Leyden’s 1st half too much for Willowbrook
4-goal burst, Vazquez hat-trick take W. Suburban Gold opener
By Gary Larsen
NORTHLAKE — Intensity is arguably the chief quality coveted by soccer teams but confidence might finish a close second. And after a three-game losing streak, Leyden was seeking some of the latter against visiting Willowbrook on Tuesday night.
“We needed something,” Leyden coach Mark Valintis said, “and our first half was very good.”
A 4-0 Leyden lead through 40 minutes was built on solid midfield play that spearheaded multiple scoring chances. The Eagles only scored one goal in their previous two games, so burying four by halftime was a medicine successfully prescribed.
Willowbrook (1-3-1, 0-1-0) fought back with two goals in the second half but Leyden (2-3-1, 1-0-0) matched that in a 6-2 win in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division opener for both teams.
“We took advantage and we scored a lot of goals,” Leyden midfielder Pablo Mancha said. “We were moving and communicating more in the first half. I think we’ll keep growing as a team. We just have to keep playing hard, no matter what.”
Meanwhile, Willowbrook boarded the bus back to Villa Park with a solid second half effort under its belt.
“Hopefully the second half will help carry us into our next game in building our confidence up,” Willowbrook midfielder Kevin Kapica said.
One player flying high with confidence on Tuesday was Leyden’s Alan Vazquez. The junior forward finished with a hat-trick after a goal in the first half and both Leyden tallies in the second. Afterward, he was just glad to see his side find its groove.
“We lost to some very good teams in our last three games but we bounced back, with a win today,” Vazquez said. “I’m happy with that. We communicated more on the field and worked together.”
Leyden struck first at 17 minutes. Alan Jacinto served a ball from the left side to the far post where Dylan Santamaria knocked in a header. It was 2-0 at 20 minutes when Chris Hernandez notched a head shot goal off a Vazquez feed.
Leyden keeper Kai Kopera kept the slate clean with a fine diving stop to his right on a penalty kick from Willowbrook’s Eric Hoda at 25 minutes.
Vazquez made it 3-0 at 31 minutes, intercepting a clearing pass and firing from 20 yards. Leyden’s final goal of the half came on a Mancha penalty kick at 38 minutes.
“We had good spacing, good ball movement, quick touches, and we played the way we wanted to play,” Valintis said. “I was happy to see that and happy to see us get four (goals) in the first half.”
The Leyden attack barely allowed Willowbrook to breathe, courtesy of a convocation of Eagles in the middle of the park.
“I thought for the majority of the night our midfield controlled the game — Alan Jacinto, Matt Espinoza, Pablo Mancha, Ozzie Pacheco, and Carlos Duarte,” Valintis said. “All of those guys did a good job not only defending and winning balls but counterattacking and creating a lot of opportunities for our forwards.”
With his side chasing four goals, Willowbrook coach Dan Riskind preached patience at halftime.
“We talked about knocking the ball around. We were playing way too rushed,” Riskind said. “We practice pattern play, and I said ‘Let’s connect four passes’ and that was the difference in the second half. And their attitude at halftime was ‘Let’s just focus on the next half’.”
Willowbrook forward Dorian Mahome streaked into the box on the right side on the dribble with a defender on his hip and earned a corner-kick deflection at 47 minutes. The Warriors’ Devin Guallpa buried a header three minutes later to make the score 4-1.
Willowbrook’s Norman Deci made it 4-2 at 67 minutes, elevating near the goalmouth and spinning in the air to flick a header inside the post.
“Certain players like Dorian Mahome gave us confidence in the second half and I tried to give more confidence to other players to boost the team up,” Kapica said. “We wanted the ball more in the second half, first balls and second balls, and little things made that happen.”
Not to be lost in the game’s final analysis was the goalkeeping of Willowbrook sophomore Riley Johnson. Johnson made a few solid saves in the first half and then varied his saves and stops between the exceptional and the spectacular in the second half.
Johnson dove to stop a Jacinto shot at 59 minutes and dove to stop a Jakub Dabek free kick at 66 minutes. Johnson made another sprawling save on a shot by Eriberto Banderas at 69 minutes.
Johnson only recently returned from injury, but he was in fine form against Leyden.
“He’s an amazing goalkeeper,” Kapica said. “I’ve always had confidence in him. He’s consistent with how he plays, and I’m not surprised by the way he played tonight.”
Leyden went up 5-2 at 75 minutes when Mancha blistered a shot from distance that Johnson made a quality initial stop on, but Vazquez was there to bury the rebound.
Vazquez took a feed from Matt Espinoza at 78 minutes and busted into the Warriors box on the left side, finishing the day’s scoring from close range.
