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SYCAMORE — The Streamwood girls soccer team made the most of having the wind at its back, while Sycamore couldn’t, proving the difference in the Sabres’ 2-0 win over the Spartans on Saturday.
Playing with a consistently strong wind blowing the length of the field, the Sabres (2-10) connected on a pair of first-half goals with the wind. Daniela Sanchez started the scoring in the 17th minute, getting past a pair of Sycamore defenders and firing a shot past a pulled-out Tayla Brannstorm from the left side of the field to the right side of the net.
In the 28th minute, Dayanarra Huerta connected past Brannstorm one-on-one.
“I feel like it should have been a closer game,” Sycamore coach Kevin Bickley said. “Their two up top did a great job holding on to the ball and slotting the ball through in the first half. Kudos to them. For a 1-10 team they didn’t look like one. I know they play a lot tougher competition throughout their season. They looked like a team that was hungry to win a game today.”
Streamwood had a couple other wind-aided scoring opportunities in the first half but settled for the 2-0 lead at the break. And even though Sycamore had the wind in the second half, Selina Chavez didn’t give up a goal against the Spartans (6-7-1).
Streamwood coach Matt Polovin said he was pleased with the way defender Esther Cardenas played in the win.
“They exceeded everything I could have asked for them,” Polovin said. “Like I told them, would I have liked a few more goals on the scoreboard? Absolutely. We had a lot of chances in the first half, but we took care of what we needed to take care of.”
The Spartans also had numerous first-half chances but Chavez kept turning them away. Barely a minute into the game Ella Shipley fired off a shot under pressure at an empty net, but the wet field and wind slowed the ball down as it drifted out of bounds.
Later in the half, Shipley took a feed from Karli Kruizenga and raced the goalie to the ball, but Chavez beat her there for the save. Shortly later, Streamwood was on the board.
“If those go in, maybe it changes the game a little bit,” Bickley said. “Then all of a sudden, they counter us and get behind. ... They did a great job of putting us into a difficult decision whether the keeper should come out and play it or not. Next thing you know we’re down a goal.”
The scoring opportunities were a lot fewer for the Spartans in the second half, and Bickley said playing into the wind isn’t necessarily an advantage given the Spartans’ style of play.
“Having the wind, sometimes you feel like you want to use it to your advantage too much instead of trying to possess it more, which is a little bit more our style.,” Bickley said. “Running and chasing down balls, especially if you have a good defense, probably didn’t work to our favor.”
Sycamore opens up the Interstate 8 tournament on Wednesday, hosting a first-round game and then, if the Spartans win, a semifinal on Friday. The championship game will likely be at Kaneland on Saturday.
Streamwood gets back into conference play against East Aurora on Monday, and Polovin said he hopes his team can keep up the momentum.
“We’ve had a tough season up to this point with a lot of injuries, family emergencies, you name it we’ve had it,” Polovin said. “For us to come out, have everyone back and play the way they did against a good Sycamore team ... I’m excited for the girls.”