Sabres trail 2-1 in suspended game
By Dave Miller

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Lightning struck twice for South Elgin’s Alberto Bustamante before doing so more times for everyone.

Bustamante scored two unusual goals to stake the Storm to a 2-1 lead against Streamwood before lightning suspended the season opener with 2:17 remaining in the first half Monday night in the Maine West Warrior Kick-Off Classic in Des Plaines.

The match will resume on Aug. 31 in South Elgin. Start time is 4:30 p.m.

“The shame of it is the two goals that they scored were just kind of flukes, not to take anything away from them, but that’s what happened,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said of the Storm’s goals.

“They were not great shots,” South Elgin coach John Uveges said. “Unfortunately for the goaltender they went in. But Alberto can shoot. That’s why he’s there. He knows how to curl the ball. He knows how to put it in, and sometimes you get lucky, you know?”

South Elgin took a 1-0 lead on its first shot of the season. A little more than five minutes into the match, Bustamante sent a free kick flying high into the air from near the right sideline more than 50 yards from the net. Streamwood goalkeeper Phil Lewy charged the ball, but it dropped behind him into the net.

Streamwood fired off one shot after one, but didn’t score until Mario Rodriguez broke the ice for the Sabres in the 37th minute. Rodriguez took a pass from Ivan Rosales and fired a shot from near the left corner of the box that sailed on a line into the net to tie the game.

“That was a nice finish by Mario,” Polovin said.

South Elgin retook the lead just 31 seconds later on Bustamante’s second quirky goal off a free kick. This one came from the left side above the box. The shot stayed on the ground and the wet ball slipped through the arms of Lewy and into the net.

The 2-1 lead didn’t mean much to Uveges, however.

“That doesn’t matter,” Uveges said. “We weren’t playing well at all, but we will. It takes time to get used to each other. It’s nice to play a good team. Streamwood can play.”

Uveges was unhappy with his team’s defense.

“We’re hurtin’ right now,” he said. “We’re not marking at all. Defense is the key. It’s the first game. These kids are all young so we’re going to hope that we’ll be able to make those adjustments.”

South Elgin goalkeeper Michael Cortes saved six shots. The crossbar saved another.

“We pretty much controlled the game,” Polovin said. “That’s our style, possession, moving the ball quickly. We had a lot of shots. Not a lot of them were on target, but we had a few.”

Rain started falling in the middle of the first half. Lightning was spotted a couple times before another flash halted the action. The teams took shelter inside a stadium structure while fans were directed to leave the stadium. About a half hour later as the weather worsened and radar looked discouraging, the contest was officially halted for the night at 8:15 p.m.   

“It’s one game,” Polovin said. “It’s not the end of the world. Actually it’s not even over.”