Arabik, Eagles find late scoring to beat Hornets
By Dave Owen

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In the last 20 minutes of Thursday’s match, the potential for a big upset win over Leyden dissolved into a case of déjà vu for Hinsdale South.

Clinging to a 1-0 lead over the Eagles (4-1-2), the host Hornets (1-6) endured a jolting momentum turn when Leyden scored three goals in a span of just over 10 minutes to win 3-1.

“We had a similar situation yesterday with York, where we had a good first half and then in the second half they put four away,” Hinsdale South coach James VanDenburgh said. “Tonight we said, ‘here’s adversity, how are we going to respond against a good opponent like Leyden.’

“They finished when they had opportunities in the second half, but in the first half coming off that game (against York) I was very happy. Our transition game counter attack was very good. We were connecting passes and getting the ball wide.”

The big moment of the night for the Hornets came with 20:38 left in the first half, when George Carioscia took a nice cross from Jeremy Leganski at the end line and fired a 15-yard shot into the net to put Hinsdale South up 1-0.

But the Hornets and goalkeeper Jose Moreno had to deal with a relentless Leyden offensive wave in the second half.

The first big Eagles chance came with 22:40 to play, when Anyer Gonzalez headed a Juan Recendez corner kick just wide of the net. Christian Hernandez followed two minutes later with a 25-yard blast mere inches wide of the left post and a diving Moreno, a chance created by teammate Albert Arabik’s midfield steal.

With 18:12 on the clock, Arabik proved to be a more effective finisher.
Corraling a loose ball just inside the box, the freshman lined a 12-yard shot into the net to tie the score at 1.

“We talked (at halftime) about how we needed to play harder and fight for the 50/50 balls,” Arabik said. We felt we could score more and we knew we were better than we had played (in the first half).”

Arabik and the Eagles were far from done.

With 12:25 to go, Arabik’s cross into the box led to a nice block of an initial shot by Hornets’ sophomore defender Lucas Carlson. But in the ensuing scramble for a rebound, Leyden’s Miguel Gonzalez tracked down the loose ball and drove a 15-yard shot into the net for a 2-1 Eagles’ lead.

After Tony Guzman’s nice clear denied a great rush up the left side by Carioscia with 11:15 left, Leyden struck again with 7:57 to go when Arabik patiently dribbled to create a sliver of free space and scored his second goal of the night on a low 12-yard shot.

“His confidence is growing each and every game,” Leyden coach Mark Valintis said of Arabik. “He’s really adjusted to the pace and physicality of the varsity game.

“He still has some stuff to learn, but he knows how to score goals. He’s looking to score, score, score, but as soon as he has the other team thinking that, he lays it off for a pass. He’s a very good teammate to have.”

Arabik came inches from a hat trick. With 2:05 to go, his low 25-yard shot off a Kevin Ziobro pass was tipped just wide of the net by a diving Moreno. Anyer Gonzalez was also stopped point blank by Moreno with 6:20 left.

“In the first half we just couldn’t buy one, and even at the start of the second half their defense until the very last minutes shut us down,” Valintis said. “Their goalkeeper (Moreno) made some nice saves, and they did everything that they needed to. But we kept working and something eventually bounced our way.”

To Guzman, the Eagles’ soaring finish was a tribute to positive thinking.
“We kept our heads up,” Guzman said. “This was a perfect example: we were in a situation down one, and Coach wanted to see how we reacted. And we reacted great. We communicated and did what we were supposed to.”

Hinsdale South did plenty of things right as well, as the Hornets continue to try to navigate a tough early schedule.

“We switched some things formation-wise today and saw immediate results,” VanDenburgh said. “John Kotsiantos came back to the middle instead of playing forward. He got more touches on the ball, and Nathaniel Michaelis was making a lot of things happen in the middle. John and Nathaniel really did well.

“And we put Jordan Wood at sweeper for I think the first time we asked him to play sweeper, and I liked how he stepped up in that position. And Lucas Carlson on the right (at defender) did some nice things as well. We’re looking for consistency and still trying to figure out the best combinations to be successful.”
The success has started to show, despite Thursday’s painful result.

“In the first half I felt we were playing really well,” Michaelis said. “We were moving the ball and getting lots of opportunities on net. I don’t know what happened in the second half. It’s just like when we were coming down we had lots of opportunities on the counter attack, and in the second half I don’t know where those went honestly.

“In all of our games after every goal we hang our heads. We have to work on pulling our heads up because a lot of these teams are good. Leyden is amazing. They gave Morton a run last year.”

The Eagles are ready to get on a run this fall, aided by the versatile Guzman.

“Me and Ricky (Pimentel) were actually defense (at the start Thursday),” Guzman said, “and Coach moved us up to pressure more. I think that new formation turned out to benefit us more.
“I started off on defense (Thursday), then the middle, then right midfield, and Ricky moved up from defense. It’s pretty hard (to switch spots), but the help of my teammates makes it easier. It’s just a different role I have to play.”

Valintis noticed the impact Guzman and others not on the offensive end had on the rally.

“Tony Guzman, Miguel Gonzalez, Ricky Pimentel and Christian Hernandez were guys whose work through the middle of the field really kept the pressure on,” he said.

“In the last week we hadn’t scored a goal through the run of play. A lot of times we were getting beat in the middle. We’d get up there and as soon as we lose the ball, it would bypass our midfield and we’re running back on defense.

“We just challenged the guys to work harder and be a little more blue collar,” Valintis said. “Close them down, see how quickly we can re-press, win the ball and keep the pressure on their backs. And they responded in the second half. That’s encouraging.”