South Elgin blanks Burlington Central
It didn’t matter if the South Elgin girls soccer team was going into the wind or had the wind at its back Saturday afternoon.
Either way, the Storm was the better attacking team.
South Elgin scored 2 second-half goals attacking into a continuous 20-plus mph wind to beat Burlington Central, 2-0, at a soft and soggy Rocket Hill.
“I’m pleased with them (being) able to adapt and change at halftime,” Storm coach Tiffany Disher said. “They started to pick it up, playing to feet and our game.”
The Storm (9-5) went with the wind, blowing toward the goal on the East end of the field, in the first half. South Elgin controlled the play and the Rockets rarely had the ball on the Storm’s half of field. The best scoring chance came on a 28-yard free kick from the Storm’s Lauren Vedrine. The junior’s right-footed blast was heading for the upper right corner, but was saved by Rockets goalkeeper Caitlin Solberg as the teams went to halftime scoreless.
“Yeah I did, I’ll say it, and the team definitely did,” said Central coach Mike Gecan about feeling comfortable at halftime and not trailing. “You could tell that they thought it was over, all they had to do was score a goal.”
South Elgin took the lead with 31:09 remaining. Vedrine took a free kick near the end line and sent the ball low into the Rockets’ penalty area. Nicole McBride got a touch and the ball was loose inside the 6-yard box. Savanah Uveges got the loose ball and scored.
Uveges, a freshman, scored her second goal of the match with 15:43. She took a pass from Jessica DeSimon near midfield on the right side. Uveges dribbled down the right side and into the penalty area, made a move past a Central defender and scored to the far post.
“We were a lot more motivated and picked up the intensity,” Uveges said. “After talking with our coaches (at halftime), they put it to us that we needed to work harder. That’s what we did.”
Central, which had its five-match win streak snapped, didn’t have a shot until 23 minutes left and never got a shot off inside the penalty area.
“I don’t remember one quality cross. Maybe one or two,” Gecan said. “We didn’t get enough shots.”
The Storm’s Emily Young made 3 saves for the shutout. Solberg also made 3 saves for Central.
CL South 2nd at Glenbrook Cup: Crystal Lake South won three matches Saturday before falling to Glenbrook North 1-0 in PKs in the championship contest. The Gators (10-6-2) beat Chicago U-High 6-0, Kenosha Bradford 3-0 and Buffalo Grove 2-1 before falling. Kalli Loescher, Christina Szocka, Ellen Brunner, Ashley Tyllia and Emily Hamrick were named to the all-tournament team for the Gators.