Boys soccer: Streamwood storms back to deny South Elgin

Streamwood boys soccer coach Matt Polovin had a feeling his team would get back in the game after falling behind South Elgin 2-0 midway through the first half Thursday afternoon.

"It was a little more disappointing than anything," said Polovin.

That disappointment quickly turned as the Sabres (5-2-1) cut the deficit in half on a goal by sophomore Alex Chavez before adding 3 unanswered second-half goals on their way to a 4-2 Upstate Eight Conference crossover victory over the Storm (6-2) at Millennium Field.

"I know they're having a good season," Polovin said of the Storm, "but we don't quit. It doesn't matter who we play against. It's tough to defend us when we're attacking with the amount of guys that we do every single time."

Junior Carlos Gonzalez notched the tying goal just 36 seconds into the second half, setting the tone for the remainder of the match.

"Anytime you can get a goal in the first minute or two right after halftime, that's big," said Polovin. "After that, I told the guys, 'don't take your foot off the pedal.' "

South Elgin junior keeper Brian Dykstra (9 saves) kept his team in the game with a pair of diving stops but the Sabres' relentless pressure and ball possession finally paid off in the final 7 minutes.

Junior midfielder/forward Oscar Chavez notched the game-winning goal off a picture-perfect lofted pass from Aldo Lazaro to put Streamwood on top 3-2 - its first lead of the match.

"Coach Polovin told me, 'I need a hero,' " said Chavez. "He wanted me to step up and I scored thanks to an assist from Aldo Lazaro. He put the ball right where I wanted it. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Nearly a minute and a half later, Alex Chavez recorded his second goal on a header as Streamwood ended South Elgin's 5-game winning streak.

"We had two mistakes toward the beginning of the game and then we figured it all out," said Polovin. "To come back the way we did and put up a 4-spot against them, it's a great win for these guys.

"It was the relentless attacking and the ball movement. I think we wore them out. After those two goals, we had a huge amount of energy."

Polovin's decision to replace starting center backs with Nick Gaviria and Rafa Gil also paid dividends after his team spotted the Storm a 2-0 lead.

"It was a total difference maker," said the coach. "They helped shut everyone down."

Senior forward Javier Lujan, who scored a pair of goals in South Elgin's 5-1 win over Glenbard East just 2 days earlier, added both of his team's first-half goals prior to Streamwood's second-half surge.

"Down 2-0, they really started to move the ball around," said Storm coach Simon Brinklow. "They played really well and we struggled to get close to them. Honestly, they were the better team today.

"We were chasing tails a little bit too much today."