Leyden, Saint Ignatius find silver lining in tie
Confidence in defenses is sky high after scoreless game
CHICAGO -- The 0-0 tie on the scoreboard Saturday obscured victories of another kind for both Leyden and host Saint Ignatius.
For the visiting Leyden Eagles (2-1-1), the result continued a great streak for standout goalkeeper Alfredo Recendez and the entire defense.
“The only goal we’ve given up in four games was on a penalty kick, so I’m very happy about that,” Leyden coach Mark Valintis said. “Our goalie (Recendez) hasn’t been asked to make too many great saves, but when he’s had to, he had one PK save and another save today on a really well-placed free kick.”
Saint Ignatius senior Taylor Reifert was the producer of that solidly hit 35-yard free kick 24 minutes into the second half that Recendez had to leap to catch just under the crossbar.
Denied on that chance, Reifert and the Wolfpack (2-1-1) were still encouraged by another strong performance. Despite losing most of last year’s Class 2A runner-up team, the squad’s quick rebuilding job included a 2-1 win Thursday over Fenwick on Luke Kotlowitz’s overtime goal (coming off an assist by Max Taylor).
That OT goal came despite the Wolfpack being a man down due to a red card.
“From our early week loss, we’ve already bounced back so far,” Reifert said. “I’ve never beaten Fenwick before in four years, so that was really great. Even this week we’ve made great strides toward a better year. We’re moving up.”
First-year coach Ryan Kearns has helped quickly mold the Wolfpack.
“It’s been a fairly seemless transition to Coach Kearns,” Reifert said. “I think there’s a great attitude with the team: last year we started 1-3 and were 5-5, and we ended up in the state championship. So we’re not letting anything trouble us right now. We’re just going to keep playing as hard as we can.”
Leyden made the Wolfpack work hard Saturday, with the Eagles’ defense limiting chances in their seasonlong trend.
“We communicate a lot and are organized in the back,” said Leyden defender Cesar Franco, chosen the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “The only goal they’ve scored on us (all year) was on a penalty that shouldn’t have happened.”
Franco was involved in that unusual PK play against Oak Park and River Forest, a collision in the box that easily could have gone uncalled. That one play aside, Eagles defenders Franco, Salvador Salgado, Hector Herrera and Damian Kosakowski have been formidable.
“We start a sophomore (Kosakowski), two juniors and a senior in back,” Valintis said. “Not giving up a goal through the run of play after four games – their confidence is sky high.”
“I feel like any opponent we go against we can beat them if we put our mind to it and score more goals,” Franco said. “That’s our key.”
Scoring has been the challenge this fall, and Saint Ignatius’ own talented defense didn’t make things easy on Leyden Saturday despite standout play by quick midfielder Christian Sosnowski and his teammates.
“I thought Christian Sosnowski did a great job of spreading the ball around the field and getting guys involved and going forward, and Elvis (Castaneda) did a great job winning the ball back for us in the middle third of the field so we could keep the pressure on,” Valintis said.
“And Erik Rodriguez did a great job playing back to the goal and holding the ball so our midfielders could get involved," he said. "Overall I think everybody on the field contributed and played well. We just don’t have anything to show for it.”
The Wolfpack defense was a big reason, capped off by Randy Martinez’s nice steal from Sosnowski as he dangerously dribbled in along the end line with three minutes left in the match.
“Bryant Hales, our goalie, got his first shutout, so that’s great,” Kearns said. “On our back line we have Kevin Dingens, a senior, and he and Chauncey (Flowers) did a great job in the center. And Anthony DeMeo at right back did an excellent job.
“I thought it was a great match with a lot of back-and-forth momentum shifts.”
Saves by Hales denied first-half chances by Leyden’s Miguel Mereles and Castaneda, and Saint Ignatius defender Conner Hatzopoulos made two consecutive nice sliding steals five minutes before halftime to repel threats.
Having strong support gave Hatzopoulos the faith to make the big plays.
“I have a lot of confidence in my two center backs, Chauncey Flowers and Kevin Dingens,” Hatzopoulos said. “I felt really comfortable with them, especially with Kevin being a senior who started last year on our team that took second at state.”
