Caballero's goal enough for Storm to top BC

South Elgin has led 4 times in its first 2 boys soccer games of the season.

The Storm had also found itself 0-2 after relinquishing the lead all 4 times, including 3 times in a 5-4 loss to Waubonsie Valley.

Storm coach Mark Neville knew Ernesto Caballero's goal in the second half against Burlington Central wasn't going to be enough if the Storm wanted to gain its first win of the season.

South Elgin had to sustain it.

Despite a couple severe scares late in the game, Caballero's goal proved the difference as South Elgin grinded out a 1-0 victory in the Rocket Invite at Central.

"It was shaping up to be one of those games where you dominate on shots on goal and it doesn't go in," Neville said.

South Elgin (1-2) owned a 10-2 shots-on-goal advantage in the game, but did not score until Caballero connected with 18 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.

Caballero took Mike Alfini's missed shot and used his left foot to power it past Central goalkeeper Kyle DeRaedt. The 15-yard shot came after DeRaedt (12 saves) had held of the Storm's relentless offensive attack.

Bart Mazurek had 4 shots on goal and Central (2-2) allowed South Elgin to record 3 shots in the game's first 10 minutes.

"We didn't start too good," said Caballero, who now has 3 goals on the season. "We had a lot of chances, a lot of shots. We started to get really frustrated."

South Elgin's frustration nearly increased late in the game.

Central's offense drew South Elgin goalkeeper Ryan Hicks (2 saves) out of the box with 13 minutes left to play. With Hicks away from the goal, Central looked to get a goal, but never materialized before Storm defender Ben Kantor cleared the ball.

Less than a minute later, Central's Kyle Reopelle missed a penalty kick, when his shot bounced off the cross bar and sailed out of bounds.

"We had a lot of opportunities, especially on set plays," Rockets coach Mike Gecan said. "We drew a lot of fouls. We just couldn't finish."

Central had 7 corner kicks and 8 set plays on offense, but never found the net. A big part of the struggles came when Ryan Warner left the game with a head injury with 31 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first half.

Gecan said the Warner is a huge part of the Rockets' set -play offense. The senior has 3 of Central's 10 goals on the season and may have been the difference.

"He's one of my set play guys," Gecan said of Warner, who left the stadium shortly after leaving the game. "He's one of the most experienced forwards. He's good on set plays."

With Warner out, the Storm went from a 4-3-3 to a 4-5-1 formation, using Alfini and Matt Shipon as extra help at midfield.