York out-dukes Leyden
Hosts control play, soph Herrera bags brace in 2-1 victory
By Mike Garofola
ELMHURST -- The final tune-up for Leyden in advance of its conference-deciding season finale with longtime rival Morton did not go as planned Tuesday night.
Jose Herrera's magnificent double, near air-tight play in its own led by Chase McNeill and an outstanding effort from Yok coach Jordan Stopkas' entire roster helped the Dukes earn a well-deserved 2-1 nonconference home victory.
"Leyden is a very good team. I feel like we played our best 80 minutes of soccer against Morton (in a 2-2 tie March 16)," said Herrera, who was moved out on the wing in place of the Dukes leading scorer Kevin Gliatis, who is injured and did not dress for this contest.
"We gave a good effort, but yes, we played our best game of the season against Morton," McNeill added.
"I have to agree with Jose and Chase," began Stopka. "Our overall play against Morton was better than tonight. We stuck to our game plan with Morton. It was too bad we didn't come away with a win, but we were pushing right up until the final whistle (looking) for the game-winner."
Leyden (7-3-0), ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, hoped to erase the memory a 3-1 defeat to Downers Grove North on April 8, but it was apparent from the opening whistle that Mark Valintis' club might stuggle.
"We were not very good in the first half, especially that first 30 minutes," said the Eagles manager. "Much of the credit for that goes to York, who came out strong, but some of that was on us. We looked and played a little sluggish, had trouble with our possession and just holding onto the ball."
In that opening half hour, the Dukes had to feel aggrieved about their inability to finish a handful of chances.
"We missed some great chances," admitted McNeill, "Chances that can come back and cost you the game."
A lack of communication fom the Eagles end allowed Sam Musial to intercept a poorly played ball back to keeper Isael Marin. If not for a strong, albeit, almost late tackle from Krystian Martinez, the Dukes junior would have been in position to strike five minutes into the match.
Marin turned away a point-blank effort from Yael Silvestri moments later, saved another attempt from in-close by Herrera and thanked the assistant referee for raising his flag when McNeill and Musial sent Herrera through at 11 minutes.
"(Honestly) we were fortunate to come out of that first half chasing just one goal," admitted Valintis.
The visitors would continue to be blown away by the attacking vigor put forth by a Dukes club that played quickly and used width and depth. It built up to the Herrera opener in the 17th minute.
That's when Ryan Woolfe, who was just brought on, dropped off an inch-perfect left-footed ball to Herrera on the tail of his center-channel run.
Herrera's silky one-timer finish beat Marin, who had no chance from close range.
"Just a great ball from Woolfy on my first goal," smiled the sophomore Herrera.
The Dukes 4-3-3 formation matched the same look the Eagles used, but the look and response from the home side was so much sharper and constructive.
"We've basically been in a 4-3-3 all season long with a variation here and there along the way," offered McNeill, who plans to enter pharmacy School either at Butler University or the University of Florida in the fall. "Tonight we neutralized their attack by shutting down the passing lanes, winning balls in the midfield and taking away what they like to do best."
Leyden's Marin continued to do his best to keep the Eagles in the game. He saved a 20-yard attempt from Joe Hernandez after Dukes Brendan Haran and Musial helped him get free at 27 minutes.
The Eagles keeper took a hard hit on a 50-50 challenge with Herrera but bounced back off the floor to see a wonderful crossfield serve from Arlind Methoxha to Haran result in a foul and free kick but no more.
The Dukes midfield did well to force theor visitors to play more negative than they would like during the opening period. Whenevef the Eagles were able to breach York's final third up stepped its 6-foor-3 central defender Timur Turkoglu to tackle any potential dange before it reached keeper Ricardo Torres.
"We did not play well at all in the first half. (Their) midfield controled things really well, forced us into bad passes and just took us out of the game," said Eagles senior Alan Jacinto.
The Dukes double their advantage after making something out of nothing. It began with McNeill, who won the ball in the center of the park. Moving to his left he released Herrera up the left side with a piercing ball
Once taking the ball under control, it was all Herrera. With a burst of speed he turned the corner and forced Marin far off his line with the hope of cutting the angle.
Herrera was not fooled. With a sublime touch he chipped the Leyden keeper to make it 2-0 in the 47th minute.
To Leyden's credit, they did not fold and go away despite chasing two goals.
The visitors began to swing the pendulum in their favor thanks in part to Alan Jacinto, Ozzie Pacheco, Alan Vazquez, Pablo Mancha and Javier Solis, who brought their attack back to life for the last 20 minutes.
Pacheco's nifty side half-volley was saved by Ricardo Torres before Jesus Recendez connected with Mancha who went wide in the 63rd minute.
"Pablo really made a difference when we dropped him back into the middle," said Valintis. "He and Jacinto really worked well together on both sides of the ball. Pablo became the catalyst for us in the last half of the second half.
"In addition, both Solis and Vazquez formed a nice partnership up-top, but the York defense in the second half was really strong when they needed to be."
