Eagles top Eagles
(Leyden-Taft) in a Friday friendly
Leyden wins 3-0 in nonconference battle of young teams
By Gary Larsen
CHICAGO — A young eagle that’s not quite ready to fly yet is called a fledgling, and as a senior captain at Leyden, Pablo Mancha knows he has to help coach Mark Valintis get those fledglings out of the nest as soon as possible.
The same is true at Taft, where senior captain Alex Mietka is trying to help get young players ready to soar in coach Jeff Lucco’s system.
In a game that pitted Taft’s Eagles vs. Leyden’s Eagles on Friday, it was the fledglings from visiting Leyden who got their first taste of flight in a season-opening 3-0 victory.
“For a young team, this is a confidence boost and for young kids, confidence is half the battle,” Valintis said. “I liked our energy in the second half, but it’s just going to take some time. There are going to be some growing pains this year.”
Leyden’s energy in the second half was the game’s pivot point. It wore Taft down and produced three late goals, courtesy of Diego Negrete, Javier Solis and Stefano Andrino.
That energy combined with some tactical refinement helped Leyden to a win in its first game of the season.
“We were playing down the middle the whole time in the first half,” Mancha said. “We had no wingers; we had no runs, and we had no creativity going forward. But I thought we did a pretty good job adjusting after halftime. And we kept the energy higher in the second half.
“We’re young, but we play with energy. I think that will help this team get set up for the future.”
Negrete finally broke the scoreless tie at 67 minutes, Solis scored at 74 minutes, and Andrino netted his goal in the waning minutes for Leyden.
Taft (0-2-0) and Leyden (1-0-0) traded trips into their respective attacking thirds of the field through 40 minutes, but Leyden kept steadier pressure on after intermission.
Mancha applauded his side’s lively play in the second half, and Valintis applauded Mancha’s role in making sure Leyden kept its fire.
“Pablo Mancha is that senior that everybody looks to, and he was able to keep his composure, keep things together and keep the guys up,” Valintis said. “They all look up to him. They all respect him, and he’s going to be our best player.”
For Taft, Friday’s game came on the heels of a fine effort against Loyola just one day earlier. Taft lost 2-1 to the Ramblers, a team ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 state-wide preseason poll.
Unfortunately for the home team, the fight that Taft showed against Loyola was hard to come by as the second half wore on against Leyden.
“In the second half we just stopped working and (Leyden) kept working,” Mietka said. “We shut down after their first goal and then the second and third goals came. If we keep our heads up after that first goal, maybe things are different.”
The second half of a second game in two days — in 90-plus degree heat, no less — was a steep hill to climb for Lucco’s boys.
“I just think we ran out of gas today,” Lucco said. “Last night was tough. Loyola is good; they’re fast, and Leyden is good. We were also a little shorthanded today because of injuries, missing three of our starting four defenders.
“And the difference was that last night we gave up goals but everyone’s head stayed up. Today our body language just wasn’t the same.”
An adjustment by Leyden may have had something to do with Taft’s slumoing shoulders late in the game.
“Our forwards have to defend, and in the first half we gave (Taft) too much time to play out and do everything relatively easy,” Valintis said. “We put them under better pressure in the second half, and our midfielders then read it and stepped into the spots. So I thought defensively, from that aspect, maybe we wore (Taft) down a little bit.
“That also gave us some confidence because now we’re in the box, and now we’re getting shots. It gave us a little pep in our step.”
Valintis was much happier with his side’s play in the second half, and afterwards he spread the credit around.
“Danny Gonzalez is new to varsity, and he played well at outside back. Stefano Andrino, a freshman outside back, had the third goal and had a great game, and Danny Guevara is new to varsity this year — I thought those guys were the spark plugs today.”
If those players were Leyden’s spark plugs, Solis was the engine, earning himself Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honors.
“Javy Solis played outstanding today,” Valintis said. “He was always looking to attack, always moving without the ball, pressuring the opponent and working hard to get in the right spots. His work ethic is what a lot of the guys look at and draw inspiration from. He sets the example, and he’s one of our leaders.”
