 minutes
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 31 minutes
Second half
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 44 minutes
WC: Pereckas (UA) 75 minutes
By JARED BIRCHFIELD
STREAMWOOD – Depending on how a match ends up in a draw, a coach can differing views of the decision.
That is how the heads of the West Chicago and Streamwood felt Wednesday evening after their squads ended their Upstate Eight Conference-opening contest 2-2 at Millennium Field.
After West Chicago dropped its season-opener 7-0 to Wheaton North on Sunday and came from behind to tie Streamwood, coach J. Cesar Gomez saw the result as a win.
“I think all of us are very pleased. We faced Wheaton North (a 7-0 loss) Sunday, which is like a freight train right now beating everybody. We did a couple of things which were worth applauding today,” Gomez said. “It it's always good to get back on the grass with some kind of victory, and this was one. Scoring a tie right now after being down on the scoreboard is still a little bit of a win.”
Matt Polovin, Gomez’ Streamwood opposite, took the decision as a defeat.
“I know we tied, but it kind of felt like a loss,” Polovin said “You're protecting the lead you have, and then you give up a goal.”
Both coaches were upbeat about the future for their young teams. Both squads featured untested freshman and sophomores in starting positions.
“It's our second game, and we have a lot of freshmen playing and people, who were freshman last year, are really freshman this year” said Gomez. “I'm happy with our progress. The stuff that we see can be fixed like small little touches and moving a little bit more. We're going to get it together very soon.”
Wednesday was Streamwood’s first match of the year.
“Having our first game of the season, I thought there was some good soccer out there. We have some things we know we have to work on, but it was great seeing some of the newer players” Polovin said. “We have a nice young team with girls that train really well in practice.”
In addition to the outcome, two opposing forwards will long remember the match. Each not only scored their first varsity goal, they added another.
West Chicago’s Heidi Pereckas scored her first high school goal in the 18th minute to put the Wildcats up 1-0. Her shot found the right corner of the net.
“There was a deflection off another shot, and it came back to me,” Pereckas said. “It was in my path, and I just took it. I saw the net, and I put it in there.”
With 9:20 left in the half, Streamwood sophomore striker Natalia Colin, who had 11 shots on goal in the first half, scored the equalizer. She dribbled past West Chicago’s defense and booted the ball from the penalty box boundary to the right of Wildcat freshman goalie Ariana Hernandez for her first varsity goal.
Colin scored her second goal in the 44th minute to put the Sabres up 2-1.
“She's a superstar in the making,” said Polovin. “She had both goals today, and she probably could have had six or seven more.”
Streamwood senior Kristina Kellogg scored an apparent goal in the 60th minute, but it was negated by an offside call.
Pereckas scored her second goal with 5:15 left to play to in the game.
“It was just really a lucky goal,” she said. “The ball was going back and forth. I just saw it and took a shot, and it went right over the goalie's head.”
Pereckas also gave a positive spin to the draw.
“I think this is a good start. I'm a freshman on varsity so I'm proud of myself for making the first two goals of this season,” said the forward. “I hope we can get somewhere throughout the rest of the season.”
Gomez believes Pereckas will become more of a scoring threat as the season progresses.
“We know what she can do. She has speed now, we just need have her control the ball better to her advantage and that will come with time,” said Gomez.
He also lauded the play of keeper Hernandez, a recent convert to The Beautiful Game.
“Ariana is unbelievable right now. We came in with no goalkeeper at all, and she came after playing volleyball. So far, she is one of the stars of the whole team. She made the right saves. She made a good one in the first half and that kind of play is what's going to take us to a next level.”
The West Chicago coach is glad that he has veteran senior Luciana Balzer leading his defense.
“Luciana’s done a great job with anchoring the backline,” Gomez said. “She can probably play in any position.”
Balzer is happy to be back on the pitch. She too has high expectations for the Wildcats.
“It's great to be back. I missed the rush of it, so it's been good. It was a disappointment not to be able to play last year, because I thought we had a pretty good team,” Balzer said. “I think we're stepping up this year, which is good.
“I think we did really well today. We had our first game last Sunday. I think we learned a lot from that game,” she continued. “We learned to be more aggressive and get our body in especially when there are players who are really fast on the ball. I think we also improved our calm when we're on the ball.”
Polovin liked what he saw with Streamwood’s backline.
“I thought the defense did very well. I think there's just one little miss in the last five minutes of the game,” he said. “Vanessa Colin and Esther Cardenas, our two center backs, I thought they held their own, did very well and started the attack the attack the best they could.
Polovin did have to make a last-minute lineup change when one of his starters got hurt before the game.
“Unfortunately, we had an injury during warmups to Daniela Sanchez, one of our outside backs,” he said. “Hopefully it's nothing major. She should be OK for Saturday's game. She thinks she might have tweaked her hamstring.”
He was also pleased with Emma Skrgic.
“She plays as our holding mid. She did really well for our first varsity game,” said Polovin. “But within Natalia (Colin) and Diana (Herrera) at forward, she will be starting the attack and defend.”
Streamwood returns to action Saturday when it hosts Glenbard North in a nonconference match. West Chicago plays next on Wednesday in a home Upstate Eight clash with Glenbard South.
Starting lineups
West Chicago
GK: Ariana Hernandez
D: Luciana Balzer
D: Jenny Espinal
D: Emily Ayala
D: Ruby Lebo
M: Daisy Garcia
M: Isabella Lopez
M: Lizbeth Orozco
F: Jenna Zeitoun
F: Natalie Fernandez
F: Heidi Pereckas
Streamwood
GK: Selina Chavez
D: Lily Ende
D: Ester Cardenas
D: Madison Rivera
D: Vanessa Colin
M: Emma Skrgic
M: Reyna Saldivar
M: Dayanara Huerta
F: Natalia Colin
F: Kristina Kellogg
F: Diana Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer MVPs of the Match:
Heidi Pereckas, fr., F, West Chicago;
Natalia Colin, so., F, Streamwood
Scoring
First half
WC: Pereckas (UA) 18 minutes
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 31 minutes
Second half
S: N. Colin (Herrera) 44 minutes
WC: Pereckas (UA) 75 minutes