Falcons watch in dismay as Eagles score twice late

By Curt Herron

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Wheaton North definitely realized that shutting down a dangerous Leyden side would be a tough challenge for it on Thursday.

But heading into the final 10 minutes of their nonconference match with the Eagles in Wheaton, the Falcons were able to do just.

After forcing a 1-1 score just past the midway mark of the final half, defensive-minded North looked like it might claim a draw.

But the Eagles, showing the grit which had helped them to capture wins in four of their previous five outings, had other ideas.

Leyden collected a pair of goals in the final eight and a half minutes to record a 3-1 win over the Falcons at Rexilius Field.

Christian Sosnowski got his team's first and second scores while Albert Arabik added the other tally for the Eagles (9-3-2).

Jackson Duncan collected the lone goal for the Falcons (2-6-3), who wanted to build on Tuesday's 1-0 victory over West Aurora.

"We've been playing good lately, but it's a process, so we'll take what we can from this and learn from it," Eagles coach Mark Valintis said. "To some degree we feel a little lucky to walk out of here with a 3-1 victory instead of a 1-1 tie.

"At halftime being up 1-0, I challenged the guys to score quickly because we didn't want Wheaton North to get energized. Although we had plenty of chances, their defense held out when it had to and their goalie made some phenomenal saves.

"We know that when we play them they're going to be organized in the back so it was just a question of finding a way to get that second goal."

Indeed, while the Eagles collected multiple goals for the seventh time in eight tries, North has been tough to score against.

The Falcons had allowed just one multiple-goal contest in their last eight, during which time they had two wins and two draws.

"Leyden's a great possession team that knocks the ball around and hold it and you have to be careful not to chase them too much," Falcons coach Bryce Cann said. "Overall, I thought we did a nice job of containing since they really didn't get behind us, which is important when you play a team with skill and speed.

"I was happy that we were able to get behind them a few times but wished we could have capitalized because that would have changed the game. I thought that we had more dangerous opportunities in the first half but the difference was that they put one in and we didn't.

"We've done a good job of keeping shape in the back and keeping our composure but I think that Leyden did a good job of taking us out of some things that we like to do just because they do a great job of closing space. I was pleased with the guys who came in and got us back in the game and our goal was against the run of play, which is always nice.

"I don't know what happened late, but to defend the restarts all night as well we did and then to have a breakdown at that point in the match was just deflating, so we'll learn from it."

While a lot of close ones have eluded the Falcons, Cann is pleased that his squad has hung tough with all but two teams this year.

"We play a tough schedule and don't take nights off so I think our record is a deceiving," Cann said. "We have two games that were a little outlandish but at the same time, I'm almost happy to have them since they provided some significant learning opportunities for the guys about varsity soccer.

"What I liked about tonight was that we gutted out some things even though the night wasn't really going the way that we probably wanted it to in terms of flow and pace. We've got a nice mix of guys with some talented kids and we're still looking for the way to put it all together for 80 minutes.

"I continue to be pleased by Brooks Joy's play in the back. He's a three-year player and a captain for us and has done a great job of keeping guys organized in the back and pretty vocal about that and also does a nice job of winning balls out of the air.

"And up in the midfield, I've been happy with Isaac Roberts and his calming ability. He settles things down for us and he's able to kind of change the flow of the game for us from time to time. And A.J. Bibergall has been pretty consistent for us in goal but also shown that he can step up and make some pretty big plays."

While the Eagles had some good chances during the first part of the second half, they still maintained a 1-0 lead from halftime.

That scenario changed in the 63rd minute, however, when Duncan got free past defenders and lined in an attempt to even things up.

After keeper Konrad Dziedzic halted a subsequent try by Duncan, the Eagles started their quest for a goal to put them back on top.

With just under a quarter of an hour left, Hector Arroyo forced a Juan Recendez corner, which was punched away by A.J. Bibergall.

Recendez eventually got to loose ball and his try was cleared by Sam Beasley, who later detoured a shot from Christian Hernandez.

Not long after Ricky Pimentel was denied on a long free kick, he had another which found Sosnowski, who scored in the 72nd minute.

About a minute after the go-ahead score, a Recendez throw-in went to Arabik, whose short effort was turned away by North's keeper.

But the Eagle freshman was determined and found the net in the 76th minute after placing a try inside the post to end the drama.

"After they scored in the second half, we just came out strong and pressured hard and finished the game off by scoring two goals," Sosnowski said.

"We come out focused in every game and are looking to get wins. We move the ball around well, fight hard for every ball and we always are positive."

After Recendez bounced a try off of the post in the early going, neither squad threatened much in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Just prior to the half's midpoint, Julian Barrera saw a long try thwarted by Oscar Puga, who also halted an attempt by Sam Mason.

A short time later, Bibergall punched away a long free kick by Pimentel and the Eagle keeper stopped another effort from Mason.

Sosnowski put the Eagles ahead in the 27th minute with a 30-yard shot that sailed past referee Terry Knafl and then into the net.

In the half's final 10 minutes, Puga stopped Mason on a header and Ethan Taira on a liner while a Recendez corner was deflected.

Leyden came out strong after the break, with Arabik having a try thwarted by Bibergall, who then halted the Hernandez rebound.

A bit after Arabik saw a shot cleared by Brian Pfaff, Ernie Alvarez was denied by the Falcon keeper before the half's midpoint.

It wasn't long before the Falcons tied things up but Leyden responded to that score with its two goals during the late stages.

"I think the key was after they scored, we started to come together more as a team," Recendez said. "It was just like a spark that we needed to get us going again because we were a little lazy before that. It's nice to walk away with a win since that's what is important as we keep advancing forward.

"We had a lot of chances and could have scored more goals but we couldn't find the back of the net. I'm pretty happy with how we're playing now. We're still a young team but we're getting things together."

Both squads return to action on Saturday with the Eagles playing at St. Charles North and the Falcons entertaining West Chicago.