Given his prodigious scoring of late, South Elgin’s Alan Munoz might require a new nickname.
The junior forward goes by “Pelon,” given to him by mother when he cut off his hair as a kid. Perhaps it now should be “Hambrienta,” the Spanish word meaning hungry for success.
“My coach said I had to be hungry to score (Saturday) and I had to look for goals,” Munoz said, beaming. “I had to look like I was hungry out there and go and score the game-winner.”
That’s exactly what Munoz did in the 94th minute Saturday, lifting the host Storm to a 3-2 double-overtime win over St. Charles North in the Class 3A South Elgin Sectional championship game.
Munoz scored twice and senior forward Jacob Buthman also netted a goal for the Storm (22-3-1), who captured their first sectional title in program history and will play Glenbrook North (19-2-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Barrington Supersectional.
Senior defender Ashton Goettel scored a goal in the first half for St. Charles North (11-7-3), while junior forward Dino Valenti forced OT with a goal for the North Stars in the 74th minute.
Munoz, who now has seven goals in the playoffs, maintained his torrid stretch. It was his third postseason game with multiple goals, following up two against DeKalb and three against Larkin.
“I like to use my speed and dribble past people,” Munoz said. “The ball came to me. I just put a blast on it and prayed it went in. It hit the crossbar, but was still low enough.”
It’s not the first time that has happened. Munoz improved his season totals to 22 goals and seven assists. His teammates aren’t surprised either, according to senior forward Matthew Lipp.
“Every time he gets onto the field, he just wants to score a goal,” Lipp said of Munoz. “He wants to do the best for our team. He’s never afraid to shoot the ball, and he has a great shot.
“He uses it to our advantage.”
Junior midfielder Rodrigo Gonzalez, meanwhile, shares a natural bond with Munoz. He also has a family nickname, “Momo,” that everyone calls him.
“We’ve been playing all our lives together, and we’re best friends off and on the field,” Gonzalez said of Munoz. “He’s very confident, he believes in himself and he works very hard.
“He can score by himself or off an assist. He’s that good.”
Most significantly, both of Munoz’s goals were a response to St. Charles North.
After Goettel scored in the 38th minute to give the North Stars a 1-0 lead, Munoz was fouled in the box and scored on a penalty kick.
“I have so many emotions right now and I can’t really express what I do,” he said. “I just have a passion for the game. I love playing it. I put my heart into everything I do when I’m out there.”
When Munoz first started playing soccer as a child, his left foot was dominant. His father convinced him to favor the right foot, which unlocked every aspect of his game.
“From then on, I fell in love with the game,” Munoz said. “There’s a certain pleasure and joy in playing the game. It fits my personality. I’m a really happy person.”
His favorite activity outside of soccer is dissembling parts or pieces of technology like computers and meticulously putting them back together.
After Munoz played in the middle his first two years on varsity, South Elgin coach Jerzy Skowron impressed upon him the need to develop instinct at striker, aka forward.
“Coach Jerzy has taught me so many things,” Munoz said. “He told me, ‘I see the goal scorer in you.’ Now, I love playing forward and I just go for goals.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
