Pirates' early lead falls away to Elk Grove attack

By Gary Larsen

Flash back with Elk Grove coach Joe Bush to a little more than three years ago:

“At summer camp before their freshmen year I saw Nick Jordan, Ben Stram, and the Ginters (Mike and Matt) playing four-on-four, a little small-sided game, and they were beating our varsity guys,” Bush said. “They were so systematic. And when we were leaving practice I heard somebody rock the bar, and I looked over and it was Cesar (Rodriguez).”

Fast-forward three years to Tuesday night in Elk Grove, and those same players – now seniors – were all on the field, not only winning 3-1 over Palatine but also doing something that had never previously been done.
 
The win gave the 2010 MSL East title to the Grens, the first conference title won in program history.

“When we were all freshmen we were brought up to sophomore. We had success there so we knew we’d be able compete at the varsity level,” Jordan said. “It feels great. It feels like we brought the soccer program together and we’ve never had this many soccer fans at a game. I hope it continues in the following years, too.”

Jordan, Rodriguez, and Rafal Borys accounted for Elk Grove’s goals, against a Palatine program with a rich history under coach Willie Filian that wasn’t lost on anyone.

“I’ve got so much respect for Willie,” Bush said. “Two years ago, when these guys were sophomores, we tied them 1-1 in the crossover and I told Willie then that we were trying to build a program like Palatine, where kids are working hard and they’ve got skill.

We’ve had skill here and there but we haven’t always worked hard. We’re putting both together now and that’s a dangerous combination.”

Beset by absences for various reasons, Palatine (8-8-1, 4-4 in MSL play) fought the good fight for as long as it could against an Elk Grove team (11-4, 7-3) that played hard, cohesive soccer from the outset.

“In the second half we had a good ten or fifteen minutes and then fatigue set in,” Filian said. “But Elk Grove is a good team and they deserved to win the game. They’re very skillful all over the field. They were knocking on our door the whole time. They were getting their chances.”

The Pirates grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Martin Rodriguez broke free on a counter and let fly with a shot that Grens’ keeper Mike Ragano tipped, before it rattled the crossbar and ricocheted downward, landing just behind the goal line.

“They had a counter and they have a couple fast guys over there,” Borys said. “It was two-on-two and they beat us. It just happened.”

The Grens answered the Pirates’ early goal by doing exactly what got them within reach of a division title: they played good soccer.

Elk Grove’s 5-man midfield of Justin Gavros, Carlos Cinsneros, Irving Cruz, Juan Jaramillo, and Trevor Cwiok began knocking it around, and Jordan and Ernesto Rodriguez began finding dangerous space on Palatine keeper Evan Held.

But nobody on either side stood any taller than Held, who made save after save under pressure, charging out to thwart Jordan time and again, and stuffing shots from Cesar Rodriguez and Ernesto Rodriguez in keeping the slate clean.

“The Buffalo Grove keeper was great, the kid at Prospect, and now Held – it feels like we’ve run the gamut of good goalkeepers,” Bush said.

The Grens finally broke the ice in the 36th minute, when Cesar Rodriguez reached the end line and centered a pass that Jordan hammered on net. A hand-ball call gave Elk Grove a penalty kick and Borys stepped forward and buried it to tie the game.

One minute later, Held and Jordan collided near the top of the penalty area, and both lay still on the ground for a few scary moments. Jordan returned to play thereafter but Held left the game and didn’t return.

The play was also notable because Jordan got to the ball before Held and sent it towards an empty net, only to see the Pirates’ Martin Rodriguez race back to clear if off the line.

“Martin Rodriguez had a good game,” Filian said. “And our little freshman sweeper, Kyle Clancy. You don’t see the flashiness, but he had the back-side covered, made some great tackles, and kept us organized.”

Both Jorge Caballero and Jon Clark flashed dangerously in the counter for the Pirates, who also earned a trio of Jeremy Velinski throw-ins early in the second half.

The 1-1 tie held until the game’s 67th minute. Jordan lined up a free kick on the right side, 23 yards out, and bent it through a crowd – and over a diving Cruz – to give his side the lead.

“Nick’s a special player. He works so hard and he’s so versatile,” Bush said. “We said it at the beginning of the season, that we were going too move him all around, and he has delivered for us.

We start him up top, we see how the middle is going, and now we bring Cesar in off the bench and he gives us a big spark. Cesar is really impressing me. We kept saying to him that we need him as a spark, not a savior, and his teammates bonded around him. It’s funny – he’s playing less now than last year, but he has more goals. And I think it’s just having fresh legs coming in, and that’s very helpful.”

It was Rodriguez who netted the game-clincher. Cruz found Rodriguez with his back to goal in the penalty area, and Cruz shed a defender and buried a shot from 12 yards out, with only 17 minutes left in regulation.

“We had a couple chances early in the second half and if we stick one in, maybe it’s a different game,” Filian said. “We’ve run into some injuries but there’s no rest for the weary. We play Schaumburg tomorrow, we play again on Thursday, and then we play Lake Zurich on Saturday. We’re a beat-up crew but we’ve got a full week ahead.”

Elk Grove’s week ahead consists of MSL foe Hoffman Estates on Thursday, a game against Maine West on Saturday, and then a home game with the MSL Cup on the line, against either Fremd or Barrington from the West division.

It wasn’t long ago that Elk Grove was 3-3 in MSL play after losing to Barrington and Fremd, and Bush couldn’t know for sure if his boys had what it would take to bounce back into the conference chase.
 
Wins over East rivals Prospect and Rolling Meadows set up the Grens’ divisional run, followed by wins over Wheeling and Palatine.

“We knew it was a big week and the kids bounced back. The kids made the decision,” Bush said. “It’s about dealing with success, and figuring out that it can be ours if we go get it.

I think sometimes people don’t work as hard as they possibly can, and then they have that built-in excuse for why they didn’t win. I told these guys that they have to work as hard as they possibly can because when you do that, and you’re skilled, you can get what you want.”

 The Grens took their losses to Fremd and Barrington to heart.

“We lost our heads in those two games. We weren’t working as a team and we weren’t working hard,” Rodriguez said. “And all the moving pieces only work if we’re working hard.”

Should both Fremd and Palatine win their remaining MSL games against Hersey and Rolling Meadows, respectively, Fremd will advance to the MSL Cup game on Oct. 14.

Either way, Elk Grove will be raring to go.

“This feels awesome,” Borys said. “We lost to both of them and we’re going to want revenge. We played both of them at their place but (the MSL Cup) will be here. It’s our house and we want the win.”

 Borys, Mat Ginter, and Mike Ginter have keyed a Grens’ defense that has now only given up 12 goals in 15 games, but Elk Grove’s MSL Cup hopes likely lie with the play of its five midfielders.

“Carlos (Cisneros) and Justin (Gavros) have such a thankless job, as holding mids,” Bush said. “Those guys often make the pass to the guy who makes the pass and gets credit for the assist. And Trevor (Cwiok) was a little off in the first half but in the second half he ran through that ball and laid it off to Irving, and Irving was able to find Cesar for that goal.”

“It’s so thankless at midfield. Forwards get credit for goals and the defense gets credit for shutouts, but our defense isn’t the same without those five mids in front of them.”