Negrete finished with a goal and an assist while Mancha and Ulices Leyva also had assists in the win.
For Taft, a strong early schedule that features Loyola, Leyden, and no. 20 Barrington (on Monday) figures to go a long way towards turning Taft’s fledglings into eagles.
“The potential is there. I see us working, moving the ball up and down, possessing and passing the ball and opening up,” Mietka said. “We just have to work as a whole team, communicate and talk. If we do that, and we can possess the ball, we’ll win games.”
Lucco has complete confidence in keeper Sean Ocampo, who played in net against Loyola, and keeper Sebastian Rodriguez, who was between the pipes against Leyden.
Taft’s skipper also sees high potential for this year’s team as seniors and captains like Mietka and Davyd Dubchyk learn to guide a core of young but promising players.
“Victor Lewicki, a sophomore center back, is playing awesome and Jacob Ostrowski came in tonight, and I was really happy with the way he played,” Lucco said. “Jair Duenas draws more fouls than anyone I’ve ever seen in the middle and on the wing, and Matej Sokola is one of several players we have that are smart soccer players who know what they’re doing. Hopefully we’ll get healthy, and we’ll get there.”
Starting lineups
Leyden
GK Kai Kopera
D Javier Alvarez
D Avi Flores
D Derik Galeno
D Daniel Gonzalez
M Oscar Flores
M Daniel Guevara
M Ariel Diaz
M Pablo Mancha
F Ulices Leyva
F Chris Hernandez
Taft
GK Sebastian Rodriguez
D Mohamed Abbad
D Victor Lewicki
D Roy Molina
D Adrian Grden
M Ricardo Gonzalez
M Matej Sokola
M David Dubchyk
F Jair Duenas
F Gabriel Vidaurre
F Milton Valenzuela
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Javier Solis, jr., MF, Leyden
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Leyden — Negrete (Mancha) 67 minutes
Leyden — Solis (Leyva) 74 minutes
Leyden — Adrino (Negrete) 78 minutes
(Leyden-Taft) in a Friday friendly
Leyden wins 3-0 in nonconference battle of young teams
By Gary Larsen
CHICAGO — A young eagle that’s not quite ready to fly yet is called a fledgling, and as a senior captain at Leyden, Pablo Mancha knows he has to help coach Mark Valintis get those fledglings out of the nest as soon as possible.
The same is true at Taft, where senior captain Alex Mietka is trying to help get young players ready to soar in coach Jeff Lucco’s system.
In a game that pitted Taft’s Eagles vs. Leyden’s Eagles on Friday, it was the fledglings from visiting Leyden who got their first taste of flight in a season-opening 3-0 victory.
“For a young team, this is a confidence boost and for young kids, confidence is half the battle,” Valintis said. “I liked our energy in the second half, but it’s just going to take some time. There are going to be some growing pains this year.”
Leyden’s energy in the second half was the game’s pivot point. It wore Taft down and produced three late goals, courtesy of Diego Negrete, Javier Solis and Stefano Andrino.
That energy combined with some tactical refinement helped Leyden to a win in its first game of the season.
“We were playing down the middle the whole time in the first half,” Mancha said. “We had no wingers; we had no runs, and we had no creativity going forward. But I thought we did a pretty good job adjusting after halftime. And we kept the energy higher in the second half.
“We’re young, but we play with energy. I think that will help this team get set up for the future.”
Negrete finally broke the scoreless tie at 67 minutes, Solis scored at 74 minutes, and Andrino netted his goal in the waning minutes for Leyden.
Taft (0-2-0) and Leyden (1-0-0) traded trips into their respective attacking thirds of the field through 40 minutes, but Leyden kept steadier pressure on after intermission.
Mancha applauded his side’s lively play in the second half, and Valintis applauded Mancha’s role in making sure Leyden kept its fire.
“Pablo Mancha is that senior that everybody looks to, and he was able to keep his composure, keep things together and keep the guys up,” Valintis said. “They all look up to him. They all respect him, and he’s going to be our best player.”
