CLS-Streamwood matchup starts
road to playoff dreams
By Mike Garofola
It's been nearly three years since Crystal Lake South and Streamwood enjoyed postseason success.
For Streamwood the success was historic -- a fourth place finish in the Class 3A state tournament and its first state trophy.
At Crystal Lake South, the Gators had lifted the sixth regional championship trophy in program history.
Managers from both clubs are cautiously optimistic of triumphant returns in the state series, but both admit the possibility of doing so rests on good fortune, health and their lads staying focused and on course.
Streamwood travels to Crystal Lake South for a 4:30 p.m. nonconference contest this afternoon (Aug. 24). Each recorded victories in their season openers.
"We expect to compete for a Fox Valley Conference title," ," began Gators manager, Brian Allen, now in his 11th season in charge and nearing 150 career victories.
"But our conference, it will be a test with the likes of Jacobs and Dundee-Crown both returning a good amount of players from their 2016 teams.
"I really like the variety of teams and styles we have ahead of us on our schedule, including Streamwood, because they very likely could be a sub-sectional opponent when the tournament starts in October."
Sabres head coach Matt Polovin liked what he saw during training leading up to the Sabres 1-0 nonconference win over Bartlett on Tuesday, listing the work ethic from his club as first rate.
"This group comes each day knowing hard work will result in a great season, and it started at the very beginning of summer camp, and has continued right on through," says Polovin, who in 2014 guided the Sabres to a 17-7-2 overall record.
Polovin still has five players from that state team roster, including defender Gregorio Esteves, and 2016 Chicagoland Soccer all-staters Aldo Lazaro (forward, 16 goals, 10 assists) and Rafa Gil (defender/midfielder, 2, 3).
Polovin will obviously lean on this trio and IHSSCA all-sectional keeper Daniel Dominguez, who recorded six clean sheets a year ago.
"The strength of this team is experience," said Polovin, who toiled as a prep at Fremd under Gerardo Pagnani.
"We have (11) seniors back with us, and they want to finish their careers in high school soccer back at the stadium in Hoffman Estates and the state tournament."
Polovin has opened the season with a 4-4-3 formation, thanks in part to a tremendous amount of speed on the roster. That should allow the Sabres to both attack and defend with numbers.
"If you're on the field, you will defend no matter what position you're playing. (The) guys know that, and fully understand the concept and what we're asking of them."
Streamwood's tournament dance card this season includes the Barrington Classic and PepsiCo Showdown.
Crystal Lake South returns two of its three top goal scorers (Nikolas Getzinger, 38 career goals, and Alex Canfield). Allen believes the offense will produce despite the loss of Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Andrew Grabowski, who graduated as the school's fourth all-time leading scorer and now plys his trade at Aurora University.
"I'm very excited about the core of strikers we have. We've moved around a few players to add depth, with each of them bring a unique trait or special skill to the position," said Allen.
"Our work rate and effort has been top-class leading into our season-opener. Being consistent is something we need to put a lot of focus on.
"The guys have been really open to new roles and ideas, and with that, they've become a close-knit bunch that wants to work hard for each other and the team."
Last season, the Gators went 2-3-0 down the stretch, which included a disappointing season-ending 2-0 loss to Elgin in the regional semifinals.
"Once the guys realized we were out of the FVC race, we lost some of our energy and work rate. That was on me for not keeping them motivated for the postseason," said Allen.
The coach will use the Johnsburg tournament as a vehicle to prep his lads for league play. A spot in the PepsiCo Showdown is an opportunity to challenge the club against a wide array of potential opponents.
"I'm excited to see what the backline and our goalkeeping core does this year with as much experience as they gained from last season, and I really feel the potential is there if we can learn to grow and become diverse and dynamic in our system," Allen said.
Following the match, Crystal Lake South hosts Antioch on Aug. 30 in advance of its first game at Johnsburg on Sept. 1.
