York 'outdukes' shorthanded Leyden
Goal in 67th minute leads hosts to 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
ELMHURST -- Leyden put up a valiant fight, but its 10 men couldn't hold off York at bay any longer. The Dukes scored twice in the final 13 minutes to take a 2-0 decison Saturday afternoon.
The home side took the lead when Sam Musial connected with teammate Joe Meade, who cut inside from the right flank and lashed a first-time effort past keeper David Duwal, who had raced off his line to cut the angle on the fast arriving Meade in the 67th minute.
The goal dashed a valiant effort by the Eagles, who lost all-state candidate Eduardo Hernandez at 39 minutes when the referee sent off Leyden's leading scorer following a bit of a row with York senior John Milani, who required a short leave while an athletic trainer tended to him.
"It was disappointing to lose Eduardo that way; he has to control his emotions a little better," said Leyden manager Mark Valintis, whose club fell to 3-6-1. "But on the flipside, I cannot be more proud of the way we responded to losing our top guy (and) to still give York a hard fought 40-plus minutes right until the very end."
Tri-captain Duwal also approved of the effort.
"It would have been a fair result if it had ended at 0-0," he said. "Even with this loss, I saw a lot of effort and a great work rate from our guys, many are first-year varsity players who are just freshmen and sophomores.
"We had a heavily dominated senior team last year, so most of our roster is made up of (inexperienced) players. Today, for example, we started (maybe) four or five sophomores and one freshman. So to see us play hard for 80 minutes against a quality opponent was great to see."
The senior enjoyed a magnificent afternoon between the sticks, stopping several great looks on frame while commanding his box both in the air and on the floor. He also helped give his mates terrific field position with his booming punts and goal kicks.
"David makes it looks easy when he's kicking the ball," said Valintis.
"His leadership, and with the way he directs things from the back and an ability to make amazing, goal-saving stops, has really helped the young players in front of him."
For his efforts, Duwal was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
At times during the first quarter hour of West Suburban Conference cross-over, Leyden struggled to keep the match under control. Duwal and his backline mates defended with all their might while the Dukes, who entered the game as the number 11 team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, provided all of the attack with one-way traffic.
"We had a great start," said York manager Lukasz Majewski. "We came out, attacked, created chances, did just about everything but score. But after 20 minutes or so, our play fell off, and we never regained that energy we brought from the opening whistle.
"I know a handful of guys had ACT testing, which can give them plenty of mental stress, but for the entire team to fall off and never regain that nice flow is a little surprising."
Meade concurred with his coach.
"Maybe it was because it was a Saturday game, don't know. We really didn't have much of a warm-up, so I was surprised to see us come out so strong," said the goal-scoring hero for his club.
"We were really moving around and playing quick, fast soccer early on. But I guess it's a good sign that we still won without playing our best game."
It could have been 2-0 in the first 10 minutes if not for strong work by Duwal, who turned away efforts from Parker Gawne, who had way too much pace for the Eagles during this stretch.
Thrice, Duwal's mates in front of him parried dangerous situations out of the box: the first came from Tomas Senk; the next two from Dennis Arreaza.
Brimming with the confidence in the belief they would find a goal or two if they kept the pressure on, the Dukes poured forward with one player after another joining in the attack.
Gawne and Meade were the heart of the attack, while Jack Musial, Antonio Lepore and Ethan Oder followed suit from their spots in the Dukes midfield.
"We brought a lot of energy at the start and actually played a pretty good first half," said Dukes senior Josh Borzello. "Maybe if we scored a goal or two it would have been different. But our effort was there until the last 5-6 minutes of that half."
The fact that the aforementoned Hernandez (7 goals, 10 assists) had nary a touch in the first quarter showed proof of the Eagles inability to mount any kind of an attack. Much of this was due to the sticky defensive play of the Dukes stopper-sweeper deployment, led by sweeper Edwardo DelCarmen.
In addition, the Dukes constant time spent in the Eagles end forced Leyden's midfield to drop a little deeper to offset the numbers York sent into the area which made it nearly impossible for any type of build-up to occur.