Vazquez scored three goals in a game last season. He scored Tuesday in a variety of ways; on an intercepted clearing attempt, a follow-up of a rebound and finally a good run into the box.
But Valintis wants his skilled junior striker to aim even higher.
“He scores goals, he does,” Valintis said. “But he left a few on the field tonight, and he knows that. He could have had two or three more chances in the first half, but he was offsides.
“All of our guys need to focus a little more and that’s something we’ll work on in practice and as a coaching staff, what we’ll try to preach to them. We need to mature a little bit in terms of being aware of our surroundings.”
Valintis was happy to see Hernandez and Mancha score their first goals of the year “and we saw some things come to fruition tonight, and it was at least a step in the right direction,” Valintis said.
Riskind liked what his side brought to the field in the second half and spread credit to every third of the field.
“Our center back Brian (Fuentes) really controlled the game in the second half and our midfielders Kevin (Kapica) and Devin (Guallpa) — it starts with them,” Riskind said. “Our forward, Norm (Deci) also had great energy today.
“I think they’re learning to be a team, and they’re willing to work. We just continue to count each moment. It’s a work-in-progress.”
Starting lineups
Willowbrook
GK: Riley Johnson
D: Cole Tucibat
D: Brian Fuentes
D: Kalep Martinez
M: Devin Guallpa
M: Alejandro Perez
M: Kevin Kapica
M: Alex Kuban
M: Francisco Perez
F: Dorian Mahone
F: Norman Deci
Leyden
GK: Kai Kopera
D: Edgar Orozco
D: Jesus Recendez
D: Kristian Martinez
M: Carlos Duarte
M: Pablo Mancha
M: Alan Jacinto
M: Matt Espinoza
M: Ozzie Pacheco
F: Alan Vazquez
F: Jakub Dabek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alan Vazquez, jr., F, Leyden
Scoring summary
First half
Leyden — Santamaria (Jacinto) 17th minute
Leyden — Hernandez (Vasquez) 20th minute
Leyden — Vasquez (UA) 31st minute
Leyden — Mancha (PK) 38th minute
Second half
Willowbrook — Devin Guallpa 50th minute
Willowbrook — Deci 66th minute
Leyden — Vasquez (Mancha) 75th minute
Leyden — Vasquez (Espinoza) 78th minute
4-goal burst, Vazquez hat-trick take W. Suburban Gold opener
By Gary Larsen
NORTHLAKE — Intensity is arguably the chief quality coveted by soccer teams but confidence might finish a close second. And after a three-game losing streak, Leyden was seeking some of the latter against visiting Willowbrook on Tuesday night.
“We needed something,” Leyden coach Mark Valintis said, “and our first half was very good.”
A 4-0 Leyden lead through 40 minutes was built on solid midfield play that spearheaded multiple scoring chances. The Eagles only scored one goal in their previous two games, so burying four by halftime was a medicine successfully prescribed.
Willowbrook (1-3-1, 0-1-0) fought back with two goals in the second half but Leyden (2-3-1, 1-0-0) matched that in a 6-2 win in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division opener for both teams.
“We took advantage and we scored a lot of goals,” Leyden midfielder Pablo Mancha said. “We were moving and communicating more in the first half. I think we’ll keep growing as a team. We just have to keep playing hard, no matter what.”
Meanwhile, Willowbrook boarded the bus back to Villa Park with a solid second half effort under its belt.
“Hopefully the second half will help carry us into our next game in building our confidence up,” Willowbrook midfielder Kevin Kapica said.
One player flying high with confidence on Tuesday was Leyden’s Alan Vazquez. The junior forward finished with a hat-trick after a goal in the first half and both Leyden tallies in the second. Afterward, he was just glad to see his side find its groove.
“We lost to some very good teams in our last three games but we bounced back, with a win today,” Vazquez said. “I’m happy with that. We communicated more on the field and worked together.”
Leyden struck first at 17 minutes. Alan Jacinto served a ball from the left side to the far post where Dylan Santamaria knocked in a header. It was 2-0 at 20 minutes when Chris Hernandez notched a head shot goal off a Vazquez feed.
Leyden keeper Kai Kopera kept the slate clean with a fine diving stop to his right on a penalty kick from Willowbrook’s Eric Hoda at 25 minutes.
Vazquez made it 3-0 at 31 minutes, intercepting a clearing pass and firing from 20 yards. Leyden’s final goal of the half came on a Mancha penalty kick at 38 minutes.
“We had good spacing, good ball movement, quick touches, and we played the way we wanted to play,” Valintis said. “I was happy to see that and happy to see us get four (goals) in the first half.”
