Shorthanded Leyden tops
Addison Trail in shootout
Eagles rally with late goal, perfect penalty round
By Curt Herron
ADDISON -- Leyden coach Mark Valintis has seen his team’s resilience. After an 0-4-1 start, the Eagles posted a 4-0-3 record in their last seven matches. Still, he had his doubts that they'd be able to accomplish what they did Friday.
Playing at Addison Trail in a West Suburban Conference Gold Division match on a night when the Blazers recognized their futbol alumni which includes their coaching staff and Valintis, the Eagles gave up two scores late in the first half to fall behind 2-1 at the break. Not to mention, they were down a man during the second half due to a red card.
Shortly after Leyden got the equalizer in the 79th minute, it lost another player due to a second yellow card. That left the Eagles down two men heading into what turned out to be a pair of 10-minute overtime periods.
After overcoming all that drama, Leyden (6-4-4, 2-0-x) converted on all five of its penalty tries in the subsequent tiebreaker to capture the victory.
The Eagles got conversions from senior Danny Guevara, junior Oliver Salgado, junior Ariel Diaz, sophomore Yadier DeLaCruz and sophomore Stefano Andrino. Sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Llanos made a save on the first attempt by Blazers senior Matias Aguilar before the hosts received subsequent penalty conversions from senior Emilio Macias, junior Christopher Ortega and senior Brandon Sarabia.
Leyden opened the scoring in the tenth minute from Salgado following an assist from senior Javier Solis. Addison Trail (5-5-1, 1-2-0) equalized 24 minutes later on a goal by Aguilar off of an assist from Ortega.
The home team took its only lead of the game with just 21 seconds left in the half when Ortega converted on a penalty.
Leyden brought itself even in the 79th minute with a goal by junior Duvan Trujillo, following an assist by Andrino.
"They pulled out something tonight that I didn't know that they had in them," said Valintis, a 1993 Addison Trail alumnus, whose team followed up the victory with a 1-0 win at Maine West on Saturday. "They pulled together as a team; they supported each other and stayed positive. They really grew up quite a bit tonight and in the second half.
“I couldn't be more proud of the way that they played. The final thing that I said to them before we hopped on the bus was that big-time players make big plays in big games, and guys at times did. Duvan had the biggest one with that tying goal with a minute or two left, and it was well-deserved.
"Their goalie (Tomasz Rozkuszka) was a brick wall. It took a set piece play and a lot of confusion in the box where he didn't really have places to move like he did earlier. So, we just got fortunate and maybe a little bit lucky.
“Usually penalties aren't our strong point, and we haven't had luck with those in the past. But today just felt different with the attitude and the belief that the kids had. And that's what PKs are, attitude and belief. I can't remember the last time that we had five guys hit; it must have been 10 to 12 years ago.
"They showed me something tonight that I haven't seen before. So, I couldn't be more proud of them. They stuck with everything that we tried, and we also had them believe in themselves and not hanging their heads. If you work hard, you are rewarded.
“This was a big defining moment in our season. With the adversity that we faced and for the kids to come out on top, it's a great feeling. The kids are going to remember this game."
Although disappointed that his team couldn't capitalize on their number advantage after the bookinga, Blazers coach Ryan Dini gave credit where it was due and commended the Eagles on their fight throughout the match.
Addison Trail entered the match on a three-game win streak with 11 goals after it opened the season with a 2-4-1 record and was held to one goal or less on five occasions.
Dini, a 2001 Addison Trail graduate, would have liked to see his team collect its first Gold Division win of the season in front of a large number of former players who returned to watch the match. But he was still pleased with another close result between the rivals.
"They fought all game, and they gave us obviously everything that we could handle," Dini said. "And when it comes down to PKs, it's anybodys' game with that.
“Our top guy all season, who's almost automatic, but unfortunately he missed the first one. And when you get up early in PKs it tends to shift the balance. It was a classic conference game that could have gone either way.
“There are so many good teams in the Silver and Gold (divisions), that any time you play any of the teams, you're going to be tested. The beautiful thing is that anybody can be beaten on a given day. So, give Leyden credit. They came in here and had to deal with some cards, and they got us.
"We weren't our usual selves tonight. We made uncharacteristic mistakes. They wanted it more, and it showed at the end. We've definitely turned the corner after we started real slow this season. We've started finishing a lot more, which took some pressure off of our defense, which was huge. Back at the beginning of the season, it was one mistake and that would be a triple effect."