Streamwood will train up to its tourney opener with Boylan on Monday in Barrington, which will be followed up by a date with the Class 3A state runnerup host Barrington and Lake Zurich.
road to playoff dreams
By Mike Garofola
It's been nearly three years since Crystal Lake South and Streamwood enjoyed postseason success.
For Streamwood the success was historic -- a fourth place finish in the Class 3A state tournament and its first state trophy.
At Crystal Lake South, the Gators had lifted the sixth regional championship trophy in program history.
Managers from both clubs are cautiously optimistic of triumphant returns in the state series, but both admit the possibility of doing so rests on good fortune, health and their lads staying focused and on course.
Streamwood travels to Crystal Lake South for a 4:30 p.m. nonconference contest this afternoon (Aug. 24). Each recorded victories in their season openers.
"We expect to compete for a Fox Valley Conference title," ," began Gators manager, Brian Allen, now in his 11th season in charge and nearing 150 career victories.
"But our conference, it will be a test with the likes of Jacobs and Dundee-Crown both returning a good amount of players from their 2016 teams.
"I really like the variety of teams and styles we have ahead of us on our schedule, including Streamwood, because they very likely could be a sub-sectional opponent when the tournament starts in October."
Sabres head coach Matt Polovin liked what he saw during training leading up to the Sabres 1-0 nonconference win over Bartlett on Tuesday, listing the work ethic from his club as first rate.
"This group comes each day knowing hard work will result in a great season, and it started at the very beginning of summer camp, and has continued right on through," says Polovin, who in 2014 guided the Sabres to a 17-7-2 overall record.
Polovin still has five players from that state team roster, including defender Gregorio Esteves, and 2016 Chicagoland Soccer all-staters Aldo Lazaro (forward, 16 goals, 10 assists) and Rafa Gil (defender/midfielder, 2, 3).
Polovin will obviously lean on this trio and IHSSCA all-sectional keeper Daniel Dominguez, who recorded six clean sheets a year ago.
"The strength of this team is experience," said Polovin, who toiled as a prep at Fremd under Gerardo Pagnani.
"We have (11) seniors back with us, and they want to finish their careers in high school soccer back at the stadium in Hoffman Estates and the state tournament."
Polovin has opened the season with a 4-4-3 formation, thanks in part to a tremendous amount of speed on the roster. That should allow the Sabres to both attack and defend with numbers.
"If you're on the field, you will defend no matter what position you're playing. (The) guys know that, and fully understand the concept and what we're asking of them."
Streamwood's tournament dance card this season includes the Barrington Classic and PepsiCo Showdown.
Crystal Lake South returns two of its three top goal scorers (Nikolas Getzinger, 38 career goals, and Alex Canfield). Allen believes the offense will produce despite the loss of Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Andrew Grabowski, who graduated as the school's fourth all-time leading scorer and now plys his trade at Aurora University.
"I'm very excited about the core of strikers we have. We've moved around a few players to add depth, with each of them bring a unique trait or special skill to the position," said Allen.
"Our work rate and effort has been top-class leading into our season-opener. Being consistent is something we need to put a lot of focus on.
"The guys have been really open to new roles and ideas, and with that, they've become a close-knit bunch that wants to work hard for each other and the team."
Last season, the Gators went 2-3-0 down the stretch, which included a disappointing season-ending 2-0 loss to Elgin in the regional semifinals.
"Once the guys realized we were out of the FVC race, we lost some of our energy and work rate. That was on me for not keeping them motivated for the postseason," said Allen.
The coach will use the Johnsburg tournament as a vehicle to prep his lads for league play. A spot in the PepsiCo Showdown is an opportunity to challenge the club against a wide array of potential opponents.
"I'm excited to see what the backline and our goalkeeping core does this year with as much experience as they gained from last season, and I really feel the potential is there if we can learn to grow and become diverse and dynamic in our system," Allen said.
Following the match, Crystal Lake South hosts Antioch on Aug. 30 in advance of its first game at Johnsburg on Sept. 1.
Streamwood will train up to its tourney opener with Boylan on Monday in Barrington, which will be followed up by a date with the Class 3A state runnerup host Barrington and Lake Zurich.