Chicagoland Soccer

Eagles unbeaten in last 7 with win over Saint Ignatius

By Mike Garofola

Sometimes, it's more than just talent that makes for a successful team.

After losing just about everyone from a 2010 club which was one match away from a trip to the 3A state tournament, it could have been expected that Leyden would take a step back this fall as head coach Mark Valintis and his staff sorted things out while connecting the pieces of a nearly brand new roster for the 2011 soccer season.

Valintis knew he had a pair of superb senior leaders in Fernando Camacho, who also happened to be the granite along the back, and Krystian Drozdz, the heir apparent to former all-state scoring star David Wisniewski.

But the affable manager found out he had something else, something all coaches dream of having.

Team chemistry.

"This team is so tight," proclaimed a proud Valintis.

"On and away from the field, they do things together. Tomorrow, many of them are going to see the Fire play. Most other times, after training, they go out to eat together. You cannot coach that but I can tell you it's a wonderful thing to experience, and witness, and although I believe we have a pretty talented, deep team, the major reason for us growing and getting better each week is because of the tight bond these guys share."

Saturday afternoon the Eagles used 6 different goal scorers, and its entire roster to overwhelm visiting Saint Ignatius (8-7-0) in a non-conference match in Northlake, setting up a monumental conference game for Leyden (8-2-3) when it travels to rival Morton Tuesday afternoon.

"We lost so many guys from our team last year,” team captain Camacho said. “But if you remember, I told you in the very first week of the season that it would take some time for us to gel, and for our new guys to figure out their role and responsibility out on the field, but once we did, we could have a season just like we did last year.

"Coach has made a few changes here and there, and moved a few guys around, like Juan (Recendez), which has really helped get our attack going, but we all like playing with other and that's the best thing about being on this team."

"That's a pretty talented team out there, and it shows in the way they knock the ball around, and possess, and we sure helped them look very good today," said Ignatius head coach Jim Luzzi.

Luzzi’s club had worked so hard to get back to .500 after its 1-4-0 start and had been playing well of late until getting swept away in what may have been its most disappointing loss of the season.

"We did it to ourselves in that first half," continued Luzzi. "Too many mistakes, especially in our own end that Leyden took full advantage of, and which forced us to defend way too much. Those mistakes didn't allow us to get forward and attack for most of the day."

After mustering up just 7 goals in its first half-dozen matches of the season, the Eagles have put a remarkable 25 into the back of the net in their last 7 games.

Saturday began in a driving cold rain but ended in spring-like weather in the second half, to help dry off the faithful who braved the dreadful first half weather.

Valintis, Camacho and Drozdz all agree the recent move of Recendez from the middle of the park to join Drozdz up top, and call-up for sophomore Moises Merlos, and his insertion into the Eagles first-11 is a prime reason for the Leyden attack ignition, while adding even more depth to the roster.

"Juan and I work so well with other, and we know and trust each other, which is so important for our offense and each other," says Drozdz, who recently set a program record when he scored 9 goals in one week.

"Ever since our (1-0) loss to Fenton, when we made the move with (Recendez) and brought up three sophomores, we've really turned up our play as a group,” Valintis said. “We’ve gone on an unbeaten streak leading into our match with Morton, which everyone is exited about, and it has created a buzz around the school, which is great for the guys.”

The Eagles 3-goal uprising in the first half started when one of their super-sophs, Christian Hernandez, worked out of a tight space and finished past Wolfpack keeper Zak Allen. Allen had no chance to save the 16-yard strike, which just got in at the post.

Eight minutes later, Camacho and Volodymry Bereskky were the architects of a finished product when Bereskky redirected the ball forward to the Eagles' leading scorer, and Drozdz buried a one-timer.

Just afterwards, Wolfpack junior AJ Swarm sent a ball to the spot that keeper Marco Granda pulled out of the air, wind, and rain to help keep the Eagles 2-goal advantage safe.

But except for a couple of well-struck left-footed free kicks that Sean Kampe poured into the box, the Wolfpack attack rarely generated a dangerous opportunity on frame in the first half.

"We didn't play through our midfield, and Brandon Medina, and when you’re down 2-0 you always know that to get to 2-1 makes it such a different game,” Luzzi said. “But we gave up that goal just before the half, and I could tell the boys confidence had been shaken when we got together at the break."

The Wolfpack’s communication along the back broke down for just an instant, and the ever-opportunistic Eagles' took full advantage of the situation. Daniel Bielak, who never stopped running, caught up to a loose ball and fired past Allen, who had a superb shot-blocking day despite watching 6 goals go by until Luzzi brought on Erich Eklin at 60 minutes.

"Jim's keeper has to be the best I've seen all year long," Valintis said of Allen. "He was so active back there, and he protected his box better than anyone I've seen, and his ability to stop shots is second to none."

Allen and his mates where stunned just 4 minutes into the second-half, when Bereskky stepped up and unloaded a 30-yard free kick cracker, which exploded into the back of the net and instantly placed his goal into a Leyden highlight film.

Valinits -- who seconds before the shot told the senior to 'go ahead and hit it' -- began to pull most of his first-11 off for the rest of the match, and by the hour mark, every starter had pulled off his boots for the day, including Granda, who watched backup keeper Oscar Puga stop a Medina blast near the post.

Recendez and Kevin Diobro each entered their names into the scorebook with goals at 53 and 55 minutes. Saint Ignatius continued to play with pride and plenty of heart, until Dan McIlhattan finally broke the clean-sheet bid at 75 minutes when his deft, looping chip eluded the outstretched gloves of Puga.

"The effort was there for the entire 80 minutes today, but we didn't play as well as we hoped. We'll go back and train on Monday and look to turn things around against Loyola on Tuesday at their place," said Luzzi.