The Leyden attack barely allowed Willowbrook to breathe, courtesy of a convocation of Eagles in the middle of the park.
“I thought for the majority of the night our midfield controlled the game — Alan Jacinto, Matt Espinoza, Pablo Mancha, Ozzie Pacheco, and Carlos Duarte,” Valintis said. “All of those guys did a good job not only defending and winning balls but counterattacking and creating a lot of opportunities for our forwards.”
With his side chasing four goals, Willowbrook coach Dan Riskind preached patience at halftime.
“We talked about knocking the ball around. We were playing way too rushed,” Riskind said. “We practice pattern play, and I said ‘Let’s connect four passes’ and that was the difference in the second half. And their attitude at halftime was ‘Let’s just focus on the next half’.”
Willowbrook forward Dorian Mahome streaked into the box on the right side on the dribble with a defender on his hip and earned a corner-kick deflection at 47 minutes. The Warriors’ Devin Guallpa buried a header three minutes later to make the score 4-1.
Willowbrook’s Norman Deci made it 4-2 at 67 minutes, elevating near the goalmouth and spinning in the air to flick a header inside the post.
“Certain players like Dorian Mahome gave us confidence in the second half and I tried to give more confidence to other players to boost the team up,” Kapica said. “We wanted the ball more in the second half, first balls and second balls, and little things made that happen.”
Not to be lost in the game’s final analysis was the goalkeeping of Willowbrook sophomore Riley Johnson. Johnson made a few solid saves in the first half and then varied his saves and stops between the exceptional and the spectacular in the second half.
Johnson dove to stop a Jacinto shot at 59 minutes and dove to stop a Jakub Dabek free kick at 66 minutes. Johnson made another sprawling save on a shot by Eriberto Banderas at 69 minutes.
Johnson only recently returned from injury, but he was in fine form against Leyden.
“He’s an amazing goalkeeper,” Kapica said. “I’ve always had confidence in him. He’s consistent with how he plays, and I’m not surprised by the way he played tonight.”
Leyden went up 5-2 at 75 minutes when Mancha blistered a shot from distance that Johnson made a quality initial stop on, but Vazquez was there to bury the rebound.
Vazquez took a feed from Matt Espinoza at 78 minutes and busted into the Warriors box on the left side, finishing the day’s scoring from close range.
Vazquez scored three goals in a game last season. He scored Tuesday in a variety of ways; on an intercepted clearing attempt, a follow-up of a rebound and finally a good run into the box.
But Valintis wants his skilled junior striker to aim even higher.
“He scores goals, he does,” Valintis said. “But he left a few on the field tonight, and he knows that. He could have had two or three more chances in the first half, but he was offsides.
“All of our guys need to focus a little more and that’s something we’ll work on in practice and as a coaching staff, what we’ll try to preach to them. We need to mature a little bit in terms of being aware of our surroundings.”
Valintis was happy to see Hernandez and Mancha score their first goals of the year “and we saw some things come to fruition tonight, and it was at least a step in the right direction,” Valintis said.
Riskind liked what his side brought to the field in the second half and spread credit to every third of the field.
“Our center back Brian (Fuentes) really controlled the game in the second half and our midfielders Kevin (Kapica) and Devin (Guallpa) — it starts with them,” Riskind said. “Our forward, Norm (Deci) also had great energy today.
“I think they’re learning to be a team, and they’re willing to work. We just continue to count each moment. It’s a work-in-progress.”
Starting lineups
Willowbrook
GK: Riley Johnson
D: Cole Tucibat
D: Brian Fuentes
D: Kalep Martinez
M: Devin Guallpa
M: Alejandro Perez
M: Kevin Kapica
M: Alex Kuban
M: Francisco Perez
F: Dorian Mahone
F: Norman Deci
Leyden
GK: Kai Kopera
D: Edgar Orozco
D: Jesus Recendez
D: Kristian Martinez
M: Carlos Duarte
M: Pablo Mancha
M: Alan Jacinto
M: Matt Espinoza
M: Ozzie Pacheco
F: Alan Vazquez
F: Jakub Dabek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alan Vazquez, jr., F, Leyden
Scoring summary
First half
Leyden — Santamaria (Jacinto) 17th minute
Leyden — Hernandez (Vasquez) 20th minute
Leyden — Vasquez (UA) 31st minute
Leyden — Mancha (PK) 38th minute
Second half
Willowbrook — Devin Guallpa 50th minute
Willowbrook — Deci 66th minute
Leyden — Vasquez (Mancha) 75th minute
Leyden — Vasquez (Espinoza) 78th minute