Boys soccer: Elegbede, St. Charles North slips past Elgin

St. Charles North's Bernard Elegbede got a shot at redemption on Thursday night and made the most of it.

His breakaway goal with 7:58 left broke a 1-1 tie and the North Stars' boys soccer team went on to a 2-1 win over host Elgin at Memorial Field in a key Upstate Eight Conference River Division showdown.

Earlier in the week Elegbede had been in a similar position on a breakaway late in a game against Streamwood, but his shot sailed high and the North Stars had to settle for a tie in that contest.

"It was exciting to get that goal," Elegbede said. "I felt like I had let my team down the other night in a similar situation. So I was glad to get another chance. This time I wasn't trying to do anything spectacular. I just tucked it away in the bottom corner. The main thing is that it got through to the back of the net. We knew we were going to have to fight hard for this game. I was glad we were able to bounce back and get the win."

It was the seventh goal of the season for Elegbede.

"He'd be the first one to tell you that he was struggling most of the game to find his rhythm," North coach Eric Willson said. "But a good finisher like Bernard keeps plugging away. He did a good job putting himself in front of the net and then it took a lot of composure to get a well-placed shot off against a really good goalkeeper."

This game could wind up being pivotal in the conference race for both teams.

"We have high hopes in the conference," Willson said. "And one thing you have to be able to do is win on the road especially against a really tough team like Elgin. It's that time of the year where the games are starting to pile up and sometimes it's not always going to be pretty and you have to grind games out like we did today."

Noah Linn had the North Stars' other goal midway through the first half. North Stars goalkeeper Piercarlo Ricossa had 5 saves with his biggest coming in the final seconds when he snuffed out a shot right in front of the net.

The Maroons suffered their first conference loss as they fell to 9-2-2, 3-1.

"It's tough when you're that close against a really good team like that," Elgin coach Dave Borg said. "I think we are every bit the team they are, but they caught a break and got one through on our defense and took advantage of our mistake. That's what good teams do. Hats off to them. I think we have showed we can stay right with any team, but it's important to learn to finish these close ones."

Omar Lopez had the Maroons' only goal in the first half which tied the score at 1-1. It was his 21st of the season.