Boys soccer: Sanchez goal lifts Meadows past Hoffman
Joao Sanchez's sensational 47th minute goal coupled with a stingy new look back line was the difference Friday night for host Rolling Meadows at Robert Hoese Field.
The Mustangs (2-4-5, 1-2-2) won their first Mid-Suburban League boys soccer game of the season, a 1-0 victory over visiting Hoffman Estates with the Sanchez goal the difference, and some terrific defensive play from coach Brett Olson's club.
"We went to playing three in the back for our game with Fremd which resulted in a 1-1 draw, then played 100 minutes against Prospect and held them goal-less, then tonight it was another shutout," said a pleased Olson.
"So the change has worked well, and the boys really like playing with this new formation."
"We struggled defensively during the tournament at Glenbrook South, and we just didn't play very well on both sides of the ball but now we're playing with a lot of confidence and it's nice to get that first win in conference," said Mustangs captain Adan Ramirez.
The visiting Hawks (4-7-1, 0-3-0) have endured a grueling week of soccer since last Saturday, playing four consecutive games on the road, three of which were part of the PepsiCo Showdown, in which coach Sean Armstrong's team went to Joliet, West Chicago then Woodstock on Thursday, earning two wins against one loss.
"Our week is no excuse for our slow start tonight, but we came back to play so much better after the break, created a handful of good chances, but just could not put one into the net," said Armstrong.
The home side had most of the play during the first 20 minutes, but when the Hawks were able to find Manny Amezcua, Connor Kurzynski, Georgi Kyosev, and others, the Mustangs' back three of Nikolay Pavlov, Ryan Stubitsch and Christian Rubio made sure nothing would get through.
The Hawks hardly touched the ball during the lead up to the Sanchez game-winner, which came when Ramirez put the senior through with a terrific early ball.
Once in control, Sanchez carried away from pressure before unloading an unstoppable blast the other way from near the edge.
The Hawks would get themselves back into the game with by throwing numbers forward, and whipping several balls into the box and nearly equalized if not for a superb save by Pablo Zapate, who went airborne to push a sure goal over the bar from Logan Garcia seven minutes from time.
"It was a good win, and one that the guys worked hard to earn, now we have to build off of this one going forward," said Olson.
The Mustangs welcome Schaumburg on Tuesday for Senior Night, while the Hawks continue play at the PepsiCo Saturday against Huntley.