The coach enjoyed the reunion of former Blazers players.
"It was special seeing all of them, and obviously with Mark, myself and my assistant coach (Angel Vega) here, it was pretty cool. For Mark letting us do this and being all about it says a lot about him.”
The Blazers have plenty of competition in front of them in their final seven games of the regular-season.
“We're going to be tested in the next four games and we're going to see a lot of good teams like Morton and Oak Park. The good thing is that we'll know what adjustments we need to make for playoffs.
“I like the accountability of the team. You can tell that it really hurts when we lose games. And they own it, which is huge, especially coming from 16- and 17-year-olds."
Leyden began the penalties showdown and led wire-to-wire. After Guevara connected on the first try of the eventual nine overall attempts, Llanos came up huge when he made a save on the Blazers' first attempt, which came from Aguilar, who scored his team's first goal and was a regular threat throughout the entire 100 minutes.
Following that, Salgado and Macias connected in round two. Diaz and Ortega both scored in the third round, and DeLaCruz and Sarabia both buried attempts in round four. Entering the fifth round, all that Andrino needed to do was place his shot in the net to finally end the drama, and that's precisely what he did.
"It was crazy," Andrino said. "Honestly, we all fought with passion and with heart, and it all came down to us. We were down two players, but that didn't stop us. We stayed compact. We did everything as a team, and we won because of passion. On that goal in the last two minutes of the game, we were up since we knew that it would come sooner or later.
"We started off slow this season, but we've picked up the pace. And we got to know each other, and it's all about relationships and the bonding on the team. It's not about how good each of us are, but it's about how good we play as a team; and there's no individual players here."
In the second overtime period, Addison Trail had most of the best opportunities. Aguilar sent in a shot from the side that was headed away by Trujillo. Not long after senior Luca Fischer was denied on a long try. Aguilar sent in two more corner kicks but neither led to much that was threatening.
Leyden had several good chances at the beginning of the first overtime. Junior Rafa Nozka sent a header to Rozkuszka, and Guevara followed with a long try that was halted. Diaz tried to connect on a shorter attempt that the Blazers' goalie also pulled in.
"We never really hang our heads," Diaz said. "We're a family on and off the field and that passion really showed in the second half. We never gave up. We knew that a goal would come sooner or later, and we finally got it . We knew that this game was ours, no matter how many men we were down. Their goalie was definitely on his game, and we had a lot of chances to score.
"At the beginning of the season we had some close games against good teams, and we came up short. But we had the determination in us to win it, especially since it's a conference game. I like the passion that we have on and off the field. In every training we're there, and we're ready to practice. We might mess around before, but once we get out there, we're serious and we know what we have to do."
While Addison Trail had some early good chances in the second half when it had the one-man advantage, the majority of the best opportunities belonged to the Leyden, especially in the latter part of the match, but their hopes of a comeback were being stymied by an unsung player who was not the starter at his position.
Blazers junior goalkeeper Rozkuszka entered the match in the 11th minute with his team already down a goal after senior starter Joseph Morales received a yellow card for a collision that he had as Leyden senior Javier Solis was heading toward the net.
Addison Trail's second goalie for the day made a few stops in the first half, but he was busy in the second half, especially during the final 20 minutes when Leyden seemed to be on the verge of getting the equalizer on a number of occasions.
Early in the final half, Addison Trail got good shot attempts from junior Angel Martinez, Sarabia and Ortega. Leyden responded with threatening attempts from senior Diego Negrete, sophomore Fabian Rodriguez, Guevara, Andrino and Flores before it finally was able to get a shot that Rozkuszka couldn't stop.
That happened in the 79th minute when Andrino placed a free kick from 35 yards in the box. Trujillo got off a close-range attempt that went in with just 1:44 remaining.
"Even if you're down two men or one man, you still have to play as a team because it's really all mental," Trujillo said. "It's just about confidence and that you have to play to the end. We were determined from the start to win this match. We never lack in passion or confidence.
“At the start of the season we didn't have any communication, and now we're a whole different team."
There was additional drama in the final minute of regulation play when Flores received his second yellow to end his evening and put the Eagles two men down. The subsequent 40-yard free kick from Fischer glanced off the crossbar.
Leyden connected on its first goal in the 10th minute when Salgado put in a short attempt following a pass from Soliz. The Eagles continued to apply pressure on the new goalkeeper over the next few minutes with efforts from Guevara, Diaz and Salgado.
