Lineup changes ended up helping Streamwood thrive

As the boys soccer season begins to find its way through the midway point, coaches and players are making those final touches and tweaks to strengthen their rosters for the home stretch.

The question remains, will it work?

For Streamwood, some subtle changes enabled the team to enter last weeks action with 2 wins and leave it with 7 victories after a 5-0 run between Sept. 8 and Sept. 15. Sure, Streamwood (7-7-1, 2-2) recently endured a tough 2-0 loss to Elgin, but had the Sabres faced one another a week and a half ago, the end result might have been worse.

"We're really coming together," said Sabre coach Matt Polovin of his team, which recorded consecutive wins against Fenwick, Glenbard North, St. Charles East, South Elgin and Rolling Meadows.

"It all started with Maine South when we lost 2-1 but played them very hard," said Polovin. "We dominated that game and our confidence has grown from there.

"From Saturday to Saturday we went 5-0 which is something that we haven't done since I have been here."

As for those subtle changes, one was moving defender Alex Perez to a forward slot versus St. Charles East on Sept. 11.

Perez tallied a goal and an assist against the Saints before scoring a hat trick against South Elgin (with an assist) and another goal and assist versus Rolling Meadows.

"Alex has been on fire offensively," Polovin said. "It was an intuition call, and I guess I was right because he has five goals and three assists in three games."

Perez became a core defender through his aggressive play, an attribute that can obviously be utilized in the forward position as well.

To compensate for the loss in the back, Polovin moved sophomore Mike Chwistek into the sweeper position. Chwistek had been in the midfield prior to an injury which had him sidelined until the Maine South game.

"I cannot stress what a difference it has made moving Mike to the sweeper position," said Polovin. "He is doing a remarkable job."

The road to 5-0 in seven days required both defensive and offensive contributions which raises the question -- where will Streamwood go if both ends get hot at the same time?

"At the beginning of our win streak, my defense was solid," said Polovin.

In fact, Streamwood recorded three consecutive shutouts against three solid teams scoring just 5 goals, including a 3-0 shutout against St. Charles East for a program-first.

In the two most recent victories, the Sabres recorded 10 goals.

"Thirteen goals in three games -- that is great," Polovin added. "We're not going to back down to anyone. Our guys are starting to show teams what they know that they can do."

St. Edward celebrates season's first win: St. Edward escaped an 0-10 skid this past Tuesday opening Suburban Catholic Conference play with a big 6-0 win over Driscoll.

Don't let the Green Wave (1-10, 1-0) record fool you either as they are combining a rebuilding season with a very difficult schedule. In fact, to date St. Edward has only faced three Class A teams, one of which they beat in Driscoll.

"Our philosophy this year is to get these guys experience," said veteran coach Tim Brieger. "Teaching them and taking our lumps is important, and they have all responded very well. If the kids weren't learning, then we wouldn't be doing our job."

You don't have to win games to learn either. In fact, most coaches and players will tell you that they often learn more in a loss.

One thing is certain -- St. Edward is learning and growing with each contest.

"We are definitely learning a lot," said Brieger. "Our ball movement has improved as has our ball-handling. These guys also play a good team defense, especially for as young as they are. They are aggressive and they always help one another out."

And while St. Edward just earned its first win, it has been successful in losing efforts. According to Brieger, the Green Wave frustrated tough teams in Cary-Grove, Rockford Boylan and Batavia.

"We played three very strong, very powerful teams at the Hononegah Invitational, but we played very hard," Brieger said.

"After every game, we talk about what we learned and how we can improve as a team."

The Green Wave have just one senior in goalkeeper Will Lytle. Clayton Pfeiffer is the veteran of the team as a junior and the lone 3-year starter. David Smith and Miguel Martinez are both 2-year starters while everybody else is new to varsity action.

Down but not out: Elgin Academy (1-5-1) took a big hit on Aug. 27 when the Hilltoppers lost their leading scorer, Jackson Rudolph, in a contest versus Newark to injury.

Rudolph tore up his ankle and is out for the season.

"That was a big loss for us," said coach Kristy Ross. "Jackson was not only our top scorer last year, but also a player that brought a lot to the team."

He scored the lone Hilltopper goal in a 1-1 tie against Cornerstone Christian in the season opener, and while Elgin Academy has yet to record a win without him, the team continues to show potential.

"I am seeing a lot of our younger players step up to try to help out in the midfield which is great," said Ross.

In addition, returning players continue to work hard.

Newcomers Nick Garcia (sophomore) and freshmen goalkeepers Brandon Cork and Aaron Thomas are among those showing immense progress.

"I'm really happy with our goalkeepers," said Ross. "They are learning quickly and they are very coachable. They've taken a ton of shots, and they are doing a great job.

"Even games that we've lost 6-0 they've learned a lot and we are happy with that. After all, our bigger losses are coming against some of the best teams in the state."

Veterans Logan Hollensteiner (senior), Dan Vecciola (senior) and Cory Ebert (senior) remain positive and look to find future success.

"Dan does an excellent job as a defender for us, and Cory has split time in the midfield and at sweeper," said Ross. Both just go and go and they never give up. They play their hearts out. Logan has stepped it up for us a lot and has moved from outside midfield to center midfield."

According to Ross, what some players might lack in experience, they more than make up for with knowledge.

"This is a smart team full of fast learners which will help this team and this program in the long run," she said.

Man up: Very few of this season's area contests have been blowouts, which means that there are a lot of stat-less defenders out there doing their part to keep teams in games.

For Larkin, that guy has been Fernando Alverez, who according to coach Ken Hall, might just be the best defender in the state, certainly a Top 3 selection.

Other names of note this week include Streamwood's Mike Chwistek, Eleazar Jimenez and Matt Rasinski, who combined to help the Sabres go six straight games without a loss. Streamwood recorded a 2-2 tie with Dundee-Crown before winning five in a row, including 3 straight shutouts.

Elgin's Kevin Rodriguez and Roberto Quintana have combined to be the stop before the save for the Maroons' backfield, while Cary-Grove has enlisted the help of defensive leaders Elliot Ireland, Mike Chiodo and Andy Roberts.

Jon Gutmann of Crystal Lake South has provided speed to the backfield for the Gators as have South Elgin's Ben Kantor and Javier Rojo.

Fast forward: With another week in the books, Hampshire forward Junior Makinde still leads the area scoring attack with 18 knocks and 5 assists.

Huntley's Niko Carbonara isn't far behind with 15 goals and 3 assists, including 2 hat tricks and a 4-goal game versus Johnsburg. Crystal Lake South's Jordan Innis holds fast at 12 goals, but has added 2 assists.

From Prairie Ridge, Alex Sauciuc has his goal tally up to 10, and has also assisted two. Christian Meza of Dundee-Crown climbs the offensive ladder now with 8 goals, and Hampshire's No. 2 guy, Shay Hauck, continues to contribute to the Whip-Pur offense with 7 goals and 7 assists.