Boys soccer: Shorthanded Larkin rallies past South Elgin

Larkin midfielder Sammy Rodriguez blamed himself Wednesday night for the second half go-ahead goal South Elgin scored and was looking for a way to atone for his error.

With 5:02 left to play, the senior made amends by burying the ball in the back of the net to tie the match, 2-2.

Sixty eight seconds later, Rodriguez became Larkin's hero of the game by scoring his second goal, which put the Royals ahead for the first time, 3-2. Larkin hung to beat the Storm in the Upstate Eight Conference crossover contest at Memorial Field.

"I had made a mistake that cost us a goal so that kind of motivated me to score my own goal," Rodriguez said of his equalizer. "I got the ball and I was inside the box. Everyone was telling me 'pass it, pass it' but I saw the opportunity to score and shot the ball."

Rodriguez scored the game-winner on a pass from Alex Zdravkovic.

"Alex had the ball and he was creeping up but he was holding it, waiting for someone to make a run," said Rodriguez. "I saw Pierre (Black) split the defenders so I ran next to them and Alex sent it through and I got the goal."

South Elgin (1-2-2) took an early l-0 lead, scoring in the fifth minute on a shot in front of the net by Chris Stancyk.

Larkin (4-1) played most of the match short-handed. A Royal forward was red-carded late in the first half after a collision with a South Elgin player.

The Royals tied the game 1-1 with 4:46 left in the in the half on Randy Rodriguez' shot into the left corner of the goal.

South Elgin's Nick Flores, a freshman, broke the deadlock in the match's 50th minute with a shot in front of the left side of the net that Larkin goalkeeper Jorge Nava (5 saves) was unable to stop.

"In the second half I thought we were patient and with the extra player we finally created a chance to score." said South Elgin coach Simon Brinklow. "I think everyone then expected us to see out the game."

The Storm's back line shut down Zdravkovic, Larkin's main scoring threat, by closely guarding him. The sophomore, who has scored 8 goals in Larkin's first 4 games, had to settle for an assist.

"We were down the man so that was the big thing," said Larkin coach Ken Hall. "I just cannot say enough about the team - the fight we had to come back. We scored all 3 goals short a man. That is just fantastic."