Mancha was sent through in the 67th minute which resulted in the junior being fouled inside the box.
His spot-kick was bravely saved by Torres, but the rebound spilled freely to Mancha who steered in the only Eagles goal of the night.
"The backline did well to keep them off the board until the last five minutes,"Stopka said. "I really wish we could have kept the clean-sheet. I was the organization of our defense that helped us get this win.
"It was a good overall effort from the guys. Ricky Torres has his best game of the year. When he is on top of his game, he is a phenomenal keeper.
I remember from tryouts a player saying during our finishing drills 'Has anyone put one past Ricky?' He was on that level tonight."
For Valintis and Jacinto, the attention must turn sharply towards Morton.
This high-profile rivalry has produced several memorable battles for the top spot in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division, but Morton has over the past decade.
The last time any club in the divison defeated the Mustangs came in 2011 when Valintis' squad celebrated a 2-1 victory to claim the lone trophy from any league side other than Morton.
Morton has run the table with perfect 6-0-0 records ever since.
"None of us were looking past York tonight," said Jacinto. "I know that for sure; (we) just didn't play our best soccer. But I know we'll ready on Thursday."
"The style in which York played tonight, particularly in their attack, caused us some confusion in our end," said Valintis. "They moved the ball extremely well and were very smart with their runs to create open space, and numerical advantages.
"We're a little banged up, so we gave extra minutes to guys we may need to count on against Morton. But again, we'll have to play better on Thursday if we expect to compete."
FIRST 11
Leyden
(4-3-3)
G- Isael Marin
D- Edgar Orozco
D- Krystian Martinez
D- Matt Espinoza
D- Jesus Recendez
M- Javier Solis
M- Alan Jacinto
M- Ozzie Pacheo
F- Cris Hernandez
F- Pablo Mancha
F- Alan Vazquez
York
(4-3-3)
G- Ricardo Torres
D- Anthony Flores
D- Timur Turkoglu
D- Connor Bare
D- Brendan Haran
M- Sam Musial
M- Chase McNeill
M- Joe Hernandez
F- Yael Silvestre
F- Erik Barishman
F- Jose Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer co/Players of the Game
Jose Herrera (York, So, F)
Chase McNeill (York, Sr, MF)
Officials
John Mandelein (referee)
Al Robertson (assistant)
Don Robertson (assistant)
Scoring
York
Herrera (Woolfe) 17'
Herrera (McNeill) 47'
Leyden
Mancha (PK) 77'
Hosts control play, soph Herrera bags brace in 2-1 victory
By Mike Garofola
ELMHURST -- The final tune-up for Leyden in advance of its conference-deciding season finale with longtime rival Morton did not go as planned Tuesday night.
Jose Herrera's magnificent double, near air-tight play in its own led by Chase McNeill and an outstanding effort from Yok coach Jordan Stopkas' entire roster helped the Dukes earn a well-deserved 2-1 nonconference home victory.
"Leyden is a very good team. I feel like we played our best 80 minutes of soccer against Morton (in a 2-2 tie March 16)," said Herrera, who was moved out on the wing in place of the Dukes leading scorer Kevin Gliatis, who is injured and did not dress for this contest.
"We gave a good effort, but yes, we played our best game of the season against Morton," McNeill added.
"I have to agree with Jose and Chase," began Stopka. "Our overall play against Morton was better than tonight. We stuck to our game plan with Morton. It was too bad we didn't come away with a win, but we were pushing right up until the final whistle (looking) for the game-winner."
Leyden (7-3-0), ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, hoped to erase the memory a 3-1 defeat to Downers Grove North on April 8, but it was apparent from the opening whistle that Mark Valintis' club might stuggle.
"We were not very good in the first half, especially that first 30 minutes," said the Eagles manager. "Much of the credit for that goes to York, who came out strong, but some of that was on us. We looked and played a little sluggish, had trouble with our possession and just holding onto the ball."
In that opening half hour, the Dukes had to feel aggrieved about their inability to finish a handful of chances.
"We missed some great chances," admitted McNeill, "Chances that can come back and cost you the game."
A lack of communication fom the Eagles end allowed Sam Musial to intercept a poorly played ball back to keeper Isael Marin. If not for a strong, albeit, almost late tackle from Krystian Martinez, the Dukes junior would have been in position to strike five minutes into the match.
Marin turned away a point-blank effort from Yael Silvestri moments later, saved another attempt from in-close by Herrera and thanked the assistant referee for raising his flag when McNeill and Musial sent Herrera through at 11 minutes.
"(Honestly) we were fortunate to come out of that first half chasing just one goal," admitted Valintis.
The visitors would continue to be blown away by the attacking vigor put forth by a Dukes club that played quickly and used width and depth. It built up to the Herrera opener in the 17th minute.
That's when Ryan Woolfe, who was just brought on, dropped off an inch-perfect left-footed ball to Herrera on the tail of his center-channel run.
