Elk Grove looks to continue
solid run vs. Hoffman Estates
Teams meet for makeup game Monday
By Ken Keenan
Looking to build on the momentum created by a 4-1 home win over
Rolling Meadows on Sept. 24 to snap a five-game losing skid, Elk Grove
suffered a heartbreaking, 2-1 loss to Conant -- on a penalty kick in
overtime -- on the road Saturday.
The Grenadiers fell to 3-6-0 overall with the defeat, and 1-4-0 in
conference play heading into a makeup match at home with Hoffman
Estates, set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The teams were tied at 0-0
on Sept. 17 when lightning postponed the match with 19:12 remaining in
the first half.
"We're disappointed with the result against Conant, but we'll get back
after it against Hoffman Estates," said Elk Grove head coach Rob
Shepard. "(The Hawks) are coming off a nice conference win over Hersey
(1-0 on Sept. 24), so it'll be a challenge. But one of the things
about us is, the guys are starting to recognize that when we do what
we need to do, we can play with anyone."
Leading Conant 1-0 at halftime on a goal by junior midfielder Danny
Martinez, Elk Grove surrendered a goal 15 minutes into the second
half, and the match stood at 1-1 following 80 minutes of play. Four
minutes into the first 10-minute OT session, Elk Grove was called for
obstruction in the box, and the Cougars nailed the ensuing PK for the
win.
"That was the first time the whistle blew all game -- nothing else was
called," lamented Shepard. "It's unfortunate. But Conant earned (the
win). They had the better of the play in the second half. I thought we
played really well, though. We had a lot of pressure on them in the
first half, and a couple good shots. But then we had two injuries in a
row (to senior defender Chris Guadarrama and senior midfielder Edgar
Soto), and Conant took advantage of it."
The Cougars entered the match on the strength of a stunning, 3-2 win
over Mid-Suburban League-leading Schaumburg -- the top-ranked team in
the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 Poll -- a day earlier.
"Quite frankly, Conant was pretty lethargic to start, but we were
quiet ourselves," Shepard said.
That was not the case against Rolling Meadows, especially when it came
to the 1-2 punch provided by sophomore forward Dylan Ingebrigsten and
senior midfielder Oscar Suarez. Each player tallied two goals and an
assist in the decisive victory.
Ingebrigsten's goals gave him a team-high four on the season; Suarez
now has three.
"We're getting that combination to click," Shepard said. "Oscar was
the engine against Rolling Meadows, and Dylan -- he's a big, strong
kid who can create space for himself and win head balls, and he works
really hard."
Senior mid Ivan Rodriguez added an assist, and senior goalkeeper Pablo
Ortiz earned the win.
"After three shutout losses in a row, it was nice to see the guys get
rewarded ... nice to see things we worked on in practice starting to
work," Shepard said. "We showed we can score and be dangerous. We're
starting to see a better style of soccer."
Though the injuries to Guadarrama and Suarez weren't deemed serious,
Elk Grove did lose junior defender Markos Christoforou, who suffered a
broken arm against Conant. To beef up the roster, Shepard called up
junior forward Luis Villasenor, sophomore defender James Spatafore and
sophomore midfielder Josh LaRue from the JV1 team.
The Grenadiers are in the midst of a tough slate. Following the makeup
game with Hoffman Estates, the Grenadiers will host Wheeling at 6:30
p.m. Tuesday, and then visit Schaumburg at 4:45 p.m. Friday as part of
the Saxons' homecoming festivities.
"We're going to keep the focus on playing one game at a time and going
forward to the next one," Shepard said. "It starts with (Hoffman
Estates), a game we really want to win to move up in the (MSL)
standings -- and we also want to get some good, quality wins going
into the playoffs."
