Described by his coach as ‘a little bit of a sleeper,’ Jorge Pacheco wakes up Dundee-Crown with tying goal

Dundee-Crown’s Jorge Pacheco felt like he had something to prove going back to last season.

A year ago, Pacheco came off the bench for a senior-laden team. Now, the senior midfielder has emerged as the Chargers’ leading scorer. His mentality, however, has never changed.

“Last year. I knew I had a lot to prove with all the seniors,” Pacheco said. “I knew I had to step up my game. This season, I knew I had a lot on my shoulders.

“I want to help my teammates. I feel like my teammates look to me.”

Pacheco gave his teammates something to think about Monday, scoring the tying goal with 19:03 left in the second half for a 1-1 deadlock against the host Sabres at the Streamwood Tournament.

Luis Silva picked up the assist for Dundee-Crown (4-4-2). Steven Alvarado made seven saves.

Streamwood (2-4-2) got on the board first. Christian Saulsberry corralled a turnover, finding Edwin Gomez for a goal that went off a defender and into the net with 14:02 left in the first half.

Hugo Arista, last year’s leading scorer, graduated for Dundee-Crown. It meant coach Rey Vargas was looking for players to take a step forward. Pacheco was somebody high up on that list.

“He’s really stepped up,” Vargas said. “He’s a little bit of a sleeper you could say. When you least expect it, he wakes up and puts some goals in.

“I’ve been really happy with him and his performances lately.”

Vargas knew that Pacheco was behind some talented seniors last season, but when he did get a chance, the coach liked what he saw.

“Even though he was coming off the bench, he came through in some really huge moments last year,” Vargas said of Pacheco. “The expectation was that — to step up.”

Streamwood kicked things off Monday, and despite three starters being ineligible while dealing with an injured starting goalkeeper, the Sabres struck first.

The way they scored the goal was exactly what interim coach Wallace Luyten was hoping to see.

“We try to work on switching the field, working it wide and finding the end line,” Luyten said. “That was the only time in the half we did that. Christian got it to the end line, got a decent ball.

“I think it went off of them.”

With nine seniors lost to graduation, plus a new coach, Luyten is just looking for some consistency. After a slow start, the Chargers created optimism with a 3-0 win over Wheaton North.

The Sabres have been up and down since that win, though.

“It’s such a roller coaster right now,” Luyten said. “It’s going to be a learning curve. I can’t say I’m not happy with the effort. They’re still learning and they’re still getting used to each other.”

After his goal, Pacheco pointed out that the Chargers refocused.

“We don’t let down,” Pacheco said. “We keep going. We keep pushing.”

Vargas believes Pacheco contributes more than just goals from his midfield position.

“He likes to distribute,” Vargas said. “He sees the field really well. He handles the ball one-on-one nicely. He’s really patient on the ball. It’s just a natural thing for him. He can distribute the ball on a whim and put it right where we need it. I like him up in the mix of things because he’s a taller kid.”

Pacheco entered the season ready for that workload. Seeing it play out like he had hoped has been a bonus.

“It’s not really about me,” Pacheco said. “It’s about the plays we run. They play off me and we do a great job with that. I just want to be great and go up from here.”