After taking on the challenge of playing two tough matches on the same day, Leyden was assured of a win before it met Streamwood.

That's because the Eagles defeated Lake Zurich 4-3 to help kick off Saturday's 14-match schedule at Lyons Township's West field.

Then midway through its match with the Sabres, Leyden possessed a 2-1 lead and looked like it might complete a successful 2-0 day.

But Streamwood had other ideas and rallied with a pair of goals during the final 40 minutes to capture a 3-2 victory in LaGrange.

Ivan Rosales scored both goals in the final half to help the Sabres to their third straight win as they moved to 8-4 on the year.

Mario Rodriguez also connected to give Streamwood the early lead while Alejandro Avalos and Christian Vences contributed assists.

"Leyden is strong all over the place and they've had a successful season and beaten some quality teams," Sabres coach Matt Polovin said. "So I told our guys to go out there and have some fun, play hard and try to put in any chances that we'd get.

"We especially wanted to go hard for rebounds, and that's one thing that we did on every shot that we had. We didn't want to stray from our possession style of soccer in which we attack with speed and with numbers and we did a good job with that.

"We have calm-cool defenders who try to find our midfielders, who move the ball up to our forwards, who get some quality shots on goal. When you play a team like Leyden, you can't back for a second, you have to keep the pedal down for 80 minutes.

"When you beat a quality team like Leyden at this time of the year, if you don't gain any confidence from that then something's wrong. We still have things that we need to work on and finalize but I'll take a quality win like this one anytime."

Although Leyden (7-3-2) saw its three-match win streak get halted in the second contest, it still had a lot to be upbeat about.

Four different players scored for the Eagles, with Christian Hernandez collecting two against the Bears and one in the finale.

Noe Centeno scored off a Juan Recendez assist against Streamwood while Hector Arroyo and Christian Sosnowski had earlier goals.

"We volunteered to play two games because of a team shortage so we're not complaining," Eagles coach Mark Valintis said. "We got a lot of people some playing time against two different-style teams and that helps our fitness and conditioning.

"We also got to sit out here on a beautiful day and watch a lot of good soccer games and just hang out together, so for the guys, it was probably a great Saturday. But we were a little tired by the end of the first half against Streamwood.

"Lake Zurich's a quality team from up north and I thought that we played very well against them and that was nice to see. At times I thought that we played very well against Streamwood, but we struggled a bit with some communication issues.

"The goals that Streamwood scored were good ones but had we been a little more mentally fresh we might have been able to do a little more. But credit Streamwood for making us work. They played their style at their pace and got the result."

Streamwood tied things at 2-2 in the 44th minute when Rosales got free and bounced a shot off of the crossbar that went in.

The Sabres moved ahead for good in the 54th minute when Vences found Rosales, who picked up another score from close range.

After that, it was up to Streamwood's defense as well as to keeper Bryan Contreras to try to preserve the one-goal advantage.

"This win feels good," Sabre Nestor Ascencio said. "After we got the first goal I think we got a little bit too comfortable and were a bit sloppy in the back in the first half.

"After coach Polovin talked to us, we really picked things up in the second half and played with more intensity and got two goals from Ivan so we're happy with our performance.

"We've been together for a couple of years now so our chemistry is great. What I like beside the skill on this team is our heart and that's what really pushes this team forward."

Recendez had an attempt headed away by Rosales and several minutes later Contreras deflected a free kick from Ricky Pimentel.

In the final half dozen minutes, Anyer Gonzalez had a long free kick halted and a liner from Albert Arabik was also denied.

"We went hard in our first game so we might not have had as much energy for our second game," Gonzalez said. "But we were able to find some different guys to score goals today.

"I like that we're bonding as a team outside of practice and off the field. Just talking to each other more and having some fun is helping us play better in our last few games."

Things started out well for the Sabres, who were able to connect on their first good chance, which came in the ninth minute.

On that opportunity, Avalos sent a pass to Rodriguez, who directed an effort from the side which found its way to the net.

"We know that we just have to keep working hard," Rodriguez said. "We're not being selfish and I like how we work with each other. We like each other a lot and that helps.

"We have a good record and we've been playing well. Last year we didn't know each other that well but now we know what to do with one another since we have more chemistry."

Leyden responded with the equalizer in the 12th minute when a throw-in from Recendez went to Centeno for a close-range goal.

Hernandez put a shot into the opposite side of the net in the 14th minute and was he denied on another attempt a bit later.

After Nestor Ascencio was thwarted on a free kick and both Rodriguez and Michael Delaney were denied on short shot tries.

In the final three minutes of the first half, Arabik saw a close-range effort halted and Recendez had a free kick deflected.

"The good thing is that we have a lot of depth on our team so that gave us some options on a day like this," Recendez said.

"They did their part and we got a win in the first game but it wasn't enough in the second game since we got a little tired."

Both squads return to action with Tuesday conference matches. Streamwood travels to Elgin while Leyden hosts Proviso East.