Hoffman Estates coach Ric Lindeen chose the perfect cliche after his team`s 3-1 victory over Buffalo Grove for the championship of the Mid-Suburban League at Hersey High School.
”They were hungry,” he said.
None hungrier than Hawks` goalkeeper Joe Silverberg, who hadn`t eaten in three days after he junior came down with a bad case of stomach flu.
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”My doctor didn`t know if I should play or not,” said Silverberg, who made eight saves. ”Finally, he said to go ahead.
”I felt better as the game went on, as the adrenalin flowed. Right now, I feel great. It`s the best I felt all season.”
In the end, it was Buffalo Grove (14-4-3) feeling the pain. And, it was the second time this year the defending MSL and state champions were beaten by pesky Hoffman Estates (13-5-1).
”We beat them before,” said Hawks` forward Papo Gaunaurd, who scored a pair of goals Tuesday. ”It was early and we`ve both gotten better, so we knew this wouldn`t be easy. We knew we`d have to stop Byrne and McBride.”
Mike Byrne and Brian McBride, Buffalo Grove`s one-two punch, were silent much of Tuesday`s match. Byrne, who suffered a severely sprained right ankle last week, came into the match with 3 minutes left in the first quarter.
He looked tentative at times, although he assisted on Dennis Kleeman`s goal with 12:30 left in the game. McBride, one of the top scorers in Illinois, was stopped by a potent Hawks defense and junior goalie Silverberg.
”I had only three or four tough saves,” said Silverberg. ”The defense did an outstanding job.”
Lindeen, too, praised the Hawks` backline. He singled out Rick Anderson, who scored the second Hawks goal, and sweeper Mark Gyurko, who made some timely blocks to stop Buffalo Grove drives.
”It could have gone either way, until our explosion,” said Lindeen of Hoffman`s three goals during a 11:20 span in the third quarter.