Seeds mean little to Leyden, Von Steuben
Eagles ready for a regional tilt vs. quality Panthers' team
By Gary Larsen
When host Leyden and Von Steuben square off in a Class 3A regional semifinal Tuesday, two teams with similar styles and two coaches with similar views of the postseason will take the field at 4:30 p.m. in Northlake.
Both teams feature quick, skilled attacking players and tough defenders, and both coaches don’t lend much credence to the fact that Leyden is the fourth seed and Von Steuben is the 13th seed in the New Trier Sectional.
“If we play the way everyone is capable of, we believe that we should be successful,” Leyden coach Mark Valintis said. “But they’re saying the same thing over there at Von Steuben. They played good competition in the city and got good results so I expect a tough game.”
Von Steuben (9-6-6) knows that Leyden (16-3-2) fields a perennially strong team, but the Panthers won’t be intimidated by the Eagles.
“They’re fast, disciplined, and they’ve played good opponents,” Von Steuben coach Vedad Serancic said. “But to me, these rankings and seedings mean absolutely nothing. And I think there’s bias when it comes to (seeding) city schools.
“But I think any regional is winnable by any given team. It will be who shows up, plays harder and plays whistle to whistle.”
Leyden has given up 23 goals in 21 games with six shutouts with junior keeper David Duwal and senior defender Danny Kulawiak leading the way. The Eagles’ offense has put up 64 goals, led by junior striker Eduardo Hernandez.
“He’s our all-stater,” Valintis said of Hernandez. “He’s practically impossible to defend, and he has scored or assisted in all but two of our games. So he’s making big plays.”
Seniors Francisco Toral, Oscar Cifuentes and Moises Perez have all played consistently solid soccer for the Eagles, and a late-season surge of elevated play by some other Eagles has also gotten their coach’s attention.
“Over the last two or three weeks there’s been some guys that have stepped up even more,” Valintis said. “They’re guys that we know are good, but they’ve either had to prove it to themselves, or gain a little more confidence.”
Senior captain Andy Moreno has 11 assists this year but scored his first goal of the season two weeks ago, “and now he’s got that first goal off his back,” Valintis said. “Marco Villalobos and Adrian Flores have also been much more active and consistent in the attack.”
The Von Steuben attack is led in part by junior mid Dane Hoare. “He can create something out of nothing for us,” Selancic said. “He has incredible speed and touch with the ball, and he’s probably one of the smartest players we have.”
Skilled and crafty senior Ricky Luna has been Von Steuben’s chief striker and senior mid Martin Hernandez has battled injury “but if he plays, he brings us a new dimension of attacking,” Selancic said. “He’s an engine that doesn’t stop, and he’s creative. I have a lot of midfielders capable of playing a lot of different positions.”
The Panthers scored 46 goals in 24 games, and gave up 26 goals.
Defensively, Von Steuben relies on right-side defender Cesar Mejia. Seven of the Panthers’ 26 goals-against came in losses to Larkin and Solorio.
“Other than those two losses we haven’t given up more than two goals in any game,” Selancic said. “I’ve been very happy with our defense. We’re not giving up many goals. The problem has been that we’ve gone into those scoring droughts, where we’ll score seven goals in a game and then struggle to find scoring.”
Tuesday’s winner will return to Leyden on Friday at Leyden in the regional title game against the winner of sixth-seeded Maine South and 12th-seeded Maine West.
Valintis knew in the preseason that a senior-heavy Eagles team in 2017 would be a good one, even if this year’s squad isn’t currently listed among Chicagoland Soccer’s top 25 teams.
“At 16-3-2 I’m a little surprised we’re not in the Top 25,” Valintis said. “We’re pretty good every year, and we’re always somewhat overlooked. But that’s something we talk to the kids about, that they have to go out and constantly prove their worth. Who knows if this team will go out and win a sectional title but it certainly has the talent and the ability to do so.
“But first things first. Our season could end on (Tuesday). Our guys aren’t overlooking anyone in our sectional as far as the seeds go.”