For Taft, Friday’s game came on the heels of a fine effort against Loyola just one day earlier. Taft lost 2-1 to the Ramblers, a team ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 state-wide preseason poll.
Unfortunately for the home team, the fight that Taft showed against Loyola was hard to come by as the second half wore on against Leyden.
“In the second half we just stopped working and (Leyden) kept working,” Mietka said. “We shut down after their first goal and then the second and third goals came. If we keep our heads up after that first goal, maybe things are different.”
The second half of a second game in two days — in 90-plus degree heat, no less — was a steep hill to climb for Lucco’s boys.
“I just think we ran out of gas today,” Lucco said. “Last night was tough. Loyola is good; they’re fast, and Leyden is good. We were also a little shorthanded today because of injuries, missing three of our starting four defenders.
“And the difference was that last night we gave up goals but everyone’s head stayed up. Today our body language just wasn’t the same.”
An adjustment by Leyden may have had something to do with Taft’s slumoing shoulders late in the game.
“Our forwards have to defend, and in the first half we gave (Taft) too much time to play out and do everything relatively easy,” Valintis said. “We put them under better pressure in the second half, and our midfielders then read it and stepped into the spots. So I thought defensively, from that aspect, maybe we wore (Taft) down a little bit.
“That also gave us some confidence because now we’re in the box, and now we’re getting shots. It gave us a little pep in our step.”
Valintis was much happier with his side’s play in the second half, and afterwards he spread the credit around.
“Danny Gonzalez is new to varsity, and he played well at outside back. Stefano Andrino, a freshman outside back, had the third goal and had a great game, and Danny Guevara is new to varsity this year — I thought those guys were the spark plugs today.”
If those players were Leyden’s spark plugs, Solis was the engine, earning himself Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honors.
“Javy Solis played outstanding today,” Valintis said. “He was always looking to attack, always moving without the ball, pressuring the opponent and working hard to get in the right spots. His work ethic is what a lot of the guys look at and draw inspiration from. He sets the example, and he’s one of our leaders.”
Negrete finished with a goal and an assist while Mancha and Ulices Leyva also had assists in the win.
For Taft, a strong early schedule that features Loyola, Leyden, and no. 20 Barrington (on Monday) figures to go a long way towards turning Taft’s fledglings into eagles.
“The potential is there. I see us working, moving the ball up and down, possessing and passing the ball and opening up,” Mietka said. “We just have to work as a whole team, communicate and talk. If we do that, and we can possess the ball, we’ll win games.”
Lucco has complete confidence in keeper Sean Ocampo, who played in net against Loyola, and keeper Sebastian Rodriguez, who was between the pipes against Leyden.
Taft’s skipper also sees high potential for this year’s team as seniors and captains like Mietka and Davyd Dubchyk learn to guide a core of young but promising players.
“Victor Lewicki, a sophomore center back, is playing awesome and Jacob Ostrowski came in tonight, and I was really happy with the way he played,” Lucco said. “Jair Duenas draws more fouls than anyone I’ve ever seen in the middle and on the wing, and Matej Sokola is one of several players we have that are smart soccer players who know what they’re doing. Hopefully we’ll get healthy, and we’ll get there.”
Starting lineups
Leyden
GK Kai Kopera
D Javier Alvarez
D Avi Flores
D Derik Galeno
D Daniel Gonzalez
M Oscar Flores
M Daniel Guevara
M Ariel Diaz
M Pablo Mancha
F Ulices Leyva
F Chris Hernandez
Taft
GK Sebastian Rodriguez
D Mohamed Abbad
D Victor Lewicki
D Roy Molina
D Adrian Grden
M Ricardo Gonzalez
M Matej Sokola
M David Dubchyk
F Jair Duenas
F Gabriel Vidaurre
F Milton Valenzuela
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Javier Solis, jr., MF, Leyden
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Leyden — Negrete (Mancha) 67 minutes
Leyden — Solis (Leyva) 74 minutes
Leyden — Adrino (Negrete) 78 minutes