Boys soccer: Streamwood-Wheeling matchup showcases goalie skills
It was a game of two halves, both filled with plenty of thrills and spills.
Ultimately it was decided by some superb work from goalkeepers Daniel Dominguez (Streamwood) and Jose Castillo (Wheeling) in an 0-0 draw in nonconferece boys soccer Thursday night at Wheeling.
This matchup begins a grueling stretch of play for both sides. The Sabres (1-0-1) will play four times next week during their first appearance in program history at the Barrington Classic Tournament, while the Wildcats play twice in the next two days before getting another four games next week, all in Glenview at the Titans Invite.
"It really was a tale of two halves tonight," said Streamwood coach Matt Polovin, whose club earlier in the week opened the season with a 5-1 win over Glenbard East. "Wheeling was clearly the better team the first half, and we needed some great work from Daniel to keep them out of the net.
"But we talked a little at the break about a few things we needed to do better, including getting back to attacking soccer. And we had some great chances as well, but couldn't put any of them into the back of the net."
The hosts were led into action by long-time assistant Kevin Lennon, who took over the top job just a week prior to the start of the regular season when Ed Uhrik stepped down to spend more time with his growing family.
"It's kind of been a whirlwind of things around here the past couple of weeks, but we have a great group of guys on this roster and if we can get through this tough stretch which lies ahead of us, we'll be in good shape after that," said Lennon, who once starred for Willie Filian's program at Palatine.
Dominguez made his mark on this night with a trio of goal-saving stops, the first just five minutes into the match when he turned around a blast from Konrad Malinowski.
A forgiving post stopped what looked like 2 sure goals for the Wildcats (0-1-1), both times on attempts by Jose Mariscal.
"We did just about everything well in that first half but score, but our overall effort was so much better than it was the other night when we lost to Glenbrook North," said Wheeling captain and center-back Jonathan Sanchez.
All of the pace, energy and clever work going forward the Wildcats exhibited in the first 40 minutes seemed to disappear after the break - some of that due in part to a Sabres club which came out with much more urgency.
"Wheeling was much better than us in the first half, but the second half belonged to us because of our effort in the way we attacked and created chances - which we couldn't finish because of the post, and the Wheeling keeper, who made a couple of nice saves," said Sabres captain Rafa Gil.
With Gil stationed just in front of the back line, Streamwood's defense stayed sound while the likes of Alex Herrera, Oscar Chavez and Bryan Mora helped keep the Wildcats under pressure.
Chavez tricked his way inside the box on two occasions before finding the bar with a pair of left-footed missiles. Then, with three minutes until time, the junior was denied with a fearless point-blank save by Castillo.
"We were so much better from Tuesday against Glenbrook North to today, but everything right now is a work in progress as we sort things out and get ready to be at our best during this really busy past of our schedule," said Lennon, whose team will play conference rival Conant on Friday in the first annual MSL College Showcase at Celtic Park in Palatine.
"I was really happy with the way we played in the second half," said Polovin, "especially during that last 20 minutes when the play from front-to-back was at a very high level. But for us too, there's a lot of work to be done, but the guys are willing to do the things to get better."
Streamwood opens group play in Barrington at 5 p.m. Monday against Marmion.