Storm captures third straight Burlington Central title

By Seth Hancock
Photos courtesy of Judy Piszczek

A strong wind blowing in the faces of most soccer teams usually leads to a lack of offense, but the South Elgin boys soccer team didn't seem to have any problems with it on Saturday.

Facing the strong gusts of air, the Storm scored four second half goals to earn their third straight Burlington Central Rocket Invite title with a 4-0 victory over the host school.

"It's definitely pretty cool to keep the tradition going, especially since we lost a lot of seniors from last year's team," said Storm forward Mike Kozielek, who tallied two goals, including what eventually became the game-winner.

After a scoreless first half which saw few scoring chances for either team, the Storm (4-2) quickly answered the call in the second half as Kozielek found the lower right corner of the net two minutes into the half.

Storm goalkeeper Jarod Schieler helped set up the first goal with a strong boot after a save that Kozielek was able to grab possession of and take in for the unassisted tally.

Playing with the wind disadvantage in the second half, the Storm relied heavily on good teamwork and passing, which was the case on three of the four goals.

"You always want the wind, but the good thing when you don't have it is that it forces you to string passes together and work as a team," said first-year South Elgin coach John Uveges, who spoke just after experiencing his first cold Gatorade cooler shower.

"I thought we did a nice job playing together in the second half."

Strong teamwork helped set up the Storm's third and fourth goals. Quinn Uveges gave the Storm a 3-0 lead with 17:44 on the clock as he found the lower right corner of the net after grabbing a deflected pass from the Burlington Central defense.

Kozielek tallied his second and the Storm's final goal of the game two minutes later as a Danny Fry shot on goal was deflected back off the Rockets' goalkeeper.

The Storm's second goal came on a penalty kick after Phil Saccameno was taken down inside the goalie box with 23:28 on the clock. Saccameno took the shot and found the lower left corner.

South Elgin's defense, led by captain Ryan Piszczek, was impressive throughout, limiting Burlington Central to just a handful of scoring chances.

Alberto Bustamante was a key part of the defensive effort as the Storm's sweeper.

"We specifically worked on defense this week," coach Uveges said. "The main thing for us was communication in the back.

"Alberto did a really nice job sweeping and kept the back talking with each other. Burlington Central has a really good team, and yeah the score was 4-0, but they have some talented players."

Burlington Central had mustered just two shots on goal before the Storm scored their final goal, but the Rockets did turn up the intensity near the end. Schuler was called upon to make six saves to preserve the shutout.

The Storm came into the match with a solid 4-1 victory over DeKalb and a 2-0 win over St. Francis in pool play to earn the spot in the championship match.

"The good news is that we've strung together two really good games here," coach Uveges said. "We want this to carry over going into the (Upstate Eight) conference schedule."

After winning one of three games in the first week, the 3-0 finish in the tournament should be a boost of confidence for the Storm.

"Definitely, it's a big thing for us, and it gives us momentum going here as we enter the conference schedule," Kozielek said. "It definitely builds up our confidence."