Defender Flowers was also dangerous on throw-ins, and the Wolfpack offense produced excellent chances early on: Recendez first made a save on Patrick Breslin’s 20-yard shot, then dove to cover a 15-yard chance by Taylor.
Besides Reifert’s free kick, Leyden had the better threats in the second half. The best chance came with 24 minutes left, when Castaneda lined a 25-yard rocket off the crossbar and the rebound attempt was sent over the net.
“For about a 20-minute spot in the second half, our mids really controlled everything and played one-two touch give-and-go and ran right through,” Valintis said. “But we got up to the box and either tried to dribble instead of pass or one of their guys stepped up and made a great defensive play. Those are things we have to work on, but we’re getting there.”
Saint Ignatius is also rapidly progressing with September just under way.
“I thought the way we played on Thursday (against Fenwick), we got the win but we could have played a lot more organized,” Kearns said. “Today they looked organized. They were moving forward together and moving back together, and that’s what I like to see.
“It’s been a long process. There have been a lot of ups and downs. We had great success in Game 1 (a 7-1 win) and thought, ‘Wow, it’s all coming together,’ and it hadn’t. We went into Oak Park (a 4-0 loss) and they took advantage of that.”
But a win over conference rival Fenwick and a strong defensive effort Saturday has the Wolfpack quickly coming back.
“I think we were a little shaky starting out, but we’ve learned to play together really well,” Hatzopoulos said. “We have a lot of confidence and are looking forward to the season.”
Starting lineups
Leyden
G-Alfredo Recendez
D-Hector Herrera
D-Cesar Franco
D-Damian Kosakowski
D-Salvador Salgado
M-Christian Rubio
M-Angel Lopez
M-Christian Sosnowski
M-Jesus Hernandez
F-Erik Rodriguez
F-Elvis Castaneda
Saint Ignatius
G-Bryant Hales
D-Kevin Dingens
D-Chauncey Flowers
D-Anthony DeMeo
D-Conner Hatzopoulos
M-Ian Waller
M-Patrick Breslin
M-Taylor Reifert
M-Randy Martinez
F-Lucas Kotlowitz
F-Max Taylor
Man of the Match: Cesar Franco, Leyden
Confidence in defenses is sky high after scoreless game
CHICAGO -- The 0-0 tie on the scoreboard Saturday obscured victories of another kind for both Leyden and host Saint Ignatius.
For the visiting Leyden Eagles (2-1-1), the result continued a great streak for standout goalkeeper Alfredo Recendez and the entire defense.
“The only goal we’ve given up in four games was on a penalty kick, so I’m very happy about that,” Leyden coach Mark Valintis said. “Our goalie (Recendez) hasn’t been asked to make too many great saves, but when he’s had to, he had one PK save and another save today on a really well-placed free kick.”
Saint Ignatius senior Taylor Reifert was the producer of that solidly hit 35-yard free kick 24 minutes into the second half that Recendez had to leap to catch just under the crossbar.
Denied on that chance, Reifert and the Wolfpack (2-1-1) were still encouraged by another strong performance. Despite losing most of last year’s Class 2A runner-up team, the squad’s quick rebuilding job included a 2-1 win Thursday over Fenwick on Luke Kotlowitz’s overtime goal (coming off an assist by Max Taylor).
That OT goal came despite the Wolfpack being a man down due to a red card.
“From our early week loss, we’ve already bounced back so far,” Reifert said. “I’ve never beaten Fenwick before in four years, so that was really great. Even this week we’ve made great strides toward a better year. We’re moving up.”
First-year coach Ryan Kearns has helped quickly mold the Wolfpack.
“It’s been a fairly seemless transition to Coach Kearns,” Reifert said. “I think there’s a great attitude with the team: last year we started 1-3 and were 5-5, and we ended up in the state championship. So we’re not letting anything trouble us right now. We’re just going to keep playing as hard as we can.”
Leyden made the Wolfpack work hard Saturday, with the Eagles’ defense limiting chances in their seasonlong trend.
“We communicate a lot and are organized in the back,” said Leyden defender Cesar Franco, chosen the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “The only goal they’ve scored on us (all year) was on a penalty that shouldn’t have happened.”
