DGS offense opens up, rallies past Leyden
4-straight goals after 2-1 deficit lead to 1st win of season
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – Leyden midfielder Oscar Lopez put on a free kick clinic.
Then Downers Grove South took Lopez and his teammates to school.
Lopez twice gave the visiting Eagles the lead by scoring on brilliant free kicks, but the hosts responded with a fusillade of goals to rally for a 5-3 victory Tuesday night in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division opener for both teams.
It was a welcome first win of the season for the Mustangs (1-3-0, 1-0-0) who came into the match having never held a lead. Josh Venouziou scored two goals for Downers Grove South. Dardan Sylejmani, Jerry Smazil and Jorge Alcantara each had one goal.
“Tonight, it was nice to find the back of the net as much as we did,” Downers South coach Jon Stapleton said. “We’ve been down in every game and tonight was no exception.
“(Lopez) hit two great free kicks, the first one in particular. Our kids responded.
“They haven’t necessarily come out on top, but I think the kids have always responded to the goals they’ve given up. Now we just need to work on not having to play from behind all the time.”
Lopez made the Mustangs play from behind twice, but each time they answered fairly quickly.
The senior, who had yet to score this season, tallied his first goal on the first shot of the game, ripping a 25-yard free kick off the hand of diving goalkeeper Zach Johnson and into the lower left corner of the net.
The goal came as no surprise to Leyden coach Mark Valintis.
“I think he’s always had that technical ability to place the ball, whether it’s passing or shooting,” Valintis said. “He’s really good with that. It’s God’s gift, I guess you could say.”
Dead balls are Lopez’s specialty.
“I’ve always liked to train on free kicks a lot,” Lopez said. “I train whenever I have free time. I go to a park and take some free kicks.”
The Mustangs nearly tied it with a free kick of their own six minutes later. Julian Lopez boomed a 45-yarder, his team’s first shot of the game, wide right.
Venouziou got the equalizer on Downers Grove South’s third shot. He stole the ball from a defender on the right wing and took off like a jackrabbit, converting the breakaway with 24:30 to go in the first half.
“I stole it from their last player,” Venouziou said. “I saw it was a bad touch, and I took advantage of the opportunity I saw.
“We need to push forward when we’re losing, because we’ve never actually started the game winning. Every time we get the ball, we have to have the mentality to go and score. That’s what we did today and we won.”
But not before Flores put on a show. Leyden (2-4-0, 0-1-0) was awarded a free kick in nearly the same spot as his first strike. This time, the Downers Grove South keeper cheated over to his right to cover the left post, only to see Flores unleash a 32-yard cracker that went over the wall and skipped inside the right post at the 8:36 mark.
Did Flores see Johnson move?
“I did,” he said. “The goalie left that side open a lot, so getting it over the wall wasn’t really trouble.”
“He was taking what the wall gives him,” Valintis said. “It was good.
“I know he was happy, and we got energized by it. We just didn’t have enough to make it stand out.”
Downers Grove South found itself in trouble again, but this time it took less time for them to get out of it.
Sylejmani scored off a feed from Alcantara just 2:06 later to tie things at 2-2, and that’s how the half ended.
The second half was all Mustangs, who scored three-consecutive goals, the first two on consecutive shots 1:42 apart, to put the game away.
Smazil gave his team its first lead of the season with 24:31 to go off an assist from Johnson, whose booming punt found the senior forward in stride just outside the Leyden box.
Smazil quickly beat a defender and slotted a shot under charging Leyden goalie Kai Kopera.
“I got to say, it bounced perfectly for me,” Smazil said. “I was just gone by that point.”
It was the third goal of the season for Smazil. Venouziou followed with his third goal, which turned out to be the game-winner, off another steal and lightning-fast attack.
“Josh is fast and strong, does a good job for us up-top,” Stapleton said. “Those are balls that earlier in the season, for whatever reason, we weren’t finishing, and today we found a way to do it.”
One reason might have been a change in tactics to a more offensive-oriented formation. The Mustangs went with three up front and the return of Smazil, who missed Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Oswego East and helped provide added oomph.
“Our coaches had to go back and redraw some of our positioning, so we changed our formation and really just our mentality as a team,” Smazil said. “We all came together.
“We were hungry for this win, so we put away our chances and did what we had to do.”
The change helped the Mustangs achieve what they couldn’t do before.
“The last few games we’ve been trying to score right away,” Venouziou said. “Today it happened and the result was different because we scored right away.”
While Lopez’s free kicks were without question the best shots of the game, Downers Grove South’s final goal was the best combination.
Lopez was the trigger with a 45-yard free kick sent to the edge of the six, where Smazil headed it across the crease to an unmarked Alcantara, who roofed a 5-yarder for a 5-2 lead with 14:00 left.
“Hats off to them, they played very well,” Valintis said. “They were in our face all night.
