Gators can't find the net in FVC loss to Chargers

By Curt Herron

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There wasn't very much that separated Crystal Lake South from Dundee-Crown when the two sides met up on Tuesday in Crystal Lake.

While the Chargers had won 12 straight and the Gators were trying to stay above .500, they were pretty even for most of their match.

And although both squads had a similar number of limited scoring chances, it was Dundee-Crown who made the most of its opportunities.

The Chargers got a score early in the final half and one in the late going to capture a 2-0 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division win.

Jose Angeles collected both scores and Christian Martinez posted the shutout in goal as D-C remains perfect since dropping its opener.

With the win, the Chargers (13-1) are tied for the FVC Valley lead with Cary-Grove, which also moved to 2-0 with a victory on Tuesday.

CLS (9-9) saw its league hopes likely suffer a final blow after it fell to 0-3 midway through following a third-straight close defeat.

After winning four in a row to improve to 9-5, the Gators have lost four straight, with three being shutouts, including the last two.

Scoring has definitely been a big concern of late for CLS, which has been limited to one goal or less in eight of its last 10 matches.

"We've been great within the 18s and I thought that we had a good rhythm and created a couple of chances, but we're just not very dangerous in the final 18 right now," Gators coach Brian Allen said. "We need to become a little sharper on set pieces and in the final third.

"If we want to get back to earlier in the year and ultimately be a dangerous team in the postseason, we have to shore up defensively in the 18 and in the attacking 18. Soccer-wise, I can't be disappointed if we keep maintaining the mentality that we have from 18 to 18.

"I think the reason that D-C is sitting at 13-1 and we're at .500 is that when they got some quality chances and scored and we had about the same amount and one one we couldn't get a shot off, which is frustrating.

"Defensively we can bend, but at a certain point the pressure catches up with you if you make a mistake. We have to relieve our defense a bit by finding a way to hit the back of the net. I'd like to think that it's going to be a simple fix, but only time will tell."

In what was certainly a tale of two halves, the Gators had the upper hand in chances before the break but had little to show for it.

D-C moved in front for good in the opening minute of the final half and began to apply much more pressure on keeper Steven Follmer.

While the Gators sought the equalizer, the Charger defense was able to keep them at bay until ending the drama in the 74th minute.

After seemingly having the momentum at halftime, the hosts quickly lost it when Angeles got free and connected just 42 seconds in.

"That goal deflated us a little bit," Allen said. "I thought that we responded to that setback but when you give a team that extra little bit of confidence that quickly in the half, it's a problem.

"We were all amped up and ready to go since we were in the game and suddenly we're chasing and we can only chase for so long.

"We've got nothing to lose now. The nice part for us is that we do have competitiveness in these final games. We're going to see four quality opponents and hopefully that will pay dividends when we get into our regional."

After Angeles scored to put D-C up for good, the visitors threatened a bit later with good attempts from Paul Buch and Ben Stone.

CLS responded a few minutes after that with a corner kick from Bobby Mayer which led to an effort by Smiley Loera that was high.

In the 53rd minute, Angeles was tripped up in the box but Follmer made a kick save on the subsequent penalty by Eduardo Arellano.

Following a stop by Follmer on an attempt from Malik Washington, Sam Murdock sent in a dangerous free kick which was punched away.

After Martinez hauled in a liner from Murdock following a corner kick by Charlie Ruff, a try from Angeles was cleared by CJ Prell.

In the final quarter hour, Francisco Nava was denied on a long shot and then CLS couldn't get off a shot on a loose ball in front.

The Chargers got another Angeles goal in the closing minutes and the best Gator chance saw an Angel Cardoso shot get punched away.

It was a different story during the opening 40 minutes, however, as CLS had most of the opportunities and the Chargers struggled.

Murdock was denied on one of the host's first good chances and Troy Bittenbender saw the same result just past the half's midpoint.

About half an hour in, Ruff's corner was cleared by a defender and later Martinez came out of the net to halt a Murdock free kick.

The Gators continued to apply pressure up until the intermission whistle with Murdock just high on a liner in the waning seconds.

After not being pleased with his team's first-half performance, D-C coach Rey Vargas was happy with what he saw after the break.

"We seemed to come out asleep and not with any urgency to get the ball rolling and South made us pay for that," Vargas said. "They didn't really let us get into a rhythm. So our halftime speech was 'to get on it' and the guys woke up a little bit.

"In the second half we finally got back to what we've been doing well and the score shows that. We see the talent and capabilities that these guys have and we try to exploit that. I like our chemistry and how well the guys are working together.

"We didn't have the mentality that this game was going to be easy since we knew that South was looking for a win and everybody's looking to knock us off. All of our conference games are going to be tough so we just have to keep working hard."

CLS entertains Elgin on Thursday in nonconference action and returns to league play next week with matches at Jacobs and McHenry.