Addison Trail evened things at 1-1 in the 34th minute when Aguilar put in a short shot following a pass from Ortega. And then in the 40th minute, Rozkuszka halted a try by sophomore Brandon Delgado before Ortega was fouled in the box. That prompted a red card to put the Eagles down a man, and Ortega converted the penalty.
As a result of its win, Leyden is the early leader in the conference with a 2-0-x record. Morton and Hinsdale South are both 1-0-x but were unable to get their match in this week as a result of Tuesday's storms. Downers Grove South and Willowbrook are both off to 1-1-x starts in league play.
Leyden plays at Hinsdale South in league action on Tuesday, then it’s on to nonconference action at Glenbrook South on Thursday and back home against Ridgewood on Saturday.
Addison Trail hosts Gold Division foe Downers Grove South on Tuesday. The Blazers play a cross-over match at Oak Park and River Forest on Thursday and host DuPage Valley Conference member Neuqua Valley on Saturday.
Starting lineups
Leyden
GK: Daniel Llanos
D: Yadier DeLaCruz
D: Fabian Rodriguez
D: Stefano Andrino
D: Avi Flores
MF: Ariel Diaz
MF: Javier Solis
MF: Oliver Salgado
F: Brandon Delgado
F: Danny Guevara
F: Diego Negrete
Addison Trail
GK: Joseph Morales
D: Emilio Macias
D: Brandon Sarabia
D: Jason Valdez
D: Cristian Teran
MF: Daniel Herrera
MF: Luca Fischer
MF: Jose Leyva
MF: Angel Martinez
F: Matias Aguilar
F: Christopher Ortega
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Duvan Trujillo, jr., D, Leyden
Scoring summary
First half
Leyden: Oliver Salgado (Javier Soliz), 10'
AT: Matias Aguilar (Christopher Ortega), 34'
AT: Christopher Ortega (PK), 40'
Second half
Leyden: Duvan Trujillo (Stefano Andrino), 79'
Penalties
Leyden: Danny Guevara (good); Oliver Salgado (good); Ariel Diaz (good); Yadier DeLaCruz (good); Stefano Andrino (good)
AT: Matias Aguilar (saved); Emilio Macias (good); Christopher Ortega (good); Brandon Sarabia (good)
Addison Trail in shootout
Eagles rally with late goal, perfect penalty round
By Curt Herron
ADDISON -- Leyden coach Mark Valintis has seen his team’s resilience. After an 0-4-1 start, the Eagles posted a 4-0-3 record in their last seven matches. Still, he had his doubts that they'd be able to accomplish what they did Friday.
Playing at Addison Trail in a West Suburban Conference Gold Division match on a night when the Blazers recognized their futbol alumni which includes their coaching staff and Valintis, the Eagles gave up two scores late in the first half to fall behind 2-1 at the break. Not to mention, they were down a man during the second half due to a red card.
Shortly after Leyden got the equalizer in the 79th minute, it lost another player due to a second yellow card. That left the Eagles down two men heading into what turned out to be a pair of 10-minute overtime periods.
After overcoming all that drama, Leyden (6-4-4, 2-0-x) converted on all five of its penalty tries in the subsequent tiebreaker to capture the victory.
The Eagles got conversions from senior Danny Guevara, junior Oliver Salgado, junior Ariel Diaz, sophomore Yadier DeLaCruz and sophomore Stefano Andrino. Sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Llanos made a save on the first attempt by Blazers senior Matias Aguilar before the hosts received subsequent penalty conversions from senior Emilio Macias, junior Christopher Ortega and senior Brandon Sarabia.
Leyden opened the scoring in the tenth minute from Salgado following an assist from senior Javier Solis. Addison Trail (5-5-1, 1-2-0) equalized 24 minutes later on a goal by Aguilar off of an assist from Ortega.
The home team took its only lead of the game with just 21 seconds left in the half when Ortega converted on a penalty.
Leyden brought itself even in the 79th minute with a goal by junior Duvan Trujillo, following an assist by Andrino.
"They pulled out something tonight that I didn't know that they had in them," said Valintis, a 1993 Addison Trail alumnus, whose team followed up the victory with a 1-0 win at Maine West on Saturday. "They pulled together as a team; they supported each other and stayed positive. They really grew up quite a bit tonight and in the second half.
“I couldn't be more proud of the way that they played. The final thing that I said to them before we hopped on the bus was that big-time players make big plays in big games, and guys at times did. Duvan had the biggest one with that tying goal with a minute or two left, and it was well-deserved.