“We went up a goal three minutes in, and we literally gave them a breakaway, and they finished it. Went up again and credit to them, they came back with four goals to answer it, to take a big lead and essentially seal it.
“I think our youth showed tonight, and they took advantage of it in a lot of ways. It’s unfortunate, because I think we were right in it. Then we had some mental mistakes and those mental mistakes led to goals.”
The Eagles didn’t generate any offense in the second half until Deigo Negrete scored with 1:13 to go. It was small consolation.
“We came out first half doing good,” Lopez said. “Second half, I don’t know. We didn’t play our game.
“I know we could have won this game. It was just mistakes.”
Stapleton has watched his Mustangs commit their share of mistakes in the early going and he wasn’t pleased about conceding the last goal of the game. But he was happy with the all-around effort.
“I was pleased,” Stapleton said. “We had production in positive ways from all the guys.
“I thought we had good play from guys off the bench, too. It was a good first step, and maybe we’ll improve from here.’
Venouziou thinks that will be the case.
“This is a really good lift for our confidence, especially since it was a conference game,” he said. “This matters a lot more than the last three games.”
After an 0-3-0 start, things are starting to look up.
“We need that confidence,” Smazil said. “We saw what we could do out there, and we’re ready for the rest of the season.”
Starting lineups
Leyden
GK Kai Kopera
D Ariel Diaz
D Eduardo Zermeno
D Stefano Andrino
D Avi Flores
D Javier Alvarez
M Oscar Flores
M Oliver Salgado
M Pablo Mancha
F Chris Hernandez
F Javier Solis
Downers Grove South
GK Zach Johnson
D Max Paschall
D Matt Crowley
D Andrew Cimbalista
D Victor Carrasco
M Giovanni Torrijos
M Julian Lopez
M Nick Opacian
M Dardan Sylejmani
F Josh Venouziou
F Jerry Smazil
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Josh Venouziou, sr., F, Downers Grove South
Scoring summary
First half
Leyden – Oscar Flores 37:05 remaining
DGS – Josh Venouziou 24:30 remaining
Leyden – Flores 8:36 remaining
DGS – Dardan Sylejmani (Jorge Alcantara) 6:29 remaining
Second half
DGS – Jerry Smazil (Zach Johnson) 24:31 remaining
DGS – Venouziou 21:49 remaining
DGS – Alcantara (Smazil, Julian Lopez) 14:00 remaining
Leyden – Diego Negrete 1:13 remaining
4-straight goals after 2-1 deficit lead to 1st win of season
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – Leyden midfielder Oscar Lopez put on a free kick clinic.
Then Downers Grove South took Lopez and his teammates to school.
Lopez twice gave the visiting Eagles the lead by scoring on brilliant free kicks, but the hosts responded with a fusillade of goals to rally for a 5-3 victory Tuesday night in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division opener for both teams.
It was a welcome first win of the season for the Mustangs (1-3-0, 1-0-0) who came into the match having never held a lead. Josh Venouziou scored two goals for Downers Grove South. Dardan Sylejmani, Jerry Smazil and Jorge Alcantara each had one goal.
“Tonight, it was nice to find the back of the net as much as we did,” Downers South coach Jon Stapleton said. “We’ve been down in every game and tonight was no exception.
“(Lopez) hit two great free kicks, the first one in particular. Our kids responded.
“They haven’t necessarily come out on top, but I think the kids have always responded to the goals they’ve given up. Now we just need to work on not having to play from behind all the time.”
Lopez made the Mustangs play from behind twice, but each time they answered fairly quickly.
The senior, who had yet to score this season, tallied his first goal on the first shot of the game, ripping a 25-yard free kick off the hand of diving goalkeeper Zach Johnson and into the lower left corner of the net.
The goal came as no surprise to Leyden coach Mark Valintis.
“I think he’s always had that technical ability to place the ball, whether it’s passing or shooting,” Valintis said. “He’s really good with that. It’s God’s gift, I guess you could say.”
Dead balls are Lopez’s specialty.
“I’ve always liked to train on free kicks a lot,” Lopez said. “I train whenever I have free time. I go to a park and take some free kicks.”
The Mustangs nearly tied it with a free kick of their own six minutes later. Julian Lopez boomed a 45-yarder, his team’s first shot of the game, wide right.
Venouziou got the equalizer on Downers Grove South’s third shot. He stole the ball from a defender on the right wing and took off like a jackrabbit, converting the breakaway with 24:30 to go in the first half.
“I stole it from their last player,” Venouziou said. “I saw it was a bad touch, and I took advantage of the opportunity I saw.
“We need to push forward when we’re losing, because we’ve never actually started the game winning. Every time we get the ball, we have to have the mentality to go and score. That’s what we did today and we won.”
