Boys soccer: Quick start lifts Hoffman Estates over Elk Grove in regional opener
Three quick first-half goals led Hoffman Estates to a Class 3A regional quarterfinal boys soccer win over Elk Grove Saturday.
Playing on the Grens' home pitch in the Wheaton North regional play-in game, the Hawks scored three times in a three-minute span before 13 minutes were gone in the game.
Then Hoffman held off a strong and determined second-half effort from the Grenadiers to take a 3-1 victory.
"I knew we had the talent,," said Hoffman coach Sean Armstrong. "I feel like this is a season that we've underachieved, but top to bottom this team has so much character and so much experience. We talked about being focused today and going out and executing, and it was an incredible effort from our kids."
Junior midfielder Manny Amezcua got the first 2 goals of the contest for the Hawks.
In the 10th minute the junior took a long ball from teammate Simeon Georgiev and found the back of the net on a curling shot from 20 yards away.
Then two minutes later Amezcua took control of a ball in the box and connected to make it 2-0.
"A lot of teamwork (led to this) and a lot of effort in practice," said Amezcua. "We wanted to move on in the playoffs."
Just 36 seconds after Amezcua's second goal, Hawks freshman Connor Kurzynski scored on a header to make it 3-0.
After intermission, though, Elk Grove rallied.
The Grens, playing tenacious soccer, finally broke through when Sebastian Mikina headed in a long feed from teammate Jesus Benitez.
Elk Grove kept the pressure on throughout the final 40 minutes, with senior Hector Torres playing a spectacular second half and just missing on a couple of great chances.
Stellar defense in the final 20 minutes from Hawks defenders Siva Nakka, a senior, and Colin Grochal, a sophomore, helped seal the win.
"Having a three-goal lead was a big deal for us," said Nakka. "Our season was on the line and as a senior, protecting the lead meant everything. It's all heart - we played with heart and we came out on top."
The Grens almost connected on several chances in the final minutes with Mikina and Jonny Rivas leading the charge.
"I was really proud of our guys," said EG coach Alex Stavropoulos. "Not only in the second half but the last 60 minutes of the game. I've seen teams before with a three-goal deficit just put their heads down, but our guys fought today, and they kept on fighting. They stuck to the game plan, they didn't try to play hero ball but played as a team.
"We got one back," added Stavropoulos, "and I felt like after that goal we had the momentum. I felt like we'd get another goal or two to get it to overtime, but it didn't go our way. Give credit to Hoffman - they had a game plan and they executed it."
The Hawks move on to Tuesday's regional semifinal at Wheaton North, where they will take on top-seeded West Chicago at 4:30 p.m.
Palatine 3, Waukegan 1: The Pirates won their regional play-in game Saturday and will play top-seeded Libertyville on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at Palatine.