"Their goalie (Tomasz Rozkuszka) was a brick wall. It took a set piece play and a lot of confusion in the box where he didn't really have places to move like he did earlier. So, we just got fortunate and maybe a little bit lucky.
“Usually penalties aren't our strong point, and we haven't had luck with those in the past. But today just felt different with the attitude and the belief that the kids had. And that's what PKs are, attitude and belief. I can't remember the last time that we had five guys hit; it must have been 10 to 12 years ago.
"They showed me something tonight that I haven't seen before. So, I couldn't be more proud of them. They stuck with everything that we tried, and we also had them believe in themselves and not hanging their heads. If you work hard, you are rewarded.
“This was a big defining moment in our season. With the adversity that we faced and for the kids to come out on top, it's a great feeling. The kids are going to remember this game."
Although disappointed that his team couldn't capitalize on their number advantage after the bookinga, Blazers coach Ryan Dini gave credit where it was due and commended the Eagles on their fight throughout the match.
Addison Trail entered the match on a three-game win streak with 11 goals after it opened the season with a 2-4-1 record and was held to one goal or less on five occasions.
Dini, a 2001 Addison Trail graduate, would have liked to see his team collect its first Gold Division win of the season in front of a large number of former players who returned to watch the match. But he was still pleased with another close result between the rivals.
"They fought all game, and they gave us obviously everything that we could handle," Dini said. "And when it comes down to PKs, it's anybodys' game with that.
“Our top guy all season, who's almost automatic, but unfortunately he missed the first one. And when you get up early in PKs it tends to shift the balance. It was a classic conference game that could have gone either way.
“There are so many good teams in the Silver and Gold (divisions), that any time you play any of the teams, you're going to be tested. The beautiful thing is that anybody can be beaten on a given day. So, give Leyden credit. They came in here and had to deal with some cards, and they got us.
"We weren't our usual selves tonight. We made uncharacteristic mistakes. They wanted it more, and it showed at the end. We've definitely turned the corner after we started real slow this season. We've started finishing a lot more, which took some pressure off of our defense, which was huge. Back at the beginning of the season, it was one mistake and that would be a triple effect."
The coach enjoyed the reunion of former Blazers players.
"It was special seeing all of them, and obviously with Mark, myself and my assistant coach (Angel Vega) here, it was pretty cool. For Mark letting us do this and being all about it says a lot about him.”
The Blazers have plenty of competition in front of them in their final seven games of the regular-season.
“We're going to be tested in the next four games and we're going to see a lot of good teams like Morton and Oak Park. The good thing is that we'll know what adjustments we need to make for playoffs.
“I like the accountability of the team. You can tell that it really hurts when we lose games. And they own it, which is huge, especially coming from 16- and 17-year-olds."
Leyden began the penalties showdown and led wire-to-wire. After Guevara connected on the first try of the eventual nine overall attempts, Llanos came up huge when he made a save on the Blazers' first attempt, which came from Aguilar, who scored his team's first goal and was a regular threat throughout the entire 100 minutes.
Following that, Salgado and Macias connected in round two. Diaz and Ortega both scored in the third round, and DeLaCruz and Sarabia both buried attempts in round four. Entering the fifth round, all that Andrino needed to do was place his shot in the net to finally end the drama, and that's precisely what he did.
"It was crazy," Andrino said. "Honestly, we all fought with passion and with heart, and it all came down to us. We were down two players, but that didn't stop us. We stayed compact. We did everything as a team, and we won because of passion. On that goal in the last two minutes of the game, we were up since we knew that it would come sooner or later.
"We started off slow this season, but we've picked up the pace. And we got to know each other, and it's all about relationships and the bonding on the team. It's not about how good each of us are, but it's about how good we play as a team; and there's no individual players here."
In the second overtime period, Addison Trail had most of the best opportunities. Aguilar sent in a shot from the side that was headed away by Trujillo. Not long after senior Luca Fischer was denied on a long try. Aguilar sent in two more corner kicks but neither led to much that was threatening.
Leyden had several good chances at the beginning of the first overtime. Junior Rafa Nozka sent a header to Rozkuszka, and Guevara followed with a long try that was halted. Diaz tried to connect on a shorter attempt that the Blazers' goalie also pulled in.