Franco was involved in that unusual PK play against Oak Park and River Forest, a collision in the box that easily could have gone uncalled. That one play aside, Eagles defenders Franco, Salvador Salgado, Hector Herrera and Damian Kosakowski have been formidable.
“We start a sophomore (Kosakowski), two juniors and a senior in back,” Valintis said. “Not giving up a goal through the run of play after four games – their confidence is sky high.”
“I feel like any opponent we go against we can beat them if we put our mind to it and score more goals,” Franco said. “That’s our key.”
Scoring has been the challenge this fall, and Saint Ignatius’ own talented defense didn’t make things easy on Leyden Saturday despite standout play by quick midfielder Christian Sosnowski and his teammates.
“I thought Christian Sosnowski did a great job of spreading the ball around the field and getting guys involved and going forward, and Elvis (Castaneda) did a great job winning the ball back for us in the middle third of the field so we could keep the pressure on,” Valintis said.
“And Erik Rodriguez did a great job playing back to the goal and holding the ball so our midfielders could get involved," he said. "Overall I think everybody on the field contributed and played well. We just don’t have anything to show for it.”
The Wolfpack defense was a big reason, capped off by Randy Martinez’s nice steal from Sosnowski as he dangerously dribbled in along the end line with three minutes left in the match.
“Bryant Hales, our goalie, got his first shutout, so that’s great,” Kearns said. “On our back line we have Kevin Dingens, a senior, and he and Chauncey (Flowers) did a great job in the center. And Anthony DeMeo at right back did an excellent job.
“I thought it was a great match with a lot of back-and-forth momentum shifts.”
Saves by Hales denied first-half chances by Leyden’s Miguel Mereles and Castaneda, and Saint Ignatius defender Conner Hatzopoulos made two consecutive nice sliding steals five minutes before halftime to repel threats.
Having strong support gave Hatzopoulos the faith to make the big plays.
“I have a lot of confidence in my two center backs, Chauncey Flowers and Kevin Dingens,” Hatzopoulos said. “I felt really comfortable with them, especially with Kevin being a senior who started last year on our team that took second at state.”
Defender Flowers was also dangerous on throw-ins, and the Wolfpack offense produced excellent chances early on: Recendez first made a save on Patrick Breslin’s 20-yard shot, then dove to cover a 15-yard chance by Taylor.
Besides Reifert’s free kick, Leyden had the better threats in the second half. The best chance came with 24 minutes left, when Castaneda lined a 25-yard rocket off the crossbar and the rebound attempt was sent over the net.
“For about a 20-minute spot in the second half, our mids really controlled everything and played one-two touch give-and-go and ran right through,” Valintis said. “But we got up to the box and either tried to dribble instead of pass or one of their guys stepped up and made a great defensive play. Those are things we have to work on, but we’re getting there.”
Saint Ignatius is also rapidly progressing with September just under way.
“I thought the way we played on Thursday (against Fenwick), we got the win but we could have played a lot more organized,” Kearns said. “Today they looked organized. They were moving forward together and moving back together, and that’s what I like to see.
“It’s been a long process. There have been a lot of ups and downs. We had great success in Game 1 (a 7-1 win) and thought, ‘Wow, it’s all coming together,’ and it hadn’t. We went into Oak Park (a 4-0 loss) and they took advantage of that.”
But a win over conference rival Fenwick and a strong defensive effort Saturday has the Wolfpack quickly coming back.
“I think we were a little shaky starting out, but we’ve learned to play together really well,” Hatzopoulos said. “We have a lot of confidence and are looking forward to the season.”
Starting lineups
Leyden
G-Alfredo Recendez
D-Hector Herrera
D-Cesar Franco
D-Damian Kosakowski
D-Salvador Salgado
M-Christian Rubio
M-Angel Lopez
M-Christian Sosnowski
M-Jesus Hernandez
F-Erik Rodriguez
F-Elvis Castaneda
Saint Ignatius
G-Bryant Hales
D-Kevin Dingens
D-Chauncey Flowers
D-Anthony DeMeo
D-Conner Hatzopoulos
M-Ian Waller
M-Patrick Breslin
M-Taylor Reifert
M-Randy Martinez
F-Lucas Kotlowitz
F-Max Taylor
Man of the Match: Cesar Franco, Leyden