D-Rod leads Royal victory

For the New York Yankees it was A-Rod, also know as Alex Rodriguez, who led the team and all of Major League Baseball in home runs with 54.

For the Larkin Royals' boys soccer team, it was D-Rod.

Perhaps better known as David Rodriguez, the senior forward came up about a centimeter shy of scoring a post-season hat trick with 36 seconds remaining in opening action of the Class AA Sreamwood regional at Millennium Field Tuesday. Still, his two prior goals led Larkin in a 2-0 victory over the South Elgin Storm earning the Royals a place in the sectional final, which will be held Saturday at 6 p.m.

With the win, Larkin (15-5-5) will face regional host Streamwood, a 2-1 winner over Maine East Tuesday.

Just 14 minutes into the game, Raul Sandoval came up with a steal, and after a few pushes down the middle, Sandoval dished a pass of to Rodriguez who waited in the box. Rodriguez wasted no time firing a shot past South Elgin goalkeeper Luis Abonce to make it 1-0 Royals.

Four minutes later, as the Storm attempted to push the ball out Rodriguez came up with a steal. The ball got loose, but fell into the feet of teammate Danny Hinterlong. After a quick return from Hinterlong, Rodriguez recorded his second goal of the game to put the Royals on top 2-0.

"My teammates were playing it wide so getting open was the key," said Rodriguez. "I was lucky to find myself on the opposite end of some beautiful passes. Our guys did a great job getting balls to us.

"It felt really good."

While that concluded the scoring, there was plenty of game left to be played.

South Elgin (4-13) countered with two quick efforts, one by Ernesto Caballero and later a header from James Hollander. Both shots were stopped by Larkin goalkeeper Raziel Somarriba (3 saves).

Larkin also had its chances before the break, but nothing concrete.

Despite the 2-0 halftime lead, Larkin came out strong in the second half taking 6 shots on goal before South Elgin took one. Rodriguez took three of those shots.

"We got off to a good quick start," said Larkin coach Ken Hall. "Being up 2-0 at the half, we didn't change a thing. We wanted to continue to attack.

"Sometimes the best defense is having a good offense."

With strong play in the midfield from Jake Shibona, South Elgin nearly converted on a throw in with 25 minutes left to play, but Somarriba stepped up with a diving snag.

"I thought we played hard," said Shibona. "Our possession and passing led to some opportunities, but we just couldn't finish. Larkin is a great team. They are big, they are aggressive and they are fast."

In the 56th minute, D-Rod would take the first shot of what would later become a major offensive barrage from Larkin.

Following a breakaway, Rodriguez drove hard to the net and again fired a missile at the Storm keeper, Abonce (10 saves), who made an incredible diving stop.

Larkin continued to push, peppering South Elgin with 8 additional shots before time ran out, including attempts by Sandoval and Rodriguez.

South Elgin managed to make several stops as a team.

"Before the game, we talked about scoring early but we also talked about playing hard throughout," said Rodriguez.

Sandwiched in between was one final effort from South Elgin's Elioth Ibarra.

"Tonight was kind of a microcosm of our season," said Storm coach Mark Neville. "We start slow, but pick up the intensity and don't quit.

"This season, we saw the most consistent play we've ever seen which should make our guys proud."

"We have a goal, and we have 19 guys on the same page looking to achieve that goal," said Hall. "We are playing playoff soccer now."

Streamwood 2, Maine East 1: Prior to Tuesday's post-season matchup with Maine East, Streamwood coach Matt Polovin had an interesting conversation with defender Mike Chwistek in the locker room.

"I told Mike, 'if we get a penalty kick, you're taking it.' "

According to Polovin Streamwood had been practicing them all week in the event of a shootout.

"Mike has been burying them," Polovin added.

In the 11th minute of play, Chwistek buried one to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead.

Sixty-nine minutes later, Streamwood walked off the field with a 2-1 victory over Maine East to advance to the regional final where the Sabres will face Larkin -- a team they've already beaten this season -- at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Millennium Field.

"It felt great," said Chwistek of the knock. "I was nervous, but I picked where I wanted it to go and put everything behind it."

Despite extremely aggressive play from Streamwood (11-13-1), Maine East managed to tie things up in the 20th minute when James Kelly nailed the upper right from 20 yards out to tie things up at 1-1.

Streamwood goalkeeper Juan Ortiz (6 saves) never had a chance.

The knock acted as a catalyst for the Sabre offense, which quickly answered back

Brian Magana collected a steal on the left side and quickly shelled out a pass to forward Roma Patino. Patino beat two defenders in the box and rifled a shot past diving goalkeeper Milan Tijanic (10 saves).

Both teams concluded the first half with chances. Maine East had two big shots with a minute left in the half, but both were blocked Ortiz.

The Blue Demons brought all 10 of their players into the offensive attack to start the second half, and refused to quit. While they managed seven solid shots on goal, they never converted.

"I'm proud of my entire defense," said Polovin. "Stay together and play as a unit. That was their goal. Either win tonight, or our season is over.

"They played hard until the final second."

The win was big for Streamwood, which took the field minus their best utility player in Alex Perez. Perez spent three days in the hospital after a cut on his shin became severely infected. He is supposed to be out for 4 weeks.

"I will play Saturday," said Perez. "It hurts to kick the ball, but it is just too tough to sit here and watch.

"The team looks great."