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Grayslake North keeper comes up big
Updated: October 4, 2011 8:13PM
The height of a regulation soccer goal is eight feet.
And at 5-foot-9, Stevie Streeter has a ways to jump in order to reach all the way up to the top of the goal’s crossbar.
But the Grayslake North senior goalkeeper twice made leaping tip saves to knock the ball over the goal in the second half to help the Knights preserve a 1-0 prep boys soccer victory over sister-school Grayslake Central on Tuesday on the Rams’ home field.
It was the second win of the season for Grayslake North (8-11 overall, 4-2 in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division) over Grayslake Central (7-8, 3-1), as the Knights prevailed 1-0 again early in the season at the Vernon Hills Invite.
Streeter was in goal for that victory as well, as it was his first career shutout as a converted goalie.
His second shutout? It came on Tuesday against the Rams again.
“That makes me feel great (to beat Grayslake Central again),” said Streeter. “But I got a lot of help from my defense. They kept (Grayslake North) from getting good shots at me. They played great.”
Streeter did have to make just five saves in the match, but a couple of them stopped potential game-tying shots when Grayslake Central was making a big push forward early in the second half trailing 1-0.
Grayslake North’s defense — led by Andreas Thedorf, Arnoud Laroche-Bataille, Michael Rohrer, John Derango, Giovanni Villa, Jacob Hensley and Colin Grever — also played strong in front of Streeter when the Rams were pressing.
Grayslake North re-gained control of the contest in the final 15 minutes, preventing Grayslake Central from making any dangerous attempts on goal.
“We knew (Grayslake Central) would start the second half strong, and they did,” said Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe. “At times, we let up and stop pushing, and that’s what happened early in the second half.
“Once we started to control the ball more, we controlled the game.”
The game’s only goal was scored with just under six minutes remaining in the first half when substitute Sean Blaske booted in a rebound off a blast from Grayslake North midfielder Claudio Guerrero that bounced off Grayslake Central sophomore keeper Steven Anderson (4 saves).
“We had 12 corners, but we couldn’t convert from those set pieces,” said Grayslake Central coach Michael McCaulou. “I thought we played okay at times, but again we struggled in the final third.”
Grayslake Central, which still has hopes of winning the FVC Fox Division, could get another shot at the Knights this season, as the Rams are the top seed in their own Class 2A regional later this month. The Knights are seeded No. 2.
“We would like to play Grayslake Central again, but we have to get past our first game with (third-seeded) Marian Central and then worry about Grayslake Central in the championship game,” said DeCaluwe.
Tuesday’s loss drops Grayslake Central out of a tie for first place in the loss column with Hampshire (4-0).
“We still have Hampshire and (second-place) Johnsburg left to play, so it’s still possible to win our conference, but we have to be able to finish our opportunities better,” said McCaulou.
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