Herrera's silky one-timer finish beat Marin, who had no chance from close range.
"Just a great ball from Woolfy on my first goal," smiled the sophomore Herrera.
The Dukes 4-3-3 formation matched the same look the Eagles used, but the look and response from the home side was so much sharper and constructive.
"We've basically been in a 4-3-3 all season long with a variation here and there along the way," offered McNeill, who plans to enter pharmacy School either at Butler University or the University of Florida in the fall. "Tonight we neutralized their attack by shutting down the passing lanes, winning balls in the midfield and taking away what they like to do best."
Leyden's Marin continued to do his best to keep the Eagles in the game. He saved a 20-yard attempt from Joe Hernandez after Dukes Brendan Haran and Musial helped him get free at 27 minutes.
The Eagles keeper took a hard hit on a 50-50 challenge with Herrera but bounced back off the floor to see a wonderful crossfield serve from Arlind Methoxha to Haran result in a foul and free kick but no more.
The Dukes midfield did well to force theor visitors to play more negative than they would like during the opening period. Whenevef the Eagles were able to breach York's final third up stepped its 6-foor-3 central defender Timur Turkoglu to tackle any potential dange before it reached keeper Ricardo Torres.
"We did not play well at all in the first half. (Their) midfield controled things really well, forced us into bad passes and just took us out of the game," said Eagles senior Alan Jacinto.
The Dukes double their advantage after making something out of nothing. It began with McNeill, who won the ball in the center of the park. Moving to his left he released Herrera up the left side with a piercing ball
Once taking the ball under control, it was all Herrera. With a burst of speed he turned the corner and forced Marin far off his line with the hope of cutting the angle.
Herrera was not fooled. With a sublime touch he chipped the Leyden keeper to make it 2-0 in the 47th minute.
To Leyden's credit, they did not fold and go away despite chasing two goals.
The visitors began to swing the pendulum in their favor thanks in part to Alan Jacinto, Ozzie Pacheco, Alan Vazquez, Pablo Mancha and Javier Solis, who brought their attack back to life for the last 20 minutes.
Pacheco's nifty side half-volley was saved by Ricardo Torres before Jesus Recendez connected with Mancha who went wide in the 63rd minute.
"Pablo really made a difference when we dropped him back into the middle," said Valintis. "He and Jacinto really worked well together on both sides of the ball. Pablo became the catalyst for us in the last half of the second half.
"In addition, both Solis and Vazquez formed a nice partnership up-top, but the York defense in the second half was really strong when they needed to be."
Mancha was sent through in the 67th minute which resulted in the junior being fouled inside the box.
His spot-kick was bravely saved by Torres, but the rebound spilled freely to Mancha who steered in the only Eagles goal of the night.
"The backline did well to keep them off the board until the last five minutes,"Stopka said. "I really wish we could have kept the clean-sheet. I was the organization of our defense that helped us get this win.
"It was a good overall effort from the guys. Ricky Torres has his best game of the year. When he is on top of his game, he is a phenomenal keeper.
I remember from tryouts a player saying during our finishing drills 'Has anyone put one past Ricky?' He was on that level tonight."
For Valintis and Jacinto, the attention must turn sharply towards Morton.
This high-profile rivalry has produced several memorable battles for the top spot in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division, but Morton has over the past decade.
The last time any club in the divison defeated the Mustangs came in 2011 when Valintis' squad celebrated a 2-1 victory to claim the lone trophy from any league side other than Morton.
Morton has run the table with perfect 6-0-0 records ever since.
"None of us were looking past York tonight," said Jacinto. "I know that for sure; (we) just didn't play our best soccer. But I know we'll ready on Thursday."
"The style in which York played tonight, particularly in their attack, caused us some confusion in our end," said Valintis. "They moved the ball extremely well and were very smart with their runs to create open space, and numerical advantages.
"We're a little banged up, so we gave extra minutes to guys we may need to count on against Morton. But again, we'll have to play better on Thursday if we expect to compete."
FIRST 11
Leyden
(4-3-3)
G- Isael Marin
D- Edgar Orozco
D- Krystian Martinez
D- Matt Espinoza
D- Jesus Recendez
M- Javier Solis
M- Alan Jacinto
M- Ozzie Pacheo
F- Cris Hernandez
F- Pablo Mancha
F- Alan Vazquez
York
(4-3-3)
G- Ricardo Torres
D- Anthony Flores
D- Timur Turkoglu
D- Connor Bare
D- Brendan Haran
M- Sam Musial
M- Chase McNeill
M- Joe Hernandez
F- Yael Silvestre
F- Erik Barishman
F- Jose Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer co/Players of the Game
Jose Herrera (York, So, F)
Chase McNeill (York, Sr, MF)
Officials
John Mandelein (referee)
Al Robertson (assistant)
Don Robertson (assistant)
Scoring
York
Herrera (Woolfe) 17'
Herrera (McNeill) 47'
Leyden
Mancha (PK) 77'