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South Elgin tops Hampshire for tournament crown

Aggressive, attacking and intense.

Those words aptly describe South Elgin's offensive mindset.

All those characteristics were on display Saturday afternoon as the Storm cruised to a 3-0 win over Hampshire in the championship game of the Hampshire boys soccer tournament.

"Our goal in every match is to attack offensively from beginning to end" said South Elgin coach Collin Hayes. "We came out today with 100 percent intensity and we really attacked Hampshire. I am really happy with the two first half goals. The kids really wanted to win this tournament and came ready to play. I am really pleased with the effort."

The Storm (5-5), who had some opportunities to score early, finally got on the scoreboard when, off a perfect pass from Jimmy Kelleher, Javier Lujan blasted a 30-yard shot past Hampshire goalie Andy Krajecki to give South Elgin a 1-0 lead with 17:40 left in the first half.

The Storm added a cushion on a goal by Isaac Perez off a feed from Diego Fuentes with 3:47 remaining in the first half.

The Storm, who outshot the Whip-Purs 11-3, scored an insurance tally on a great individual effort by junior Derek Baker.

Baker, with two Hampshire defenders draped all over him, was able to push a shot past Krajecki to give South Elgin a 3-0 advantage with 19:28 left in the match.

"We want to win this tournament every year and we always come out with great intensity," said Baker. 'We are so fast and speedy and we can get to the goal and get off shots fast. We always want to get off to a good start with a goal so we don't have to come from behind. It was a very good day for the team."

Fernando Rivera collected 3 saves for the winners. His best effort came with 17:49 left in the first half when he was able to make a leaping save on a direct kick by Weston Eaton from 15 yards out.

Krajecki, subbing for injured goalie Jason Polletta, collected 8 saves for Hampshire (9-7-1).

"Andy really stuck in there and made some solid saves," said Hampshire coach John Gosling. "I like the way we never gave up and kept fighting.

South Elgin is just a solid team and even better than last year. They are very talented."

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