"We had to work hard for quite a long while in that first half," said Valintis. "But I have to say, once we went a man down, we seemed to sort things out really well and didn't really (sit in) as a team
"We began to play with a little more composure and our backs were finding our guys in the middle. We started to get forward a little more and created some opportunities."
Still, Duwal was called into action to save the day. He made an impressive stop after a lovely one-two combination from Musial and Meade ended with Musial unleashing a strong attempt from the edge that Duwal turned around at the post.
Just before Hernandez was sent off, the senior brought Dukes keeper Kyle Johnson into the game for the first time when he slid a ball into the path of Alan Vazquez.
The sophomore, along with German Hernandez, both enjoyed fine second half efforts. That gave Valintis and assistant Jim Rossetti nice pace and creative play to help jumpstart the Leyden attack at times.
Things looked promising for York just after the break when Meade earned a corner at the onset. But after Oder flashed his serve through a box void of teammates, and Max Haruk cleared a cross in from Meade moments later, Majewski implored his men to play with more urgency, energy and to "please find feet.
"We really needed someone right then and there to make their statement or distinguish themselves upon the game in order to get us going, but it never really came," said Majewski.
With the Dukes marginally more offensive, despite enjoying the man advantage, the second half proved more cagey, with the visitors more reluctant to risk losing the numbers game should it send more forward.
York broke through when cut inside from the right flank and slid a ball into the path of Meade. The junior lashed a first-time effort past David Duwal.
The Dukes continued to threaten with two glorious opportunites. The best came when Meade tricked his way free and into the box only to have Duwal stop the 12-yard attempt magnificently.
The Leyden star could do nothing when Sam Musial, who gave Majewski quality minutes off the bench, gave Meade the picture-perfect helper on his way into the box.
Duwal's charge off the line did not shake the composed Meade, whose sublime finish went under the Eagles keeper.
"I got a great ball into the box," said a humble Meade.
With nothing to lose at this point, Valintis went with two up-top in a 3-4-2 formation to help the cause, and the new look nearly paid immediate dividends.
Carlos Duarte went close, as did Vazquez in chances created by German Hernandez.
From a free kick, Vazquez found the side netting during a frantic five-minute assault from the visitors, who kept the hosts from getting out of their area.
However, with the Eagles pushing everyone forward, and Duwal looking to collect anything in his box and quickly send it up the pitch. York's Paolo Favuzzi likely forced the Leyden keeper to take his eye off the ball when he smashed his low drive towards the back post.
"David was already thinking about catching and punting the ball back into (their) end. He basically was kicking the ball before he caught it, and their guy hit a nice ball off his hands and into the net -- a little bit of bad luck in the closing moments."
The 80th-minute goal put the icing on the cake for the Dukes, who will prepare for their Silver Division opener with Hinsdale Central on on Tuesday at home.
"A day away, then a good training session on Monday should clear their heads and get us ready for Central, who we cannot afford to play the way we did today," said Majewski.
For Valintis' men, next up will be a pair of nonconference matches, beginning with Bolingbrook on Tuesday at home, followed by a trip up to the North Shore and Highland Park next weekend.
"I told the boys that I was pleased and proud of their 80-minute effort today, and that in no way should we hang our heads despite the loss," said Valintis
"We continue to grow as a team, and we are moving forward in a positive way."
Starting lineups
Leyden (4-4-2)
G- David Duwal
D- Dennis Arreaza
D- Jesus Recendez
D- Tomas Senk
D- Max Haruk
M- Pablo Mancha
M- German Hernandez
M- Matt Espinoza
M- Gerardo Merino
F- Eduardo Hernandez
F- Alan Vazquez
York (4-4-2)
G- Kyle Johnson
D- Jacob Kresnicka
D- Edwardo DelCarmen
D- John Milani
D- Josh Borzello
M- Ethan Oder
M- Jack Musial
M- Paolo Favuzzi
M- Antonio Lepore
F- Parker Gawne
F- Joe Meade
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: David Duwal, sr., GK, Leyden
Referee: Zach Richter
Scoring Summary
First half
None
Second half
York: Meade (Sam Musial) 67'
York: Favuzzi (U/A) 80'
Goal in 67th minute leads hosts to 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
ELMHURST -- Leyden put up a valiant fight, but its 10 men couldn't hold off York at bay any longer. The Dukes scored twice in the final 13 minutes to take a 2-0 decison Saturday afternoon.