But not before Flores put on a show. Leyden (2-4-0, 0-1-0) was awarded a free kick in nearly the same spot as his first strike. This time, the Downers Grove South keeper cheated over to his right to cover the left post, only to see Flores unleash a 32-yard cracker that went over the wall and skipped inside the right post at the 8:36 mark.
Did Flores see Johnson move?
“I did,” he said. “The goalie left that side open a lot, so getting it over the wall wasn’t really trouble.”
“He was taking what the wall gives him,” Valintis said. “It was good.
“I know he was happy, and we got energized by it. We just didn’t have enough to make it stand out.”
Downers Grove South found itself in trouble again, but this time it took less time for them to get out of it.
Sylejmani scored off a feed from Alcantara just 2:06 later to tie things at 2-2, and that’s how the half ended.
The second half was all Mustangs, who scored three-consecutive goals, the first two on consecutive shots 1:42 apart, to put the game away.
Smazil gave his team its first lead of the season with 24:31 to go off an assist from Johnson, whose booming punt found the senior forward in stride just outside the Leyden box.
Smazil quickly beat a defender and slotted a shot under charging Leyden goalie Kai Kopera.
“I got to say, it bounced perfectly for me,” Smazil said. “I was just gone by that point.”
It was the third goal of the season for Smazil. Venouziou followed with his third goal, which turned out to be the game-winner, off another steal and lightning-fast attack.
“Josh is fast and strong, does a good job for us up-top,” Stapleton said. “Those are balls that earlier in the season, for whatever reason, we weren’t finishing, and today we found a way to do it.”
One reason might have been a change in tactics to a more offensive-oriented formation. The Mustangs went with three up front and the return of Smazil, who missed Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Oswego East and helped provide added oomph.
“Our coaches had to go back and redraw some of our positioning, so we changed our formation and really just our mentality as a team,” Smazil said. “We all came together.
“We were hungry for this win, so we put away our chances and did what we had to do.”
The change helped the Mustangs achieve what they couldn’t do before.
“The last few games we’ve been trying to score right away,” Venouziou said. “Today it happened and the result was different because we scored right away.”
While Lopez’s free kicks were without question the best shots of the game, Downers Grove South’s final goal was the best combination.
Lopez was the trigger with a 45-yard free kick sent to the edge of the six, where Smazil headed it across the crease to an unmarked Alcantara, who roofed a 5-yarder for a 5-2 lead with 14:00 left.
“Hats off to them, they played very well,” Valintis said. “They were in our face all night.
“We went up a goal three minutes in, and we literally gave them a breakaway, and they finished it. Went up again and credit to them, they came back with four goals to answer it, to take a big lead and essentially seal it.
“I think our youth showed tonight, and they took advantage of it in a lot of ways. It’s unfortunate, because I think we were right in it. Then we had some mental mistakes and those mental mistakes led to goals.”
The Eagles didn’t generate any offense in the second half until Deigo Negrete scored with 1:13 to go. It was small consolation.
“We came out first half doing good,” Lopez said. “Second half, I don’t know. We didn’t play our game.
“I know we could have won this game. It was just mistakes.”
Stapleton has watched his Mustangs commit their share of mistakes in the early going and he wasn’t pleased about conceding the last goal of the game. But he was happy with the all-around effort.
“I was pleased,” Stapleton said. “We had production in positive ways from all the guys.
“I thought we had good play from guys off the bench, too. It was a good first step, and maybe we’ll improve from here.’
Venouziou thinks that will be the case.
“This is a really good lift for our confidence, especially since it was a conference game,” he said. “This matters a lot more than the last three games.”
After an 0-3-0 start, things are starting to look up.
“We need that confidence,” Smazil said. “We saw what we could do out there, and we’re ready for the rest of the season.”
Starting lineups
Leyden
GK Kai Kopera
D Ariel Diaz
D Eduardo Zermeno
D Stefano Andrino
D Avi Flores
D Javier Alvarez
M Oscar Flores
M Oliver Salgado
M Pablo Mancha
F Chris Hernandez
F Javier Solis
Downers Grove South
GK Zach Johnson
D Max Paschall
D Matt Crowley
D Andrew Cimbalista
D Victor Carrasco
M Giovanni Torrijos
M Julian Lopez
M Nick Opacian
M Dardan Sylejmani
F Josh Venouziou
F Jerry Smazil
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Josh Venouziou, sr., F, Downers Grove South
Scoring summary
First half
Leyden – Oscar Flores 37:05 remaining
DGS – Josh Venouziou 24:30 remaining
Leyden – Flores 8:36 remaining
DGS – Dardan Sylejmani (Jorge Alcantara) 6:29 remaining
Second half
DGS – Jerry Smazil (Zach Johnson) 24:31 remaining
DGS – Venouziou 21:49 remaining
DGS – Alcantara (Smazil, Julian Lopez) 14:00 remaining
Leyden – Diego Negrete 1:13 remaining