"We never really hang our heads," Diaz said. "We're a family on and off the field and that passion really showed in the second half. We never gave up. We knew that a goal would come sooner or later, and we finally got it . We knew that this game was ours, no matter how many men we were down. Their goalie was definitely on his game, and we had a lot of chances to score.
"At the beginning of the season we had some close games against good teams, and we came up short. But we had the determination in us to win it, especially since it's a conference game. I like the passion that we have on and off the field. In every training we're there, and we're ready to practice. We might mess around before, but once we get out there, we're serious and we know what we have to do."
While Addison Trail had some early good chances in the second half when it had the one-man advantage, the majority of the best opportunities belonged to the Leyden, especially in the latter part of the match, but their hopes of a comeback were being stymied by an unsung player who was not the starter at his position.
Blazers junior goalkeeper Rozkuszka entered the match in the 11th minute with his team already down a goal after senior starter Joseph Morales received a yellow card for a collision that he had as Leyden senior Javier Solis was heading toward the net.
Addison Trail's second goalie for the day made a few stops in the first half, but he was busy in the second half, especially during the final 20 minutes when Leyden seemed to be on the verge of getting the equalizer on a number of occasions.
Early in the final half, Addison Trail got good shot attempts from junior Angel Martinez, Sarabia and Ortega. Leyden responded with threatening attempts from senior Diego Negrete, sophomore Fabian Rodriguez, Guevara, Andrino and Flores before it finally was able to get a shot that Rozkuszka couldn't stop.
That happened in the 79th minute when Andrino placed a free kick from 35 yards in the box. Trujillo got off a close-range attempt that went in with just 1:44 remaining.
"Even if you're down two men or one man, you still have to play as a team because it's really all mental," Trujillo said. "It's just about confidence and that you have to play to the end. We were determined from the start to win this match. We never lack in passion or confidence.
“At the start of the season we didn't have any communication, and now we're a whole different team."
There was additional drama in the final minute of regulation play when Flores received his second yellow to end his evening and put the Eagles two men down. The subsequent 40-yard free kick from Fischer glanced off the crossbar.
Leyden connected on its first goal in the 10th minute when Salgado put in a short attempt following a pass from Soliz. The Eagles continued to apply pressure on the new goalkeeper over the next few minutes with efforts from Guevara, Diaz and Salgado.
Addison Trail evened things at 1-1 in the 34th minute when Aguilar put in a short shot following a pass from Ortega. And then in the 40th minute, Rozkuszka halted a try by sophomore Brandon Delgado before Ortega was fouled in the box. That prompted a red card to put the Eagles down a man, and Ortega converted the penalty.
As a result of its win, Leyden is the early leader in the conference with a 2-0-x record. Morton and Hinsdale South are both 1-0-x but were unable to get their match in this week as a result of Tuesday's storms. Downers Grove South and Willowbrook are both off to 1-1-x starts in league play.
Leyden plays at Hinsdale South in league action on Tuesday, then it’s on to nonconference action at Glenbrook South on Thursday and back home against Ridgewood on Saturday.
Addison Trail hosts Gold Division foe Downers Grove South on Tuesday. The Blazers play a cross-over match at Oak Park and River Forest on Thursday and host DuPage Valley Conference member Neuqua Valley on Saturday.
Starting lineups
Leyden
GK: Daniel Llanos
D: Yadier DeLaCruz
D: Fabian Rodriguez
D: Stefano Andrino
D: Avi Flores
MF: Ariel Diaz
MF: Javier Solis
MF: Oliver Salgado
F: Brandon Delgado
F: Danny Guevara
F: Diego Negrete
Addison Trail
GK: Joseph Morales
D: Emilio Macias
D: Brandon Sarabia
D: Jason Valdez
D: Cristian Teran
MF: Daniel Herrera
MF: Luca Fischer
MF: Jose Leyva
MF: Angel Martinez
F: Matias Aguilar
F: Christopher Ortega
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Duvan Trujillo, jr., D, Leyden
Scoring summary
First half
Leyden: Oliver Salgado (Javier Soliz), 10'
AT: Matias Aguilar (Christopher Ortega), 34'
AT: Christopher Ortega (PK), 40'
Second half
Leyden: Duvan Trujillo (Stefano Andrino), 79'
Penalties
Leyden: Danny Guevara (good); Oliver Salgado (good); Ariel Diaz (good); Yadier DeLaCruz (good); Stefano Andrino (good)
AT: Matias Aguilar (saved); Emilio Macias (good); Christopher Ortega (good); Brandon Sarabia (good)