The home side took the lead when Sam Musial connected with teammate Joe Meade, who cut inside from the right flank and lashed a first-time effort past keeper David Duwal, who had raced off his line to cut the angle on the fast arriving Meade in the 67th minute.
The goal dashed a valiant effort by the Eagles, who lost all-state candidate Eduardo Hernandez at 39 minutes when the referee sent off Leyden's leading scorer following a bit of a row with York senior John Milani, who required a short leave while an athletic trainer tended to him.
"It was disappointing to lose Eduardo that way; he has to control his emotions a little better," said Leyden manager Mark Valintis, whose club fell to 3-6-1. "But on the flipside, I cannot be more proud of the way we responded to losing our top guy (and) to still give York a hard fought 40-plus minutes right until the very end."
Tri-captain Duwal also approved of the effort.
"It would have been a fair result if it had ended at 0-0," he said. "Even with this loss, I saw a lot of effort and a great work rate from our guys, many are first-year varsity players who are just freshmen and sophomores.
"We had a heavily dominated senior team last year, so most of our roster is made up of (inexperienced) players. Today, for example, we started (maybe) four or five sophomores and one freshman. So to see us play hard for 80 minutes against a quality opponent was great to see."
The senior enjoyed a magnificent afternoon between the sticks, stopping several great looks on frame while commanding his box both in the air and on the floor. He also helped give his mates terrific field position with his booming punts and goal kicks.
"David makes it looks easy when he's kicking the ball," said Valintis.
"His leadership, and with the way he directs things from the back and an ability to make amazing, goal-saving stops, has really helped the young players in front of him."
For his efforts, Duwal was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
At times during the first quarter hour of West Suburban Conference cross-over, Leyden struggled to keep the match under control. Duwal and his backline mates defended with all their might while the Dukes, who entered the game as the number 11 team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, provided all of the attack with one-way traffic.
"We had a great start," said York manager Lukasz Majewski. "We came out, attacked, created chances, did just about everything but score. But after 20 minutes or so, our play fell off, and we never regained that energy we brought from the opening whistle.
"I know a handful of guys had ACT testing, which can give them plenty of mental stress, but for the entire team to fall off and never regain that nice flow is a little surprising."
Meade concurred with his coach.
"Maybe it was because it was a Saturday game, don't know. We really didn't have much of a warm-up, so I was surprised to see us come out so strong," said the goal-scoring hero for his club.
"We were really moving around and playing quick, fast soccer early on. But I guess it's a good sign that we still won without playing our best game."
It could have been 2-0 in the first 10 minutes if not for strong work by Duwal, who turned away efforts from Parker Gawne, who had way too much pace for the Eagles during this stretch.
Thrice, Duwal's mates in front of him parried dangerous situations out of the box: the first came from Tomas Senk; the next two from Dennis Arreaza.
Brimming with the confidence in the belief they would find a goal or two if they kept the pressure on, the Dukes poured forward with one player after another joining in the attack.
Gawne and Meade were the heart of the attack, while Jack Musial, Antonio Lepore and Ethan Oder followed suit from their spots in the Dukes midfield.
"We brought a lot of energy at the start and actually played a pretty good first half," said Dukes senior Josh Borzello. "Maybe if we scored a goal or two it would have been different. But our effort was there until the last 5-6 minutes of that half."
The fact that the aforementoned Hernandez (7 goals, 10 assists) had nary a touch in the first quarter showed proof of the Eagles inability to mount any kind of an attack. Much of this was due to the sticky defensive play of the Dukes stopper-sweeper deployment, led by sweeper Edwardo DelCarmen.
In addition, the Dukes constant time spent in the Eagles end forced Leyden's midfield to drop a little deeper to offset the numbers York sent into the area which made it nearly impossible for any type of build-up to occur.
