Ozbay, Elizalde team up as captains
If you want to know why Barrington and Wheeling have climbed to the top of the soccer ladder, look no further than Ata Ozbay and Leo Elizalde.
In a season when the top four to five players in the area were clearly a step ahead of all others, Barrington's Ozbay and Wheeling's Elizalde were the choice over standouts Josh Beard of Schaumburg and the St. Viator duo of Matt Riggio and Trevor Wheeler to earn the honor of Cook County co-captains of the 2008 Daily Herald All-Area soccer team.
Clearly, it was not stats alone that caught the eye of voters when each were awarded Player of the Year in their respective Mid-Suburban League divisions, and all-state recognition as well. But a quick look in the scorebook found Ozbay atop all others in the area in overall scoring with 25 goals, 11 assists (61 points) and Elizalde, not far off, with 18 goals, 6 assists and 42 points, despite missing 4 matches with an injury.
"It's kind of hard to believe that I am sharing the co-captain award with Ata," said a humble Elizalde, "because when I think of the best players in the area, I look back to last year when Josh (Beard) and Eric (Marofske, now at Loyola) were high-level kind of star players.
"To think that I would follow those two (players) and be there with Ata, who had such a great year for Barrington is really a terrific surprise for me."
Ozbay was equally happy for Elizalde, who would garner a second-straight MSL East Player of the Year honor.
"I didn't really know too much about Leo, but I heard about him during the club season," Ozbay said, "When you watch him play, you see an incredibly gifted technical player, who plays the game the way it should be played, and with a lot of composure and leadership."
What stands out about both is each has a real thirst for the game. The type of passion needed to create a sensation whenever the ball is on their foot, and when their club is in need of something special to happen.
"When Ota is on his game, then you can pretty much forget about it, because he's on a whole different level and will eventually make his mark on that particular match," said Barrington coach Scott Steib.
Case in point - Class 4A regional opener against a fine side in Cary-Grove.
Final score: Barrington 4, Cary-Grove 3. Ozbay would strike for all 4 goals to set up a memorable regional final with No. 1 seed Lake Zurich, which the Broncos would win in thrilling fashion in overtime.
"Ata validated all of his post-season honors in that match. Without him, we don't survive and our season is over," Steib said.
A few days after the victory over Lake Zurich, Ozbay would have another award to cherish, all-Midwest.
The duo share much more than their co-captain roles.
Both began in this sport relatively late compared to others yet have come a long way in just a short time.
"I used to see Ata when his sisters (Elchin and Gulcin) were playing (here) and he always seemed to have a ball on his foot. Then just a few years later he was a key guy in our run to a state title last year and then became a premier striker one year later," said Steib.
Elizalde, just as Ozbay, began playing in junior high, then in a few men's leagues before joining long-time club power Schwaben along with teammates and all-area picks Joel Del Toro, Trevor Rubin and David Aranda.
"I have a real respect for the game, and feel like I am learning something new all of the time, and have my best days ahead of me wherever I go to play next year," said Elizalde, who along with Del Toro has a serious interest in Division III power Dominican University, where his friend, and former Carmel standout, Edwin Lagunas is playing.
"I could go on for hours about Leo," began Wheeling coach Ed Uhrik. "Aside from all of his extraordinary talent, he's a terrific young man who plays with a lot of class, and handles himself like a professional, on and off the field, and has the respect of every player on the varsity and in our program."
Elizalde was the heartbeat of the Wildcats, a willing 80-plus minute performer, who ran the show in the middle of the park, threading passes onto the feet of others, with a smooth pace on both sides of the ball equally.
"The way he played sometimes you would sit back and say wow," Uhrik added.
Elizalde finished with 34 goals, 18 assists and 86 points in his career, putting him in the top 10 in each category in Wheeling soccer history.
While the Wildcats' captain would regularly unlock even the tightest of defense, it was Ozbay who would terrorize opponents much too often for its victims before finding the back of the net.
Almost unstoppable with his imagination and creative dribbling skills, the two-year starter was lightning quick, both in thought and deed, and capable of scoring at any moment because of it.
In his two years with the big club, Ozbay would strike for 8 game-winners (6 this season), convert 3 penalty kick attempts, score the Broncos' first goal of a match 6 times and show off his set-piece proficiency with 3 goals off free-kicks.
He finished with 98 points in his career (seventh all-time in school history) and 39 goals (fifth overall).
"I feel like (Leo) in that I have worked so hard to get myself to (the) level that I am at, but I am also like a sponge, in that I seem to pick something up with every training session, match and film session, knowing that it all wil add up into something bigger and better one day," said Ozbay.
Ozbay combines speed, finesse, terrific balance and finishing ability from in and around the top of the box to be labeled a truly destructive striker, who will begin to evaluate his options for next year, following his graduation in January.
With his ethnic background quite evident, Ozbay follows his beloved Galatasaray club in Turkey as often as he can, and on his trips abroad he brings back loads of souvenirs, and the dream of perhaps playing overseas in the future.
"Ata's love of the game has proved to be so important in his development as a player and major contributor to our program," said Steib. "Ata is a very special type of player, and one that, along with our other seniors, left our program in a better place than when they arrived."
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=248709">Northwest co-captains: Ozbay, Elizalde team up as captains <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248812">Northwest suburban All-Area Boys Soccer Team <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248708">Lake co-captains: Janus, Kreutz team up for Lake Zurich <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248822">Lake Co. All-Area Boys Soccer Team <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248639">Fox co-captain: Sabres' Perez just loves the game <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248641">Fox co-captain: Sandoval's moxie leads to Larkin's success <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248817">Fox Valley All-Area Boys Soccer Team <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248939">DuPage captain: With Naperville C.'s Zimmer, expectations fulfilled <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248746 ">DuPage Co. All-Area Boys Soccer Team <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248649"">Tri captain: No slowing this Sloan, either <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=248820"">Tri-Cities All-Area Boys Soccer Team <span class="date">[11/07/08]</span></a></li> </ul> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/cook01.pdf">Cook Co. Sports Monthly Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/cook04.pdf">Cook Co. Sports Monthly Page 4 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/cook05.pdf">Cook Co. Sports Monthly Page 5 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/cook06.pdf">Cook Co. Sports Monthly Page 6 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/dupage01.pdf">DuPage Co. Sports Monthly Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/dupage02.pdf">DuPage Co. Sports Monthly Page 2 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/dupage03.pdf">DuPage Co. Sports Monthly Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/lake01.pdf">Lake Co. Sports Monthly Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/lake04.pdf">Lake Co. Sports Monthly Page 4 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/lake05.pdf">Lake Co. Sports Monthly Page 5 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/lake06.pdf">Lake Co. Sports Monthly Page 6 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/foxvalley01.pdf">Fox Valley Sports Monthly Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/foxvalley02.pdf">Fox Valley Sports Monthly Page 2 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/foxvalley03.pdf">Fox Valley Sports Monthly Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/foxvalley04.pdf">Fox Valley Sports Monthly Page 4 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/tricities01.pdf">Tri-Cities Sports Monthly Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/tricities03.pdf">Tri-Cities Sports Monthly Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/tricities06.pdf">Tri-Cities Sports Monthly Page 6 </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>