Elk Grove gets the better of Fenton
Elk Grove continued its bright start to the boys soccer season Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't easy. Fenton made sure of that.
The Grens (7-2-0) exploded for 3 second-half goals, including the game-winner from Rafal Borys in the 67th minute to defeat host Fenton 3-2 at Redmond Park in a Stach Memorial tournament match in Bensenville. Elk Grove extented its win streak, which includes back-to-back victories in Mid-Suburban League play last week, to five.
"Norm (Hillner, Lake Park's head coach) told me how talented Fenton was, and to expected them to play hard for 80 minutes," said Elk Grove coach Joe Bush. "They were all that and a lot more, and really put us on our heels in the early going before we could get back into the match and eventually get even in the second half."
Fenton (4-5-1) who is easily a much better team than its record suggests, features a trio of sophomores (Giovanni Bailon, David Mendoza, Kevin Garcia) which impresses coach David Alvarez. The Bison are also a club willing to defend, tackle and go forward at a moment's notice to counter against even the best of defensive sides.
"Those three (sophomores) are hungry and want to succeed, and with continued hard work they should become important players in our program for the future," said Alvarez.
Alvarez watch his lads start fast as the visitors appeared a step slow through the first quarter hour of play. And the Bison, fully awake and alert, took full advantage of the Grens from the opening whistle. Elk Grove struggled to stay organized in the middle as well as along the backline, where keeper Frankie Ortiz was under seige from the onset.
"It really took us awhile to get going today," said Grens captain Nick Jordan. "We just didn't play well for most of the first half."
Just seven minutes into the match, Bailon, who stood alone at the back post, easily finished into the net a well-aimed corner from Adrian Hernandez and cause the Grens to lose some of their composure following Fenton's fourth set-piece opportunity to that point.
"We kind of fell apart after that goal, and it was our communication, not our effort, which suffered for awhile," said Bush.
Ortiz made a stunning point-blank save at 17 minutes on Bailon, and if not were for good play out of the middle from Carlos Cisneros, the Grens would have had nothing to show for in its possession game after the first half-hour of play.
"Each time we turned, (Fenton) was there, they defended so well today," said Bush.
Elk Grove drew even after intermission when Irving Cruz thumped in the equalizer from in close at 45 minutes.
But a young Fenton club didn't wilt when feeling some extra pressure heaped upon them from the suddenly energized Grens and quickly regained the lead when the assistant referee on the near side called a foul inside the box against Bailon, which resulted in a PK for Garcia, who calmly converted.
The backline of Matt Swartz, Jose Cordero and Jimmy Hernandez worked hard to keep most of the play away from its keeper Pedro Acuna in hope of protecting the lead, but it lasted only 13 minutes when Cruz redirected header off a free-kick guided missile from Nick Jordan.
The Grens benefited from a foul and subsequent PK at 67 minutes, with Cesar Rodriguez responsible for the winning conversion.
Cardenas could have doubled the lead at 71 minutes if not for a wonderful save by Acuna. Then, in a wild finish, Bison midfielder Adrian Villegas rocked the crossbar, setting up consecutive dead-ball opportunites for the Fenton which stayed inside the area for an eternity before the Grens finally cleared.
"We're still a work in progress, but I am pleased with the effort of the team so far and hopeful we will continue to improve as the season goes along," Alvarez said.