Ravadan's first varsity start a success for Elgin

When Osiel Ravadan got a call from a teammate saying that Elgin needed a goalkeeper for its game against Streamwood, he thought it was a joke. But the JV goalie dutifully reported to Memorial Field, where Maroons coach Dave Borg informed him that he would indeed be starting in the net against the Sabres.

With regular keeper Nikil Satish sidelined by a shoulder injury suffered against West Chicago, the Maroons turned to Ravadan. The sophomore responded with a shutout in his first varsity start as the Maroons downed Streamwood, 2-0, in Upstate Eight Conference boys soccer action Tuesday

Joel Perez had a goal and an assist for Elgin (8-3, 2-1), which picked up a key victory the day before the sectional seeding meeting.

"It's been a long time since we were 2-1," said Borg.

Elgin was also without leading scorer Lucas Valencia, who was suspended for too many yellow cards.

Streamwood had scored 13 goals in its previous 3 games. But Ravadan and the solid Elgin defense kept the Sabres off the board.

"We literally pulled him off the practice field before the game," Borg said of Ravadan. "He played fantastic for us."

The Sabres did have some chances. Jacob Budzicki hit the crossbar late in the first half. After the break, Roma Patino fired a great cross to Brian Magana, who just missed high.

Minutes later they ran the same play and Magana broke in alone on Ravadan. But the Elgin keeper came out to smother the ball before Magana could get a shot off.

"It's one of those games, where if you don't put away your chances, it comes back to haunt you," said Streamwood coach Matt Polovin. "We had chance after chance in the first half."

Perez got Elgin on the board with 14:10 left in the first half when Streamwood goalie Juan Ortiz lost his high shot in the sun and it slipped through his hands into the net.

Hugo Aranda added a key insurance goal with 4 minutes to go.

Streamwood fell to 7-7-1, 2-2.