Following its upset win over Hersey, Hoffman Estates dropped a 4-2
decision to Streamwood at home on Saturday. The Hawks (2-7-0 overall,
2-4-0 in conference) also were topped by Fremd via a 3-0 shutout on
Sept. 22, and will continue a busy stretch of their own with a trip to
Prospect Tuesday night and a visit from Palatine on Thursday.
solid run vs. Hoffman Estates
Teams meet for makeup game Monday
By Ken Keenan
Looking to build on the momentum created by a 4-1 home win over
Rolling Meadows on Sept. 24 to snap a five-game losing skid, Elk Grove
suffered a heartbreaking, 2-1 loss to Conant -- on a penalty kick in
overtime -- on the road Saturday.
The Grenadiers fell to 3-6-0 overall with the defeat, and 1-4-0 in
conference play heading into a makeup match at home with Hoffman
Estates, set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The teams were tied at 0-0
on Sept. 17 when lightning postponed the match with 19:12 remaining in
the first half.
"We're disappointed with the result against Conant, but we'll get back
after it against Hoffman Estates," said Elk Grove head coach Rob
Shepard. "(The Hawks) are coming off a nice conference win over Hersey
(1-0 on Sept. 24), so it'll be a challenge. But one of the things
about us is, the guys are starting to recognize that when we do what
we need to do, we can play with anyone."
Leading Conant 1-0 at halftime on a goal by junior midfielder Danny
Martinez, Elk Grove surrendered a goal 15 minutes into the second
half, and the match stood at 1-1 following 80 minutes of play. Four
minutes into the first 10-minute OT session, Elk Grove was called for
obstruction in the box, and the Cougars nailed the ensuing PK for the
win.
"That was the first time the whistle blew all game -- nothing else was
called," lamented Shepard. "It's unfortunate. But Conant earned (the
win). They had the better of the play in the second half. I thought we
played really well, though. We had a lot of pressure on them in the
first half, and a couple good shots. But then we had two injuries in a
row (to senior defender Chris Guadarrama and senior midfielder Edgar
Soto), and Conant took advantage of it."
The Cougars entered the match on the strength of a stunning, 3-2 win
over Mid-Suburban League-leading Schaumburg -- the top-ranked team in
the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 Poll -- a day earlier.
"Quite frankly, Conant was pretty lethargic to start, but we were
quiet ourselves," Shepard said.
That was not the case against Rolling Meadows, especially when it came
to the 1-2 punch provided by sophomore forward Dylan Ingebrigsten and
senior midfielder Oscar Suarez. Each player tallied two goals and an
assist in the decisive victory.
Ingebrigsten's goals gave him a team-high four on the season; Suarez
now has three.
"We're getting that combination to click," Shepard said. "Oscar was
the engine against Rolling Meadows, and Dylan -- he's a big, strong
kid who can create space for himself and win head balls, and he works
really hard."
Senior mid Ivan Rodriguez added an assist, and senior goalkeeper Pablo
Ortiz earned the win.
"After three shutout losses in a row, it was nice to see the guys get
rewarded ... nice to see things we worked on in practice starting to
work," Shepard said. "We showed we can score and be dangerous. We're
starting to see a better style of soccer."
Though the injuries to Guadarrama and Suarez weren't deemed serious,
Elk Grove did lose junior defender Markos Christoforou, who suffered a
broken arm against Conant. To beef up the roster, Shepard called up
junior forward Luis Villasenor, sophomore defender James Spatafore and
sophomore midfielder Josh LaRue from the JV1 team.
The Grenadiers are in the midst of a tough slate. Following the makeup
game with Hoffman Estates, the Grenadiers will host Wheeling at 6:30
p.m. Tuesday, and then visit Schaumburg at 4:45 p.m. Friday as part of
the Saxons' homecoming festivities.
"We're going to keep the focus on playing one game at a time and going
forward to the next one," Shepard said. "It starts with (Hoffman
Estates), a game we really want to win to move up in the (MSL)
standings -- and we also want to get some good, quality wins going
into the playoffs."
Following its upset win over Hersey, Hoffman Estates dropped a 4-2
decision to Streamwood at home on Saturday. The Hawks (2-7-0 overall,
2-4-0 in conference) also were topped by Fremd via a 3-0 shutout on
Sept. 22, and will continue a busy stretch of their own with a trip to
Prospect Tuesday night and a visit from Palatine on Thursday.