Boys soccer: Elgin, Streamwood battle to a draw

For the second match in a row Streamwood squandered a second half lead and had to settle for a 1-1 tie against visiting Elgin High in Upstate Eight River Division boys soccer action on Thursday. Just 2 days ago the Sabres let a 3-1 lead slip away against Geneva.

"I know the scoreboard says it's a tie, but in our minds it sure feels like a loss to us," Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said. "We know we can play much better than we did in the second half. We are a young team and we just need to learn to close out games when we have the lead."

The Maroons' Jonathan Herrera scored his 15th goal of the season with 27:37 left to play to pull the Maroons even at 1-1. It came off a freeball in front of the net following a corner kick.

"The ball was deflected off the corner kick," Herrera said. "I was able to come in from the back and score off the rebound."

Herrera had another golden opportunity to put the Maroons ahead moments later when he hit the crossbar with a shot from 20 yards out. It was one of 6 shots he had in the second half.

"We definitely woke up in the second half," Herrera said. "We just started pushing the ball up the field more. It was a little frustrating not be able to put in another goal to get the win, but that's part of the game."

The Maroons (6-2-1, 0-1-1) dictated play throughout the second half with an 8-2 shot advantage.

"They really responded well to what we wanted them to do," Elgin coach Dave Borg said. "We talked about getting the ball to the outside and our forwards being more aggressive. We definitely played with a lot more intensity. I thought it was a defining moment for us being able to come back against them and be in a good position to almost win it."

Borg praised the play of Herrera.

"He has been fantastic for us," Borg said. "His real gift is his speed and he is constantly working hard. He gives us a pure forward; something we haven't had for a while."

Streamwood's goal came with 2:20 left in the first half on a header by Danny Sosa with his back to the net following a long pass from Edwin Rueda.

Daniel Dominquez had 7 saves for the Sabres (4-2, 0-0-2) in goal. Maroons' keeper Martin Jimenez Esrada had 6 saves.