Steffen, LZ win seventh straight

Lake Zurich's boys soccer team hit a lucky number Saturday.

The Bears picked up their seventh straight win, defeating visiting Palatine 4-1 in a nonconference match.

"We're on a real nice streak and the kids are starting to put things together," Lake Zurich coach Mike Schmitz said. "We're attacking very well and creating opportunities off the ball. We seem to be finishing in bunches."

Matt Steffen scored a pair of goals for the Bears (10-3-2). Tyler Griffin and Eric Pothast had the other tallies.

"The kids are working hard and they've earned it," Schmitz said. "They're starting to play well together and they're seeing it too.

"Our defense has been solid, too. We gave up our first goal in seven games."

Lake Zurich scored its first two goals in the final two minutes of the first half.

Griffin out-jumped his teammate Reid Bergstrom and scored on a header off a Pothast cross in the 79th minute.

"I was just trying to back him up in case he missed it," said Griffin, whose goal was his first of the season. "It turned out the cross was a little bit high. I backed it up and put it in."

Pothast scored the second Bears goal with 37 seconds remaining into the half, jumping on a loose ball in front and depositing it into the net.

Steffen scored in the 49th minute, taking a cross from Bergstrom and hitting a shot off the near post and in.

"I think the keeper (Benjamin Calvopina) got his fingers on it," Steffen said. "Then it got the post and went in. I just find ways to get the ball in the net, or I find guys that can do it better than I can."

Steffen added his second goal in the 77th minute, scoring from near the end line after taking a Mike Morrison pass.

Palatine got a goal back in the 64th minute, as Zachery Compton headed in a throw-in from sophomore Willie Filian, who's the son of Pirates coach Willie Filian.

"Lake Zurich was much more dominant in the middle," Palatine defender/midfielder Sean McLoraine said. "Our majority of touches were real bad. It was ugly to watch. Lake Zurich moved the ball more crisper than us and were a good team."

Palatine fell to 7-5.

"We knew at the start of the season that we were not overly skillful and that we needed to win the 50/50 balls, be strong in the air and be physical," Coach Filian said. "Lake Zurich beat us to every ball in the air and every second ball. We weren't doing intelligent things and they outworked us. We just never got into our rhythm."