"We had to work hard for quite a long while in that first half," said Valintis. "But I have to say, once we went a man down, we seemed to sort things out really well and didn't really (sit in) as a team
"We began to play with a little more composure and our backs were finding our guys in the middle. We started to get forward a little more and created some opportunities."
Still, Duwal was called into action to save the day. He made an impressive stop after a lovely one-two combination from Musial and Meade ended with Musial unleashing a strong attempt from the edge that Duwal turned around at the post.
Just before Hernandez was sent off, the senior brought Dukes keeper Kyle Johnson into the game for the first time when he slid a ball into the path of Alan Vazquez.
The sophomore, along with German Hernandez, both enjoyed fine second half efforts. That gave Valintis and assistant Jim Rossetti nice pace and creative play to help jumpstart the Leyden attack at times.
Things looked promising for York just after the break when Meade earned a corner at the onset. But after Oder flashed his serve through a box void of teammates, and Max Haruk cleared a cross in from Meade moments later, Majewski implored his men to play with more urgency, energy and to "please find feet.
"We really needed someone right then and there to make their statement or distinguish themselves upon the game in order to get us going, but it never really came," said Majewski.
With the Dukes marginally more offensive, despite enjoying the man advantage, the second half proved more cagey, with the visitors more reluctant to risk losing the numbers game should it send more forward.
York broke through when cut inside from the right flank and slid a ball into the path of Meade. The junior lashed a first-time effort past David Duwal.
The Dukes continued to threaten with two glorious opportunites. The best came when Meade tricked his way free and into the box only to have Duwal stop the 12-yard attempt magnificently.
The Leyden star could do nothing when Sam Musial, who gave Majewski quality minutes off the bench, gave Meade the picture-perfect helper on his way into the box.
Duwal's charge off the line did not shake the composed Meade, whose sublime finish went under the Eagles keeper.
"I got a great ball into the box," said a humble Meade.
With nothing to lose at this point, Valintis went with two up-top in a 3-4-2 formation to help the cause, and the new look nearly paid immediate dividends.
Carlos Duarte went close, as did Vazquez in chances created by German Hernandez.
From a free kick, Vazquez found the side netting during a frantic five-minute assault from the visitors, who kept the hosts from getting out of their area.
However, with the Eagles pushing everyone forward, and Duwal looking to collect anything in his box and quickly send it up the pitch. York's Paolo Favuzzi likely forced the Leyden keeper to take his eye off the ball when he smashed his low drive towards the back post.
"David was already thinking about catching and punting the ball back into (their) end. He basically was kicking the ball before he caught it, and their guy hit a nice ball off his hands and into the net -- a little bit of bad luck in the closing moments."
The 80th-minute goal put the icing on the cake for the Dukes, who will prepare for their Silver Division opener with Hinsdale Central on on Tuesday at home.
"A day away, then a good training session on Monday should clear their heads and get us ready for Central, who we cannot afford to play the way we did today," said Majewski.
For Valintis' men, next up will be a pair of nonconference matches, beginning with Bolingbrook on Tuesday at home, followed by a trip up to the North Shore and Highland Park next weekend.
"I told the boys that I was pleased and proud of their 80-minute effort today, and that in no way should we hang our heads despite the loss," said Valintis
"We continue to grow as a team, and we are moving forward in a positive way."
Starting lineups
Leyden (4-4-2)
G- David Duwal
D- Dennis Arreaza
D- Jesus Recendez
D- Tomas Senk
D- Max Haruk
M- Pablo Mancha
M- German Hernandez
M- Matt Espinoza
M- Gerardo Merino
F- Eduardo Hernandez
F- Alan Vazquez
York (4-4-2)
G- Kyle Johnson
D- Jacob Kresnicka
D- Edwardo DelCarmen
D- John Milani
D- Josh Borzello
M- Ethan Oder
M- Jack Musial
M- Paolo Favuzzi
M- Antonio Lepore
F- Parker Gawne
F- Joe Meade
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: David Duwal, sr., GK, Leyden
Referee: Zach Richter
Scoring Summary
First half
None
Second half
York: Meade (Sam Musial) 67'
York: Favuzzi (U/A) 80'