Eagles ready for a regional tilt vs. quality Panthers' team
By Gary Larsen
When host Leyden and Von Steuben square off in a Class 3A regional semifinal Tuesday, two teams with similar styles and two coaches with similar views of the postseason will take the field at 4:30 p.m. in Northlake.
Both teams feature quick, skilled attacking players and tough defenders, and both coaches don’t lend much credence to the fact that Leyden is the fourth seed and Von Steuben is the 13th seed in the New Trier Sectional.
“If we play the way everyone is capable of, we believe that we should be successful,” Leyden coach Mark Valintis said. “But they’re saying the same thing over there at Von Steuben. They played good competition in the city and got good results so I expect a tough game.”
Von Steuben (9-6-6) knows that Leyden (16-3-2) fields a perennially strong team, but the Panthers won’t be intimidated by the Eagles.
“They’re fast, disciplined, and they’ve played good opponents,” Von Steuben coach Vedad Serancic said. “But to me, these rankings and seedings mean absolutely nothing. And I think there’s bias when it comes to (seeding) city schools.
“But I think any regional is winnable by any given team. It will be who shows up, plays harder and plays whistle to whistle.”
Leyden has given up 23 goals in 21 games with six shutouts with junior keeper David Duwal and senior defender Danny Kulawiak leading the way. The Eagles’ offense has put up 64 goals, led by junior striker Eduardo Hernandez.
“He’s our all-stater,” Valintis said of Hernandez. “He’s practically impossible to defend, and he has scored or assisted in all but two of our games. So he’s making big plays.”
Seniors Francisco Toral, Oscar Cifuentes and Moises Perez have all played consistently solid soccer for the Eagles, and a late-season surge of elevated play by some other Eagles has also gotten their coach’s attention.
“Over the last two or three weeks there’s been some guys that have stepped up even more,” Valintis said. “They’re guys that we know are good, but they’ve either had to prove it to themselves, or gain a little more confidence.”
Senior captain Andy Moreno has 11 assists this year but scored his first goal of the season two weeks ago, “and now he’s got that first goal off his back,” Valintis said. “Marco Villalobos and Adrian Flores have also been much more active and consistent in the attack.”
The Von Steuben attack is led in part by junior mid Dane Hoare. “He can create something out of nothing for us,” Selancic said. “He has incredible speed and touch with the ball, and he’s probably one of the smartest players we have.”
Skilled and crafty senior Ricky Luna has been Von Steuben’s chief striker and senior mid Martin Hernandez has battled injury “but if he plays, he brings us a new dimension of attacking,” Selancic said. “He’s an engine that doesn’t stop, and he’s creative. I have a lot of midfielders capable of playing a lot of different positions.”
The Panthers scored 46 goals in 24 games, and gave up 26 goals.
Defensively, Von Steuben relies on right-side defender Cesar Mejia. Seven of the Panthers’ 26 goals-against came in losses to Larkin and Solorio.
“Other than those two losses we haven’t given up more than two goals in any game,” Selancic said. “I’ve been very happy with our defense. We’re not giving up many goals. The problem has been that we’ve gone into those scoring droughts, where we’ll score seven goals in a game and then struggle to find scoring.”
Tuesday’s winner will return to Leyden on Friday at Leyden in the regional title game against the winner of sixth-seeded Maine South and 12th-seeded Maine West.
Valintis knew in the preseason that a senior-heavy Eagles team in 2017 would be a good one, even if this year’s squad isn’t currently listed among Chicagoland Soccer’s top 25 teams.
“At 16-3-2 I’m a little surprised we’re not in the Top 25,” Valintis said. “We’re pretty good every year, and we’re always somewhat overlooked. But that’s something we talk to the kids about, that they have to go out and constantly prove their worth. Who knows if this team will go out and win a sectional title but it certainly has the talent and the ability to do so.
“But first things first. Our season could end on (Tuesday). Our guys aren’t overlooking anyone in our sectional as far as the seeds go.”